We talk often about attracting and converting, but one of the most critical stages of the customer experience lifecycle is retention. It’s one thing to acquire and convert a new customer, but then what do you do? Retention is not just about driving a repeat purchase, but driving reengagement with a customer who may have stepped away or lost interest. Some brands even approach their acquisition efforts from a strategy grounded first in building strong retention.

Here’s how smart brands can use email to drive re-engagement and renew relationships with customers.

The Honest Company

The Honest Company, founded by Jessica Alba as a trusted source of natural products for new moms, quickly gained recognition as a fast-growing, multi-faceted lifestyle brand. The company logged sales of $170 million in 2014 and was valued at $1.7 billion in August of 2015. It has added a new line of successful women’s products, showing that it has maintained a strong relationship with its female customers. Part of the company’s success in building these relationships stems from the ability to create personal, meaningful connections out of momentary email interactions.

Smart brands, including the Honest Company, always take the time to say “Thank You” to new subscribers. These may be small moments, but they are far from inconsequential. When the Honest Company sends a Thank You email to new subscribers, including a personal note from the company’s founders, it sets the tone for a positive and collaborative relationship. The company then sends a new member offer and a second follow-up offer if the first is not used. This approach is very successful at encouraging new subscribers to make a first transaction. 

If the new customer then goes dark, hasn’t opened or clicked anything for awhile, the company sends a series of “We Miss You” emails after 75 and 89 days of inactivity to reengage the customer and renew that relationship. For subscription or renewal-based business models, like The Honest Companys, successfully getting customers to transact a second time can be a particular problem. The Honest Company’s lapsed customer emails have a 34% open rate and a 5% click-through rate. This approach works especially well because of the personal tone established with the very first Thank You message sent to new subscribers.

Mini Cooper

Mini Cooper is an iconic brand with a reputation for attracting a cult following and a unique audience.

As a vehicle dealer, Mini Cooper maintains a customer buying cycle that can last up to three years, sometimes even longer. That means keeping customers, both new and returning, engaged with the brand over that extended amount of time. One way Mini does this is through an email reengagement campaign aimed specifically at inactive subscribers. The brand knows that email is its most direct line of communication with its customers and is essential to maintaining a consistent relationship with them.

When an email subscriber has been inactive for a period of time, Mini sends an email to reconfirm the subscription. The goals for this email are to 1) get the subscriber to click to prove that the email address is still active, and 2) get the subscriber to reconfirm his or her permission. To do this, the email appeals to the individuality and unique sense of humor characteristic of the Mini Cooper audience. It asks subscribers why they haven’t responded over time, along with a series of quirky answer answers like, “Are you in jail?”, “Are you too busy selling fundraising candy bars?”, and “Are you just ignoring us?” This resonates with Mini’s audience and does an impressive job of reengaging users.

For companies with longer buying cycles, strategies like Mini Cooper’s help to keep a brand top of mind for current and potential customers, which is critical to nurturing opportunities over time.. 

Check out the rest of the video series from Joel Book, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Insight at Salesforce.