Inactive contacts in all email operations. However, between a small rate and a high percentage, there is a significant difference that will strongly influence the results of the campaign and therefore its success. What to do next to these inactive? We offer you in this article to better understand them and know how to try to re-engage them rather than removing them systematically.
What is an inactive contact?
In emailing, when a contact has not opened, clicked or answered messages sent for some time, it is considered inactive. This period of inactivity depends on the frequency of sending (3 months, 6 months, 12 months, etc.).
Many reasons explain the fact that a contact yet subscribed (therefore active and engaged) becomes inactive. For example, it may not be of interest for the mark, to be disturbed by the too large frequency of email shipments, do not remember the company in question, have changed email address, no longer appreciate the contents received, having agreed to be on the list without having ever been active, etc.
Sometimes it is simply an erroneous, false, abandoned address, or a person who has unsubscribed.
Why should we avoid sending emails to inactive contacts?
Send emails to a large number of Inactive contacts can have serious consequences for your marketing campaign. Here are the main problems that can occur:
- Degradation of the company’s reputation of the company;
- Possibility for the sender considered as spam by ESP
- Significant drop in the rate of deliverability and commitment rate
- Bad analysis of campaign performance
- Drop of the king.
How to restart your inactive contacts?
Before removing your inactive contacts, it may be wise to try to re-engage them and turn them back into active subscribers. After all, the construction of a list request time and money, so as much try to recover those you have before you go for new ones. Here are some tips for this reconquest:
1) Segment the inactive contacts
Identify your inactive contacts one by one, and try to understand why they have become inactive. Once done, you can group together these contacts according to the pre-defined criteria defined beforehand. You will have accurate and distinct segments, to which you can send a suitable re-engagement email.
2) Bet on customization and honesty
Send a personalized message in which you show a real interest for the recipient. Remember who you are (products, values, etc.), what you have to bring and why he registered in the first place.
You can also be totally transparent and tell it, for example, that you have noticed that it no longer interacted with your brand, and you would like to know why or what to do to change this (short survey or questionnaire in email).
In short, show each contact that you really care about his feelings and his opinion, that you want to improve to better meet his needs. Also think about opting for an adequate tone, with an engaging and pleasant message, without giving the impression of being too commercial, desperate or in the reproach.
3) Submit a promotional offer
You can quite take advantage of your contact on one of your products or services to revive its interest, but do this subtle.
4) Do not forget to test
To get the best idea of the future impact of your re-engagement operation on inactive contacts, do not forget to do tests beforehand on each element of the email and multiple versions.
5) Take into account the returns of the inactive
It is important to read the emails returned by the inactive that took the time to answer you, because they probably contain valuable information that will allow you not only to recover some of these inactive, but also to improve for future shipments.
6) Allow people to unsubscribe
At the end of your re-engagement email, specify that it will be unsubscribed if it does not respond to this email. Also remember to remind him that he has the opportunity to unsubscribe himself, and place below the text a button that allows him to do it if he wishes.
If there is one thing to keep in mind, is that Your contact list must always stay healthy. When it contains inactive, we advise you to start by trying to recover them again active and engaged subscribers. If it does not work, in this case not worth wasting time, money and energy, it is better to delete them from the list, simply.
