“If you are not involved and don’t have re-engagement, you don’t have a campaign at all,” – Keri Jaehnig
Enterprises thrive on client and customer relationships and the business outcomes that drive such interactions. However, the modern customer tends to be a finicky creature that is subject to all manner of marketing spiels and selling campaigns. The establishment and proliferation of multiple businesses selling experiences, products, and services is the outcome of consumerism and the free market economy that is prevalent in much of the civilised world. The very nature and impulse of modern enterprise makes it incumbent upon businesses to expand constantly, their customer base in order to power business expansion and attain commercial growth in competitive markets. Therefore, businesses may find it useful to fashion a re-engagement campaign that hinges on re-igniting commercial relationships that may have lapsed with time.
When we examine the above premise, we find that the expansion of consumer choice and the wide prevalence of customer fatigue are the twin drivers that make it important for businesses to craft a re-engagement campaign. In addition, the considerable acquisition costs of new customers highlight the importance of such business strategies. Customers and clients that have engaged fruitfully with a business enterprise in the past can be brought back into the fold (so to say) through a re-engagement campaign. For instance, an insurance service provider that finds itself operating in increasingly crowded markets may find that instituting such a campaign may help the business to add additional customers. We must note that this approach reflects positively on the business enterprise because a re-engagement campaign is a cost-effective strategy that adds heft to the bottom line of the said business. This campaign can be initiated by the marketing department because it essentially hinges on reviving contact with former (or lapsed) customers and can assist the business to take on the commercial competition.
An email-driven re-engagement campaign is an efficient technique that promises to inaugurate a meaningful dialogue with former customers. We must note that every business that opts for this strategy must bear in mind the reasons that nullified the first contact with such customers. These reasons may include repetitive or irrelevant content, deceptive email content, an overdose of information, lack of technology optimisation, among others. The re-engagement campaign should ideally avoid such problems and create the grounds for a renewed, meaningful interaction premised on clear value additions. For instance, a retail flower business may choose to re-engage with customers through an email campaign that emphatically renews the value proposition missing in the said enterprise. The business managers may work to boost consumer confidence by highlighting new services, an enhanced range of flower products, and interesting variations of flower bouquets, a toll-free number, value added services, etc. in an attempt to re-kindle commercial relationships. We must note that email remains one of the most cost-efficient vehicles of business communications and therefore, the said business is likely to harvest significant returns through this strategy.
A successful re-engagement campaign can hinge on personal interactions between a business and its many customers. The strategy of injecting the human element into commercial interactions promises significant dividends because consumers are likely to ‘buy’ into a commercial relationship that offers a human face. For instance, an e-commerce operator may choose to respond to changing market conditions and create a re-engagement campaign that hinges on face-to-face interactions with clients and customers. This approach to conducting business assumes significance because it is predicated on trust and the emotions that typically govern human interactions. We may note that prevalent models of e-commerce and the concept of human interaction may prima facie present an anathema, but an out-of-the-box approach may be required to take on market competition. Per this strategy, business executives may interact with customers and seek information on customer experiences during past business transactions; additional points of conversation with customers may choose to gauge customer satisfaction, seek customer inputs in terms of product and service preferences, and seek out pain points in client delivery processes. The information that emanates from such interactions may be used to create a better customer experience.
A different approach to a re-engagement campaign can be created around electronic text messages that can be transmitted to each individual customer’s smartphone. This approach promises an immediate context because most customers carry mobile phones on their person and check the device multiple times each day. Texting also presents an unproblematic approach because a simple text message can be used to revive customer interest. A toll-free number for voice and text can be embedded in the said message to encourage the customer to respond to the said campaign. Additional information in the text message may include web-links that direct customers to a web address that seeks updated email, mobile number, or home address co-ordinates. We note that most customers would find it difficult to ignore a text message and therein lies the value proposition of this re-engagement campaign.
Online competitions, electronic coupons, promotional codes can be leveraged as the crux of a customer re-engagement strategy. A business can leverage these tools in an attempt to re-ignite customer interest and capture additional mind share. This variation of a re-engagement campaign leverages the use of novelty and discounted prices to attract past customers to a business enterprise. However, we must note that the devices listed above can only attract customers when the business follows up said offers with a solid value proposition. For instance, an electronics retail business can choose to expand its customer list using competitions and coupons, but sustained customer interest will follow when the business consistently executes on its promises. Similarly, a value-for-money business enterprise must device market-beating offers that hinge on a genuine value proposition in order to attract and retain customers.
Re-engagement strategies must be carefully configured and constantly monitored to attain the desired results. Businesses that opt to operate such strategies must not shy away from creating variations because different markets and different customer segments deserve customised sub-strategies. For instance, a business that deals in premium products cannot create a re-engagement strategy that hinges heavily on discounted products. This approach may erode the brand value of the said enterprise and may drive customers to try competing brands. Similarly, a medical products business should not contemplate one-for-the-price-of-two offers because this can invite a regulatory backlash and may severely erode the profit margins of the business. These two instances should be borne in mind when an enterprise seeks to design a worthwhile re-engagement strategy.
In the preceding paragraphs, we have considered some of the planks that can be marshalled in pursuit of creating a successful re-engagement campaign. Every business should prize its customers and must work to ensure customer retention to the extent possible. The management cadre of a business should actively peruse the number of active customers and must work to expand the said list, while minimizing the threat posed by customer flight. However, we must note that firm commercial intent and business integrity must be placed at the centre of every re-engagement strategy. This would help to guide the enterprise through all the subsequent stages of said strategy and establish its moorings in the fiercely competitive modern markets.
