Past-customer reactivation: invite old customers back, politely.

In one sentence: we look through your customer list for people who haven't been back in a while and agreed to hear from you, send each of them one warm, useful invitation by email or text, and tell you who answered, so your team can welcome them back.

What is past-customer reactivation, really?

Every business has a quiet list of people who liked it once. The couple who stayed at your B&B three summers ago. The homeowner whose boiler you serviced and who is now due another check. Most of them didn't leave unhappy. Life got busy, or nobody reminded them.

Reactivation is a short, friendly reminder that you're still here. It is not a newsletter, not a sales blast and not a stream of offers. Each person gets one message that makes sense for them, at a sensible time, with an easy way to book, reply or say "no thanks".

Why start with people who already know you?

A past customer already trusts you. Harvard Business Review notes that getting a new customer can cost anywhere from five to 25 times more than keeping an existing one, and cites Bain & Company research that a 5% rise in customer retention can raise profits by 25% to 95% (Harvard Business Review, 2014). Results vary by business. But a friendly nudge to someone who already knows you is usually the cheapest marketing there is.

What does an invitation actually look like?

Short, personal and useful. It says who it's from, why they're hearing from you now, and what to do next. Here's how that looks for two very different businesses:

Names and numbers changed for illustration.

Notice what's missing: no pressure, no fake deadline. And nothing private. A text can pop up on a locked phone that anyone nearby can see, so we never put health details or anything personal in it.

How is it set up, and what do you need from me?

Most of the work is ours. Your part is knowing your customers and saying yes or no to each message. We confirm timing in your quote, because it depends on where your list lives and how much tidying it needs.

1. We look at your list. Where it is, how it was collected, and what each person agreed to. If you can't tell, we work it out together, and when in doubt, we leave someone out.
2. We clean it. Duplicates merged, bounced emails and dead numbers removed, opt-outs and complaints added to a do-not-contact list that stays with you.
3. We choose the groups and the moments. For example: "serviced 11 to 14 months ago" or "stayed last summer, not booked this year". Fewer, better groups beat one big send.
4. We draft, you approve. One message per group, in your words, with a clear way to book, reply or opt out. We test the booking link it points to on a phone first.
5. We send, then follow up. At a sensible time, from your accounts. Replies go to you, and your note shows who's still waiting.

What we need from you

• Access to your customer list, or an export of it: name, email or mobile, last visit, and how they signed up.
• How you collected contact details, for example a booking form with a tick box, or a till that asks at checkout. This decides who we may contact.
• A sender we can use, such as your business email address or texting number, set up so messages arrive and don't land in spam.
• About 30 minutes to agree the groups, plus a few minutes to approve each draft.
• Anyone to leave out: sensitive cases, people in dispute, staff, family and friends.

Everything stays in your accounts and your name, and your list is used for your business only.

How does this compare with doing it yourself?

You can do this yourself with an email or texting tool, and plenty of owners do. If you enjoy it and have the time, it can work well. The difference is mostly the tidying, the rules, and who keeps an eye on replies afterwards.