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7 ways to bring inactive users back from the dead
appcues.com
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Dead, or inactive users, churn for a lot of reasons. Maybe they didn’t stick around after a free trial, for example. This happens all the time—SaaS companies with a free trial report an average free-to-paid conversion rate of just 4%. That conversion rate jumps to 15.5% when free trial user are assisted by sales, but sales can’t and shouldn’t be expending resources on assisting every free trial user. “There will always be some customers who switch to a different service, or who simply lapse and become inactive.” A lot of companies make the mistake of assuming that their inactive users are gone forever—and in doing so they’re wasting a huge opportunity. Their inactive users have already demonstrated interest. It’s just a matter of re-igniting that initial spark. And it’s well worth the effort: In our 2019 report on the state of product-led growth, we found that compared to acquiring net-new customers, it’s 2X cheaper to upsell to an existing customer—and almost 8X cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.
3. “We miss you” messages need to add value “So if you’re messaging inactive users—whether through an email or push notification—you need to give them something more valuable than an empty “we want you back” message.” This re-engagement email from Blue Apron, for example, demonstrates how you can combine a discount with personalized content to add value. The email was sent to customers who hadn’t purchased a meal kit in a few months, with the goal of getting them back in the habit of using Blue Apron to cook dinner.
The email offers a $60 discount on a customer’s order, but not just any meal kit. Blue Apron deliberately highlights a meal kit that they know customers will be interested in based on their previous purchasing behavior. In this case, the customer had ordered vegetarian meal kits in the past, so Blue Apron highlights a new meal with meatless ingredients to create a more relevant experience. “4. Send personalized emails based on customer interests” The good news is that it’s easy to add value for customers these days, especially if you’re tracking in-app actions and can send triggered emails based on product behavior. Canva, for example, doesn’t just send a bland “come back to us” message to inactive users—instead, they send emails that directly speak to customers’ interests and visual aesthetic based on insights they’ve gathered.
4. Send personalized emails based on customer interests “The good news is that it’s easy to add value for customers these days, especially if you’re tracking in-app actions and can send triggered emails based on product behavior.” Like the Blue Apron example, this email offers something valuable: curated templates. Canva knows this particular customer uses their service to show off their photography. So, rather than send a generic email with their most popular templates, Canva specifically highlights different ways to feature photos, like a photo collage or poster.
Like the Blue Apron example, this email offers something valuable: curated templates. Canva knows this particular customer uses their service to show off their photography. So, rather than send a generic email with their most popular templates, Canva specifically highlights different ways to feature photos, like a photo collage or poster. “5. Show lapsed users what’s new” One of the best ways to resurrect inactive users is through a new feature update. If you’ve just launched a new feature and you’ve been working on it for a long time, your team probably want to shout it from the rooftops.
5. Show lapsed users what’s new “One of the best ways to resurrect inactive users is through a new feature update.” This email from Asana does exactly that. They want to show off a new feature to lapsed users and, in the process, highlight how their project management tool is constantly getting better.
This email from Asana does exactly that. They want to show off a new feature to lapsed users and, in the process, highlight how their project management tool is constantly getting better. “The email clearly describes what the new feature is—more importantly, it also explains why lapsed customers should care.” What’s more, this approach alos works works with older features. You can easily “re-release” existing features to users who don’t actively engage with that aspect of your app due to feature blindness.
This email from Asana does exactly that. They want to show off a new feature to lapsed users and, in the process, highlight how their project management tool is constantly getting better. “It addresses the main benefit (“so you can easily see where work stands and hit your goals”) and includes a GIF directly in the email to visualize the changes in case customers don’t click through to the app.” What’s more, this approach alos works works with older features. You can easily “re-release” existing features to users who don’t actively engage with that aspect of your app due to feature blindness.
Your resurrection efforts can pay off big time, as long as you keep the following things in mind. “1. Proceed cautiously with discounts” Discounts can be a super powerful way to reactivate users. But applied without careful thought, they can also be deadly for your business. Sure, you get crazy high click-through rates on discount emails, but that doesn’t mean you’re netting a profit from them in the long term.
Customers who came in through discounts had a lower willingness to pay, higher price sensitivity, churned at a much higher rate, and had dramatically lower lifetime value than the core group. Overall, discounts led to short-term gain that quickly diminished over time. “One way to get around this is to only offer discounts to people who have already demonstrated a tangible, bankable interest in your product—in other words, the customers who have already bought it.” In fact, former buyers are statistically much more likely to make a purchase. According to Paul Farris’ book, Marketing Metrics, repeat customers have a 60-70% higher chance of converting compared to other shoppers. Adobe conducted a similar study and found that customers who had made 2 previous purchases were 9x more likely to convert than a first-time customer.
