The document discusses strategies for email campaigns aimed at winning back inactive customers. It provides examples from Screwfix, a home improvement retailer, of testing different approaches to defining inactivity, setting appropriate timescales for outreach, ensuring message relevance, and crafting effective messaging. Three case studies from Screwfix campaigns are presented that tested basic win-back emails with apologetic and friendly messaging, incentives like discounts, and reminders of limited-time offers. The studies found significantly higher open rates, conversion rates, and sales increases compared to blast emails without these win-back strategies.

1. Case Studies
Re-lighting the flame, tested
email strategies to win-back
Susan Young, Digital Retention and
Communications Manager, Screwfix

2. Email Customer Lifecycle Series: Win-back
The Simple Bare Necessities

3. DEFINITION – TIMESCALE - RELEVANCY - MESSAGING
What defines a non-active customer/ recipient?
 No purchase for (x) time?
 No visits for (x) time?
Define who
 No clicks on email for the last (x) emails? your
 No email opens for the last (x) emails?
inactives
 Multiples of the above? are

4. DEFINITION– TIMESCALE - RELEVANCY - MESSAGING
When is the right time to speak to your inactives?
 9 Months?
 6 Months? Define
 3 Months?
 3 Weeks?
timescales

5. DEFINITION – TIMESCALE – RELEVANCY - MESSAGING
How will you be relevant to all your inactives?
 Incentive?
Know what
 Personalisation?
 Purchased / browsed products? content is
 New services?
relevant to
 The list is endless your recipients

6. DEFINITION – TIMESCALE – RELEVANCY - MESSAGING
SCREWFIX EXAMPLE
Relevancy – new service
available to you
(This email was sent to lapsed customers
within a certain drive-time of any of these
branches)

7. DEFINITION – TIMESCALE – RELEVANCY - MESSAGING
SCREWFIX EXAMPLE
We recognise that you’ve
already bought this product
(notice that this is not the
primary message)
…and what benefit this
provides in saving you
money

8. DEFINITION – TIMESCALE – RELEVANCY - MESSAGING
What messaging will you use?
 We’re sorry…
Know what
 What did we do to upset you?
 We’ve changed…. messaging will
 Did you know …we provide
everything you need?
work for your
 Hello, I’m oblivious to the fact that
you’ve gone….
recipients

9. REMEMBER THIS?
The main message is about how you
can save money
We recognise that you’ve already
bought this product (notice – this is
not the primary message)
…and what benefit this provides in
saving you money
We’ve highlighted the savings you can
make
Can we interest you in more products….
….after all, we know you like the brand

10. NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE FUTURE OF YOUR WIN-BACK PROGRAMME….
Let’s start with the basics
 Segment your database into active & inactive
 Test timescales
 Test relevancy/ incentives
 Test messaging
 Don’t forget to test subject lines…

11. NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE FUTURE OF YOUR WIN-BACK PROGRAMME….
3 case studies from Screwfix

12. BASIC WIN-BACK EMAIL – case study 1
Messaging –slightly
apologetic
Incentive
Friendly…we’ve
missed you
…with limited timescale
More reasons to
come back Join us, we can be
where you are…
Call to action
We’re big, others like
us…

13. BASIC WIN-BACK EMAIL – case study 1
 73% higher open rate
than blast email
 85% higher conversion
rate than blast email
 Sales increase per send
by 33% (compared to
blast email)

14. BASIC WIN-BACK EMAIL – case study 2
 64% higher open rate
than blast email
 72% higher conversion
rate than blast email
 Sales increase per send
by 31%

15. BASIC WIN-BACK EMAIL – case study 3
This incentive reminder
sat at the top of the
blast email
 38% higher open rate than blast email
(subject line: Reminder – Only 3 days left to get £20 off)
 61% higher conversion rate than blast email
 51% Sales increase (versus same email without voucher)
NOTE: Recipients who have redeemed must be removed from this email send

16. Begin with the bare necessities…and see just how may
customers you win back
Thank you for listening – Any questions?