As a business owner, you know the true worth of loyal customers. They are the ones that choose you over your competitors and refer your business to their friends and family. However, no matter how faithful a client is to your business, at some stage they may decide to leave you. While it may come as a surprise and shock to you, there are strategies you can implement to win back these lost customers.

Just like a child feels devastated when he loses his favourite toy, a business owner might feel dejected or lost when his loyal customers start heading out of the door. Just because customer churn is built in every business model doesn’t mean it has to be expected.

Many business owners tend to neglect lapsed customers. However, even when they’re leaving you, think of them as your customers. With specific marketing campaigns and activities, you can still win them back and turn them into repeat customers.

A Guide to Winning Back Lapsed Customers

Find out why they left: Before you head out on a quest to win back lost customers, it’s important for you to find out why they left in the first place. No customer simply walks away or breaks their relationship with your business. Use social media and review sites to your advantage to monitor customer feedback. Once you identify the problem, create a ‘we fixed it’ campaign. When Dominos Pizza received feedback from their critics that their taste was no longer up-to-date, they decided to reinvent themselves and create a new pizza crust from scratch. With the campaign – “The Pizza Turnaround”, they earned back their lost customers.

Incentivize Return: Nothing entices people better than a good deal or a freebie. Consider giving inactive customers a special discount by messaging them personally. You can offer them discounted subscriptions or access to premium features. A lot of brands resort to email and SMS promotional messages with the tagline ‘We Miss You. Use phrases that will appeal to this niche. With such a campaign, though you may not generate a lot of revenue in the first sale, it’s a marketing effort that may convert inactive customers into repeat customers once again.

Announce improvements and updates: All too often, the problem may not be with your brand/company but the user interface of your website or app. If the bounce rate on your website is increasing or a lot of people are uninstalling your app, it is a serious matter. Use technology to your advantage to tackle these metrics. Address specific pain points, and announce improvements and updates to win back lost customers. Make announcements on social media, blog pages and via video to let the concerned people know that you’ve resolved their issue. You’ll start witnessing a spurt in your app downloads and page views again.

When you take measures to win back lapsed customers, they will show you some love by shopping with you again. From the very beginning of the customer journey, make an effort to be enthusiastic with your customers and you won’t end up losing them only.