Anyone who’s ever been in the sales game knows that it’s cheaper to keep and sell to an existing customer than to find, market and convert a new one. Never has this been more important than online. Once a visitor is converted from a first-time customer to make a second purchase, it usually indicates great future engagement and value.

Existing customers who know your brand and are happy with your products and services are likely to give you repeat business and have a greater lifetime value than somebody who buys once and vanishes.

It’s one of the reasons why companies invest so much time and effort into creating win-back programs. Once you have a customer, the opportunities to build a profitable relationship are endless.

It’s becoming standard operating procedure for many retailers to ask for your email address at the cash register in order to add you to their email list. Thing is, many people have a designated email that’s only used for this purpose.

In any marketing effort your success is totally dependent on the quality of your data. And if that data is wrong then the effort is going to flop.

Can email win-back programs be effective?

After doing a bit of research I found a lot of articles about how to create killer win-back email campaigns. But what if those email addresses in your database are actually accounts used expressly to get discounts or move a customer through the online checkout process? Then it stands to reason that any win-back programs associated with them are not going to show you very good results.

So how can you create a killer win-back program? Let’s start with the data you know is right. People may have separate accounts they use to sign-up for newsletters and promotions, but they very probably don’t have a separate address where they have orders delivered.

An entire generation of marketers has been trained to think every strategy should be a digital one. But with adblockers, spam filters and designated email addresses, the digital-only way of thinking is increasingly flawed.

A new spin on an old favourite

Data is more important than ever. And accurate data is gold, waiting to be mined. Adding a print piece to your win-back campaign guarantees your message or offer is seen by the person you want to see it.

RevenueDriver^TM is a proprietary technology that takes the data you already have for your existing customers (purchase history, online product views, abandoned shopping carts etc.) and creates compelling offers that are printed and mailed directly to their homes within hours of triggered events.

Think about that for a second. An email sent into the ether (never to be opened) or an actual offer delivered to your customers’ doors with content driven by their history with your brand. What’s more compelling?

Tech blindness is something I’ve talked about before. Combining print with data is the best way to build a scalable killer win-back program that keep your customers engaged for years to come.