July 2025
Re-Onboarding: How to Reignite Interest in Dormant Customers
Not every customer needs to be acquired from scratch. In fact, some of your most promising leads are already sitting quietly in your database.
Dormant or disengaged customers, those who’ve purchased once but never returned, signed up and then went quiet, or stopped opening your emails, represent a major opportunity. With the right re-onboarding strategy, these cold contacts can be reactivated into warm, engaged, revenue-generating relationships.
It costs less to re-engage an existing contact than to acquire a brand-new one. So before you pour more into lead generation, take a closer look at who’s already in your CRM.
Why Dormant Customers Deserve Attention
Dormant users might include people who:
- Abandoned carts or never completed sign-up
- Subscribed but stopped opening emails
- Made a purchase but haven’t returned in months
These contacts are valuable because:
- You already have their data and their permission
- They’ve shown interest or intent in the past
- Re-engaging them is often more cost-effective than finding new leads
Re-onboarding helps remind them of your value and gives them a reason to re-engage.
Step 1: Identify the Right Segment
Use your CRM to define what counts as "dormant" for your business. For example:
- No purchases in the last 90+ days
- Less than 5% open rate over the last five campaigns
- No usage or log-in activity within the past three months (for SaaS businesses)
Use engagement scoring to prioritise dormant contacts who once showed high activity or interest. Exclude those who have unsubscribed or marked your messages as spam. Focus on contacts who are inactive but not entirely disengaged.
Step 2: Build a Re-Onboarding Campaign
A re-onboarding campaign should feel more like a thoughtful welcome-back journey than a one-off sales push. Include:
- A friendly, branded message reintroducing your business
- A personal incentive like a discount, bonus item, or free trial
- Updates on what’s new—features, services, testimonials, or events
- A soft, clear call to action such as “Take another look” or “See what’s changed”
Keep the tone conversational and helpful. Avoid heavy sales language. Your goal is to rebuild trust and interest.
Step 3: Personalise the Experience
One-size-fits-all messaging rarely works for dormant users. Use the data you already have to tailor your content:
- Reference previous purchases or browsed categories
- Mention offers or emails they’ve previously interacted with
- Adjust based on funnel stage (lapsed lead vs. past customer)
The more relevant the message feels, the more likely it is to inspire a return.
Step 4: Track, Tag, and Follow Up
Once your campaign is live, use your CRM to monitor:
- Email opens and click-through rates
- Landing page visits or completed actions
- Conversions, replies, or other signs of re-engagement
Then:
- Tag contacts who re-engage and move them into your active workflows or nurture streams
- Nudge contacts who open but don’t convert with a reminder or additional incentive
- Add non-responders to a long-term win-back flow or flag them for removal during your next data clean-up
Don’t Let Good Data Go to Waste
Re-onboarding is one of the most effective ways to generate more value from your CRM without spending more on lead acquisition. With automation and personalisation, you can turn dormant contacts into loyal customers once again.
Ready to Reconnect?
We can help you build a re-onboarding strategy that works, complete with smart segmentation, personalised flows, and automation that saves your team time.
Get in touch with us to start winning back valuable contacts.