Joshua Franklin Wiedeman

Re-Activation Offers

Re-activation offers are incentives sent to customers who were active but have gone quiet, usually after 60 to 120 days without a purchase or login. The offer gives them a concrete reason to return: a discount, a trial extension, early access, or a bundle.

How it works

Dormant customers already know your brand, and you already have their history. The problem is inertia, not awareness. A good re-activation offer breaks the pattern with something new, exclusive, or valuable. It works best when it pairs an incentive with a real update, such as a new product or feature.

How to do it

  1. Segment inactive customers by how long they have been inactive. For example: 60 to 90 days (at risk), 90 to 180 days (lapsed), and over 180 days (lost).
  2. Set offers by stage. At risk: show what is new with a small incentive. Lapsed: a stronger offer or a free gift. Lost: your best offer or a different approach entirely.
  3. Personalize with purchase history, for example new arrivals in the customer’s most-bought category.
  4. Give every offer a short, clear deadline and state it in the subject line.
  5. Hold out a random share of each segment (for example 10%) that gets no offer, and compare results to measure true lift.
  6. Move re-activated customers into a short onboarding flow, not straight back into the regular campaign schedule.

What to measure

  • Re-activation rate: dormant customers who purchase or log in within 14 days of the offer, divided by recipients.
  • Incremental revenue: offer group revenue minus holdout group revenue, minus discount cost.
  • 90-day retention after re-activation: re-activated customers who make a second purchase within 90 days.

Best practices

  • Lead with what has changed since they left. Give them a reason beyond the discount.
  • Try a different format from your regular campaigns, such as a plain-text note from the founder.
  • Test postcards for high-value dormant customers who ignore digital channels.
  • Link straight to a page with the offer already applied, not to the homepage.

Common pitfalls

  • Giving every dormant customer the same offer regardless of past spend.
  • Having no follow-up after they return, so they lapse again.
  • Running offers so often that customers wait for them. Limit them to once or twice a year per customer.