Customers who came in through discounts had a lower willingness to pay, higher price sensitivity, churned at a much higher rate, and had dramatically lower lifetime value than the core group. Overall, discounts led to short-term gain that quickly diminished over time. “Former buyers are the best targets to receive discounts, as they’ve demonstrated real intent far beyond what free trial users do.” In fact, former buyers are statistically much more likely to make a purchase. According to Paul Farris’ book, Marketing Metrics, repeat customers have a 60-70% higher chance of converting compared to other shoppers. Adobe conducted a similar study and found that customers who had made 2 previous purchases were 9x more likely to convert than a first-time customer.
1. Proceed cautiously with discounts “Sure, you get crazy high click-through rates on discount emails, but that doesn’t mean you’re netting a profit from them in the long term.” Patrick Campbell, SaaS pricing expert and CEO of ProfitWell, explains:
Here’s what Price Intelligently found when they dug into SaaS discounts: “Customers who came in through discounts had a lower willingness to pay, higher price sensitivity, churned at a much higher rate, and had dramatically lower lifetime value than the core group.” One way to get around this is to only offer discounts to people who have already demonstrated a tangible, bankable interest in your product—in other words, the customers who have already bought it.Former buyers are the best targets to receive discounts, as they’ve demonstrated real intent far beyond what free trial users do.
Here’s what Price Intelligently found when they dug into SaaS discounts: “Overall, discounts led to short-term gain that quickly diminished over time.” One way to get around this is to only offer discounts to people who have already demonstrated a tangible, bankable interest in your product—in other words, the customers who have already bought it.Former buyers are the best targets to receive discounts, as they’ve demonstrated real intent far beyond what free trial users do.
And just because a free trialer does convert doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily adopt your product, stick around, and be willing to pay for further upgrades. There will always be some customers who switch to a different service, or who simply lapse and become inactive. “Their inactive users have already demonstrated interest.” Your resurrection efforts can pay off big time, as long as you keep the following things in mind.
And just because a free trialer does convert doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily adopt your product, stick around, and be willing to pay for further upgrades. There will always be some customers who switch to a different service, or who simply lapse and become inactive. “It’s just a matter of re-igniting that initial spark.” Your resurrection efforts can pay off big time, as long as you keep the following things in mind.
Chances are, you’ve got a whole graveyard full of dead users. “sales can’t and shouldn’t be expending resources on assisting every free trial user.” And just because a free trialer does convert doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily adopt your product, stick around, and be willing to pay for further upgrades. There will always be some customers who switch to a different service, or who simply lapse and become inactive.
And just because a free trialer does convert doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily adopt your product, stick around, and be willing to pay for further upgrades. There will always be some customers who switch to a different service, or who simply lapse and become inactive. “A lot of companies make the mistake of assuming that their inactive users are gone forever—and in doing so they’re wasting a huge opportunity.” Your resurrection efforts can pay off big time, as long as you keep the following things in mind.
3. “We miss you” messages need to add value “The “we miss you' email, when done wrong, can feel kind of pathetic.” This re-engagement email from Blue Apron, for example, demonstrates how you can combine a discount with personalized content to add value. The email was sent to customers who hadn’t purchased a meal kit in a few months, with the goal of getting them back in the habit of using Blue Apron to cook dinner.
3. “We miss you” messages need to add value “If a customer opted out of your service, they probably don't want to hear from you anymore.” This re-engagement email from Blue Apron, for example, demonstrates how you can combine a discount with personalized content to add value. The email was sent to customers who hadn’t purchased a meal kit in a few months, with the goal of getting them back in the habit of using Blue Apron to cook dinner.
1. Proceed cautiously with discounts “But applied without careful thought, they can also be deadly for your business.” Patrick Campbell, SaaS pricing expert and CEO of ProfitWell, explains:
Dead, or inactive users, churn for a lot of reasons. Maybe they didn’t stick around after a free trial, for example. This happens all the time—SaaS companies with a free trial report an average free-to-paid conversion rate of just 4%. That conversion rate jumps to 15.5% when free trial user are assisted by sales, but sales can’t and shouldn’t be expending resources on assisting every free trial user. “And just because a free trialer does convert doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily adopt your product, stick around, and be willing to pay for further upgrades.” A lot of companies make the mistake of assuming that their inactive users are gone forever—and in doing so they’re wasting a huge opportunity. Their inactive users have already demonstrated interest. It’s just a matter of re-igniting that initial spark. And it’s well worth the effort: In our 2019 report on the state of product-led growth, we found that compared to acquiring net-new customers, it’s 2X cheaper to upsell to an existing customer—and almost 8X cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.