Whether they only bought once, or were a long-time fan, nobody likes losing customers. Good news is you can do more to keep those hard-earned customers coming back time and again. Customer insights give you the tools to answer tough questions like:

• When are each of my customers going to churn?
• Who are my most valuable customers and how can I keep them?
• Which one-time buyers are likely to buy again?

Personalized Churn Prevention

Your customers are at-risk of churning when they haven’t ordered from you in 90 days. Right? Or is it 83 days? Or maybe 126? Everyone shops differently and even if you don’t know when most customers come back to make their second or third purchase, sending a message to all shoppers on day 90 is going to be wrong nearly 100% of the time.

Take this chart that shows customers who haven’t ordered in the past 180 days. You can see how many of them are predicted to churn or have done so already. How do you pick a single number to set on your win-back and reactivation campaigns? It’s going to be too late or early for almost everyone.

With predictive models and real-time triggers, you can reach out to EVERY. SINGLE. CUSTOMER. at the point when they are predicted to churn rather than treating everyone the same.

VIP Customer Loyalty

The most valuable resource in your database is your best customers. They are the crown jewels and you need to defend them as such. The way you do this is a two-pronged approach: understand them and then embrace them.

Customer analytics can tell you not only which customers have the highest LTV, AOV and order counts, but it can tell you how they behave. Once you know things like which products they buy or which channels they engage in, it’s time to reach out and touch them.

With an automated VIP campaign to customers who are moving their way towards your top revenue decile, a simple thanks for being a fan goes a long way. Remember, these customers may not even be looking for a coupon. Of course, always test campaigns for maximum impact.

Other ideas for the VIP treatment include: exclusive access to new product, limited editions, and in-store events. Not only will they feel special, but they’ll tell their friends about their experiences and help you create new fans.

Converting One-Time Buyers

You know when your parents told you as a teenager that things will get easier. Well, they didn’t (work sucks, right?). But this advice holds true with customers that buy more than once. Once a customer makes their first purchase, you should be doing everything in your power to get them to buy again.

Because once they buy a second time, their likelihood to buy again typically doubles! I like those odds and so should you.

So how can we exploit this? Use triggers and predictive models to automate a series of messages as a one-time buyer becomes likely to buy. They are statistically most likely to buy again immediately after their most recent purchase, but what if they come back to your site a month later to look at some new jeans or a hat? Maybe they really start engaging with your SMS or email campaigns.