Winning a brand new customer is expensive and slow. Getting one who already paid you to come back is neither. Yet most small businesses do the hard job over and over and ignore the easy one sitting in their contact list. If you want to email past customers and actually get work from it, the question is not whether to send, it is what to put in the email.
Why do past customers stop coming back?
Rarely because they were unhappy. They forget you exist between jobs, because life is busy and you are not in front of them. The people who bought once already trust you and know your work. A short email every so often is not about selling hard, it is about being the name they think of first the next time they need you.
What should you actually send past customers?
Something useful and short. The emails that work are a seasonal reminder, a quick tip that saves them trouble, a heads up to book early before a busy stretch, or a note about something new you offer. The test is simple: if it helps the reader or saves them a headache, send it. If it is only about you, leave it out.
How often should you email past customers?
Once a month suits most local businesses. Often enough that they remember you, rare enough that you never feel like a pest. A dependable Email Marketing Monthly at $450 per month keeps that rhythm going without it ever landing on your to do list.
When should you email more often than monthly?
When you run frequent promotions or events, or your customers buy several times a year. In those cases monthly leaves money on the table. Email Marketing Weekly at $725 per month keeps you in front of people who are ready to buy more often, as long as each email stays genuinely useful.
How do you grow an email list worth sending to?
Ask at the moment the customer is happiest, which is right after you finish the job. Add a simple signup to your website too. Target Marketeer builds and runs marketing for small businesses in Greensboro and the Triad, and having something worth sending is what makes people agree. A short monthly blog post package at $765 per month gives people a reason to hand over their email and gives you something to put in it. Our email marketing service covers the whole routine.
Quick answers
What is a good subject line for a past customer email?
Plain and specific beats clever. Something like “Time to book your fall service” outperforms wordplay, because it tells the reader what is inside before they open it.
Should I offer a discount to bring customers back?
Not as your first move. Discounts train customers to wait for one and cut your margin on work you would have won anyway. Try a useful reminder first and save discounts for genuinely quiet stretches.
How far back should I go in my customer list?
Two to three years is reasonable for most service businesses. Beyond that, contact details go stale and people may not remember you, which raises your spam complaints.
What if I only have phone numbers, not emails?
Ask for the email at the next job and add it to your records then. Text messaging is an option but the rules around it are stricter, and people guard their phone number more closely than their inbox.
How long until emailing past customers pays off?
Often within the first or second send, because you are contacting people who already bought. This is usually the fastest returning marketing a local business can do.
If you are sitting on a list of past customers you never contact, start with our Plan Builder. It is also worth setting up the automated emails that run without you, so the reminders send themselves.
