BABY COME BACK! Luring back the lapsed customer

I wrote about segmentation here, and now I want to expound a little more about a specific segment that I think it's important we address.

The lapsed customer.  Who are they?

• Perhaps they are one-time only purchasers (assuming they can purchase more than once).
• They could be customers who fall into groups that may be less-than-ideally served by your business - such as people who always choose the lowest price vs. a good value.
• It's conceivable that these customers had a bad customer service experience with you at some point.
• Maybe they are customers that never got assigned to follow-up with, and they fell through the cracks.
• It could be they've been "captured" by a competitor and have become loyal to them.
• Or maybe they've simply moved away or are no longer in need of your service for reasons completely out of your control.

Note that not all customers in this segment are completely gone.  Some just have one foot out the door and are still transacting, but just not as much as they used to.

Lapsed customers fall into two basic groups:  customers you have a chance to win back, and customers you don't.  Put the customers who have disappeared off the face of the earth and those who are less than ideal belong in the latter group, so don't bother to try.  The rest fall into the first group - those you have a chance to win back.

Next, set out to win them back and hopefully, keep them.  Here's a few top-line ideas for things to try:

• Contact them and ask them how you can serve them better.  This can draw out some of the reasons that they have dropped off that are within your control that you may be able to address.
• Offer a "come back" special that's really attractive
• Look for ways to connect with them on a more personal level - invite them to business mixer functions, leads groups, and community events.  This is especially cool if you can acquire "VIP" treatment for them at the event.

The mission is to find a way to reconnect, and reestablish these customers as established customers.  They liked you at one point - find ways for them to like you now. Their business will follow.

Got any great ideas or stories of how you brought 'em back? I'd love to hear them!