How to win back regular customers who stopped coming

Why do regular customers stay away?

Usually not because they are unhappy. A holiday, a new job or a different way home is enough to break the routine. The longer someone stays away, the more likely another shop becomes their new habit.

That is why it pays to be early. A customer who has not been in for three weeks is easier to bring back than one who has been gone for three months.

How do you know a regular is staying away?

With a digital stamp card you see for every customer when they last came in. Usuals sorts your customers into four groups:

• Active: comes regularly.
• Near reward: almost has a full card.
• At risk: no visit in 21 days.
• Lost: no visit in 60 days.

You set those days yourself, to suit your shop. Your reports show how many customers are in each group. On the paid plans the AI assistant looks in every week and suggests who is most worth bringing back.

When should you send a win back message?

That depends on how often your customers normally come. A coffee regular who has not been in for two weeks stands out. At a barber where customers come every five weeks, two weeks is perfectly normal.

A simple rule: send the message when a customer has stayed away about one and a half times as long as usual. In Usuals you choose per card after how many days without a stamp the message goes out, between 7 and 365 days. The default is 30 days.

What goes into a win back message?

A good message is short and sounds like you at the counter:

• Short. One or two sentences. Messages on the card are at most 160 characters.
• Friendly, without blame. Not where have you been, but we haven't seen you in a while.
• One concrete reason. An extra stamp on the next visit works well.
• No exclamation marks and no capitals. Calm reads better.

The automatic message in Usuals follows those rules: We haven't seen you in a while. Your next visit earns a bonus stamp.

If you write your own message to the At risk group, keep the same tone and only promise what you actually do. For example:

• Coffee bar: New this week, oat milk at no extra charge. It would be good to see you again.
• Barber: There is still room on Tuesday and Wednesday. It would be good to see you again.
• Gym: A free mobility taster class on Saturday at 10:00. Feel free to bring someone.

Why an extra stamp and not a discount?

An extra stamp brings your customer closer to their reward. It costs you nothing now, only a stamp on a visit that might otherwise not have happened. You reward coming back, not a purchase.

A discount does something else. It teaches your customer to wait for the next deal and mainly attracts people who shop on price. For regulars, being recognised works better than a lower price.

How does an automatic win back message work?

In Usuals it happens by itself, on the paid plans from Starter at €19 a month:

1. A customer gets no stamp for the number of days you set.
2. A message appears on their card, as a notification on their lock screen.
3. On their next visit they automatically get an extra stamp.

The message only goes to customers who agreed to messages when they signed up, only between 09:00 and 20:00, and once per absence. If a customer has two cards with you, they get one message and the extra stamp on both. All plans are on the pricing page.

What if a customer still does not come back?

Then let it rest. One message per absence is enough. If many customers stay away, look at your card: is the reward worth it, and is the goal reachable? Read how many stamps to give before a reward for that. For barbers there is more in customer loyalty for barbers, and example messages per industry are on the industries pages.