Follow up with customers who stopped buying
The same winback offer goes to everyone, including recent purchasers.
For repeat-purchase businesses reviewing customers who have exceeded their usual buying interval.
What good looks like.
A defined lapsed cohort receives an approved sequence with recent-purchase exits and controlled incentives.
- Starts when
- The team approves a winback pilot for a specific customer cohort.
- Accountable owner
- Lifecycle lead
Where AI could help.
AI can draft cohort-appropriate messages; analysts validate the lapse definition and owners approve incentives.
How the work could move.
A suggested process to adapt to your team. Each handoff needs a clear owner and a visible check.
Define lapse
Analyst
Document normal buying intervals, seasonal effects and the selected cohort cutoff.
Ready when: The audience definition distinguishes lapse from expected seasonality.
Check exclusions
CRM owner
Specify recent purchasers, channel ineligibility, service issues and competing campaigns.
Ready when: Sample profiles enter or skip according to the rules.
Approve the offer
Growth owner
Record message purpose, incentive cost, terms and non-discount alternatives.
Ready when: The chosen offer has explicit approval.
Test the sequence
Lifecycle marketer
Preview links, quiet settings and purchases before or between messages.
Ready when: A new purchase causes the intended exit.
Evaluate the cohort
Analyst
Record return orders, incentive cost and opt-outs after the agreed window.
Ready when: The owner decides continue, revise or suppress with evidence.
Explore the setup, checks, and exceptions
Start with your tools.
Use order-history exports and a draft native winback flow if supported by your platform. Confirm cross-store identity and suppression behavior before expanding scope.
When things go wrong.
- Seasonal customers should not be classified as lapsed from a single universal cutoff.
- Recent purchases in another connected store can expose identity or sync gaps.
- An incentive that produces orders at unacceptable margin requires offer review.
A useful first step.
Define one cohort and manually inspect a small sample before configuring its flow.
What to measure
Track repeat orders, opt-outs and contribution after incentives; do not label attributed returns incremental.
Want this working with your team and tools?
Build it yourself, adapt what you already have, or work with us. We can help you choose where to start and handle the technical build.