Some customers stop buying, and some subscribers stop clicking. A win-back campaign is the deliberate attempt to bring them back, and the decision to stop emailing those who don’t return. Klaviyo lists win-back among the four flows to set up first, after welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase.
Two kinds of win-back
| Lapsed customers | Unengaged subscribers | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Bought before, haven’t reordered in longer than usual | Haven’t clicked, visited or bought in months |
| Goal | Another order | Re-engage, or remove from regular sending |
| Offer | Often worth a modest incentive | Usually content or a preference choice |
When is someone “lapsed”?
Use your data, not a generic 90 days:
- Export customers with two or more orders.
- Calculate the days between orders.
- Find the point by which most repeat customers have reordered (for example the 75th or 80th percentile).
- Customers beyond that point without a reorder are lapsed.
A coffee subscription customer may be lapsed after 45 days; a furniture customer after a year or more. The planner helps with the calculation.
The three-message sequence
For lapsed customers
| Message | When | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Reminder | At the lapse point | “It’s been a while.” What’s new, best-sellers, a refill of what they bought |
| 2. Reason to return | +5–7 days | An offer (if margins allow), free delivery, or a new product they’d like |
| 3. Last call | +7 days | Offer expiring; ask for feedback: “Did something go wrong?” |
For unengaged subscribers
| Message | When | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 1. “Still interested?” | After 180 days with no activity | Your most useful content or best offer |
| 2. Preferences | +7 days | Choose fewer emails or specific topics |
| 3. Goodbye | +7 days | “We’ll stop emailing unless you click here.” |
Stop the sequence as soon as someone buys or clicks.
Offers: use carefully
- Test win-back with and without an offer. Some customers just needed a reminder.
- Prefer offers that protect margin: free delivery, a gift with purchase, early access.
- Don’t train customers to lapse in order to get a discount.
Ask why they left
A single question in the last message (“What made you stop ordering?” with 4–5 one-click answers) tells you more than any report. Common answers: price, product quality, delivery, found an alternative, no longer needed.
Let go
People who don’t respond to a subscriber win-back should be suppressed from regular campaigns. Sending repeatedly to people who never engage increases complaints and hurts inbox placement for everyone else on your list.
Channels
- Email for the sequence
- WhatsApp only for customers who opted in, and only one message
- Ads: upload lapsed customers to Meta or Google as an audience, if your privacy notice covers it
What to measure
- Share of lapsed customers who reorder within 30 days of the sequence
- Revenue from win-back vs the cost of any offers
- Share of unengaged subscribers who re-engage
- Feedback answers
Frequently asked questions
Isn’t it better to keep emailing everyone, just in case?
No. Unengaged contacts drag deliverability down, and on contact-priced platforms they cost money.
How often should win-back run?
As an automated flow, continuously: anyone crossing the lapse point enters it.
Can service businesses use this?
Yes: clients due for an annual service, a check-up or a seasonal job. Time it from their last booking.
If you’d like win-back flows built from your own data, that’s part of our growth funnel service.
Free download · Excel template
Win-back sequence planner
Work out when customers count as lapsed from your order data, plan the three-message sequence for customers and for subscribers, and track how many come back.
Download itNo sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Rather have it done?
This is the kind of work our growth funnel service covers. Tell us where you are today and we’ll reply with a plan and a fixed price.
Let’s talk