Multi-channel merchants traditionally defined reactivation as the last ditch effort to revitalize customers whose absence makes marketing to them of little value.
The long used approach sent emails or catalogs with messages such as, "We miss you," or "This may be your last catalog." After a series of 3-4 final efforts over a year or two, we would write them off to the inactive archive only to revive them if, at some future date, the same name happened to pop-up in a merge with new prospects. Then, we could tell the prospect list owner that we already had that name. Depending on product offers and standard purchase frequencies, the process was somewhat successful, at least occasionally.
Doesn't starting early in the effort to reactivate your customers before assigning them to the dusty inactive archives make more sense? The cost of reactivating an inactive customer is far less than the cost of finding a new customer.
Retention we usually define as ongoing efforts to keep active customers engaged. This is where you employ your best marketing efforts and typically see the bulk of earnings.
More recently, companies started understanding that tracking browse history reveals that some inactive customers do return to their sites and should not be written off too soon. Many recent customers also visit your site and may or may not put items into their carts. Abandoned cart and browse history reveal that reactivation and retention should both be defined differently. They are powerful, predictive indications of engagement that can lead to additional purchases.
Are your definitions of reactivation and reengagement outdated? Abandoned cart and abandoned browse are just two components of a powerful new tool kit offered by CLI to help you identify customers as good candidates for repeat purchases. Get in touch with us to learn more.