Win-back calls: bring lapsed customers back

Key takeaways

A customer win back campaign contacts customers who have stopped buying, finds out why, and invites them back. It is a steady, scripted process that outsources well, as long as it follows PECR and Telephone Preference Service rules. The offer and any decision to change it stay with you; the calling, logging and follow-up can move.

• Define lapsed: no purchase in a set period.
• Ask why before you offer anything.
• Screen numbers against the TPS for marketing calls.
• Feed reasons for leaving back to the business monthly.

Who counts as a lapsed customer?

Set a rule based on your normal buying cycle. A customer who usually orders monthly and has not ordered for three months is lapsed; one who buys once a year may not be lapsed for 18 months. Pull the list monthly so the campaign runs as a process, not a one-off push.

• Which business processes should you outsource?
• Repeat purchase rate: turn first-time buyers into regulars

What should a win-back call cover?

Start by asking, not selling. Why did they stop? Was something wrong, did needs change, or did a competitor offer more? Log the reason in a set category. Then, if appropriate, offer a reason to return: a fixed issue, a relevant new product or an approved offer. The reasons are often worth more than the orders.

• Thank them for past business.
• Ask why they stopped, and listen.
• Log the reason in a fixed category.
• Make an approved offer if it fits.

• Customer feedback loop: turn complaints into fewer contacts
• Customer surveys: outsource the asking, keep the acting

What rules apply to win-back contact?

A call that promotes your products is direct marketing under PECR. For live marketing calls to individuals, screen numbers against the Telephone Preference Service unless the person has told you they are happy to be called. Marketing emails to individuals need consent or the soft opt-in for existing customers, with an easy way to opt out each time.

• Email marketing outsourcing: what to hand over
• Processes with sensitive data: can they be outsourced?

When is a win-back process not worth running?

When lapsed customers were unprofitable, when they left because of a problem you have not fixed, or when your list is small enough for the owner to call personally. Calling customers back into an unchanged problem wastes the call and the relationship.

• How much volume makes a process worth outsourcing?
• Rising customer complaints: is capacity the cause?

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: the most common reason a customer lapsed is that nobody asked them to come back. The second most common is a small service problem nobody heard about. Both are cheap to fix once you know.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Win-back checklist

Run these each month.

• Pull the lapsed list by your rule.
• Screen phone numbers against the TPS.
• Check email consent or soft opt-in.
• Call or write using the approved script.
• Log reasons in fixed categories.
• Report reasons to the owner monthly.

• Customer service processes: which ones to outsource
• Subscription renewals: a process that keeps customers

Next step

Tell us how many customers have lapsed in the last year. We will suggest a win-back routine and tell you what running it would involve.