Latest / The Retention Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Email, SMS, and Loyalty for Repeat Customers / How a Cereal Brand Uses Email to Win Back Lapsed Customers
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about something that every brand struggles with — the lapsed customer. That person who bought from you once or twice, then just... disappeared. Luna: Oh, the silent churn. It's the most common and the hardest to deal with, because you don't always know why they left. Lucas: Exactly. And while everyone talks about acquisition or retention, the win-back is this middle ground that often gets ignored. So I found a case study from a brand that does it really well. Luna: Which brand? Lucas: It's a fictional one, but based on real aggregated data — a cereal brand called Tasty Grain Co. They launched a win-back email campaign in Q2 of this year and recovered 18 percent of customers who hadn't purchased in over 90 days. Luna: Eighteen percent — that's pretty solid. What was the sequence? Lucas: Three emails, sent over two weeks. The first one was a classic 'we miss you' with a 15 percent discount. But here's the key — the subject line wasn't 'Come back and save 15 percent.' It was 'We noticed you haven't had your favorite cereal in a while.' Luna: Right, empathy over promotion. That makes sense because if they've already bought from you, they know the product. It's not about awareness, it's about reconnection. Lucas: Exactly. The second email was a feedback survey — no discount. Just asking, 'What made you stop buying?' They got a 12 percent response rate, which is huge for a survey. Luna: And that data is gold. Because you can then fix the actual problem — maybe the price point, or the shipping, or they just forgot. Lucas: Right. Then the third email was personalized. Based on their past purchase, it recommended a new flavor or a bundle they hadn't tried. No discount, just relevance. Luna: So the first email uses a discount to get the click, the second gathers intelligence, and the third builds on that intelligence to offer something tailored. That's a smart funnel. Lucas: Exactly. And the overall win-back rate of 18 percent came from that sequence. Individually, the first email had the highest open rate at 34 percent, but the third email had the highest conversion rate — people who clicked actually bought. Luna: Makes sense. The discount gets them in the door, but the personalized recommendation closes the sale. Lucas: And the survey in the middle is crucial because it lets you adjust your approach. For Tasty Grain Co., they learned that most lapsed customers said they 'forgot to reorder' or 'found a cheaper option.' So they used that to inform the third email — they highlighted value, not just novelty. Luna: So the third email for those who cited price included a bundle deal that lowered the per-unit cost. Lucas: Exactly. And for the ones who said they forgot, they offered a subscription option with a reminder. That's where personalization goes beyond just the product name. Luna: I love that. Because most brands send a generic 'come back' email and call it a day. This is a real strategy. Lucas: And the timing matters too. They waited 90 days of inactivity before triggering the sequence. Not 30, not 60 — 90. Because for a grocery item like cereal, a 30-day gap could just mean they haven't finished their box yet. Luna: Right, you have to understand the consumption cycle. A 90-day gap is more indicative of true lapsing. Lucas: And they also segmented by past order value. Customers who had spent over $30 on their first order got the same sequence but with a 20 percent discount instead of 15. Higher lifetime value, higher incentive. Luna: Smart. You don't want to over-discount to low-value customers, but you also don't want to under-discount to your best ones. Lucas: Exactly. And the results were clear — the high-value segment had a 24 percent win-back rate compared to 15 percent for the standard segment. Luna: So the ROI on that extra five percent discount was worth it. Lucas: Absolutely. And you know, this kind of detailed, data-backed approach is exactly what we try to bring to you every week — real numbers, real tactics you can actually use. Luna: And if these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used, or even just made you think differently about a campaign — that's the whole point. And honestly, the reason we can keep doing this without ads or sponsors is because of listeners who chip in a little. Lucas: Yeah, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. If you've gotten something out of them, buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: It makes a real difference, and it helps us stay focused on the content, not the commercials. Lucas: Okay, back to Tasty Grain Co. One more thing I found interesting — they A/B tested the subject line on the first email. The empathetic version had a 34 percent open rate, while the discount-only version — 'Save 15 percent on your next order' — had a 22 percent open rate. Luna: Wow, that's a huge gap. So empathy wins over savings in the subject line. Lucas: Yes, but the discount still matters. The click-through rate on the empathetic subject line was actually lower — 4 percent versus 6 percent for the discount subject line. So the empathetic line got more people to open, but the discount line got more of those who opened to click. Luna: Interesting. So the subject line sets the expectation, and the body delivers the offer. The empathetic line might have disappointed people who expected a personal message but then saw a discount. Lucas: Exactly. That's why they ended up using the empathetic subject line but leading with the discount in the preview text. So the inbox showed 'We noticed you haven't had your favorite cereal in a while' and the preview text said 'Here's 15 percent off your next order.' Luna: That's a great compromise. You get the best of both worlds — high open rate and high click-through. Lucas: And that's the kind of detail that separates a good win-back campaign from a great one. It's not just about sending emails, it's about testing every element. Luna: So what's the one takeaway for someone listening who wants to try this tomorrow? Lucas: Start with a three-email sequence: one with a small discount and an empathetic subject line, one that asks why they left, and one that uses that feedback to offer something personalized. And wait at least 90 days after their last purchase before sending the first one. Luna: Simple, actionable, and backed by data. I'm going to try that with my own client portfolio. Lucas: Let me know how it goes. And if we get enough listener results, maybe we'll do a follow-up episode with a compilation of win-back wins. Luna: I'd love that. Alright, that's it for this one — see you next time.