Dealing With Inactive E-Mail Customers

Businesses who do e-mail marketing of any kind run across the same issue sooner or later – inactive e-mail customers. At first they’re fully engaged, reacting positively to e-mails by responding to – and often purchasing because of – your e-mail correspondences. Then over time, for whatever reason, their interest in your e-mails begins to wane. The two-way correspondence suddenly becomes one-way, meaning your customer has either forgotten about you completely, is just ignoring you, or has found another company he/she likes better.

 

 

So many businesses make the mistake of just moving on from that person and turning their attention to new prospects. Did you notice we said “mistake”? It is … because it typically costs considerably more in time and expense to acquire a new customer than it does to keep the ones you already have. So, losing a happy customer is a double-whammy; you’ve not only lost them, you’ll have to spend money and effort to replace them.

 

 

Get Inactive E-Mail Customers Back

The better way to proceed is to win them back. If you are using an e-mail program such as Constant Contact, iContact or something similar, you will have detailed analytics about your e-mails right at your fingertips. This includes which ones users opened (or didn’t open), and the links on which they clicked.

 

 

Start with something simple, then expand your horizons. Begin with a close examination of all your e-mail subscribers. Segment them based upon the last time they responded to one of your online “pitches” and how often they do. See if some subject lines yield more success than others, which you’ll know from the overall open rate. Example: If 10% opened the e-mail “You Won’t Believe This Offer,” and 16% opened one called “Save BIG if You Order Today”, you can look at those numbers and take away something meaningful from them.

 

 

You don’t even have to be particularly web-savvy to carry out this worthwhile plan. Because you know the actual identities of your customers along with their e-mail addresses and past tendencies, you may be able to get them back by with specific special offers and targeted marketing strategies. Why not consider implementing a “We Want You Back” e-mail to customers who’ve stopped opening your e-mail correspondence? Here’s another idea: Offer them some incentive to get their attention, possibly using a meaningful prize as bait for their feedback. Even if what they tell you isn’t positive, at least you’ll know what happened and you’ll then have an opportunity to make things right with them.

 

 

Here’s another way targeted marketing can pay off: Knowing which customers are buying which products lets you specifically craft a message that corresponds with what they’ve already purchased from you. For example, if they bought a vehicle from you, why not offer them a service or parts/accessories special that appeals to a buyer of their specific vehicle?

 

 

A little extra effort and some creativity can make a big difference in winning a customer back … one who would otherwise be written off as part of the inevitable attrition that happens with companies of all kinds, including automotive dealerships.

 

 

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.