Conversion Method #1: Lapsed Buyer Campaigns

We recently published a piece on digital conversion tips for public sector organizations. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will break down each step so you can put our plan to practice within your own organization. The following post will explore how to reengage lapsed buyers. 

Organizations have a better chance of winning business from lost customers than from new prospects. In fact, organizations have a 20% to 40% probability of successfully converting lost customers, compared to a 5% to 20% for new customers.

Who is a Lapsed Buyer?

When an individual has gone a significant amount of time without interacting with your organization, they are considered “lapsed.” You can identify lapsed buyers through incorporating timing, frequency, and purchase amount into your evaluation. To drill down specifics of a lapsed buyer, ask:

• “When was the last time a customer interacted with your organization?”
• “How did the customer interact with your organization?”
• “How many total times have they interacted?”
• “How much have they spent?”

What Can You Do to Convert Them?

Don’t take a lapse personally; many people just need an extra push to re-engage with your organization. Take the following steps to convert this subset of buyers:

1. Collect customer data: Find out who the customer is through detailed demo- and psychographic analysis. From audience analysis, you can then figure out why they disengaged.
2. Invest in technology: It’s pretty tricky to track conversions and automate communications without sophisticated technology to power your efforts. With a platform such as GovDelivery, you can automate communications to customers based on their actions throughout their full customer lifecycle.
3. Segment: Segment buyers and create a campaign to communicate specifically to your various audiences.
4. Craft the right messages: Create personalized messages that reveal true benefits to your community. Follow email best practices and techniques for re-engagement to optimize.
5. Time out and automate your communications: Leverage your digital communications platform to create timed, continuous communications based on buyer segmentation.
6. Change your strategy until it works: Test your messaging for the best chance of re-engagement.
7. Measure: In addition to the typical email analytics you’re already measuring, you also want to measure reactivation rates and lifetime value of a reactivated customer.

Where Can You Convert Them?

Lapsed buyers can be engaged on digital channels like email, social and mobile marketing.

Email: Email offers the best way to reengage lapsed buyers. Through a third-party segmentation system like GovDelivery, you can create unique segments and communicate with them, tailored in a way that resonates with them.

Social: Chances are some of your audience is active on some social networks. Coordinate your communications efforts on multiple channels, including social media, paying attention to the specific networks where your audience lives (and the ways they engage on that platform). Compounding your message through multi-channel communications results in higher trust – and in turn conversions.

Mobile: Text messaging provides an additional channel to reach lapsed buyers, make sure to collect phone number opt-ins by allowing customers to text to subscribe to communications or enter their phone number when subscribing to your email messages.

A Real-World Example

Public sector organizations, like DNRs, can re-engage customers who have purchased a license last year but not yet renewed their license for this year. This communication tactic provides another opportunity to reinstate value proposition and convert a potential customer. For an example of a government organization who did this, read the success story on Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Tune in for future installments of our conversion series!