Win back a lapsed customer
Ask-driven winback email for a customer who hasn't purchased in 60+ days.
Hi {{firstName}},
It's been a couple of months since you ordered from {{brand}}. Want to share why?
The honest options:
- Still happy, just don't need anything yet — reply "happy".
- Tried something else — reply "tried X" and we'll send you a comparison.
- Wasn't satisfied — reply "issues" and we'll fix it (and refund if relevant).
— The {{brand}} teamWhy this works
Winback works when it asks rather than pitches. The pre-formed reply options do most of the work.
**Question as subject.** 'What changed?' is open enough to feel personal and short enough to fit on mobile. It assumes nothing, so it doesn't push the recipient into a corner.
**Multi-option reply prompt.** The three pre-formed answers ('happy' / 'tried X' / 'issues') do two things. One, they give the recipient pre-formed words to reply with, which lifts reply rate by 3–5x over open-ended winback. Two, they segment the responders into clear cohorts you can follow up on differently.
**Refund offer in option 3.** Including refund language in the 'wasn't satisfied' option signals you'd rather make them whole than chase them away. This costs you the occasional refund, but the goodwill compound interest is large — customers who get refunds from honest companies tell their friends.
**Brand-signed, not founder-signed.** For 60-day lapse, brand signature is fine. For 90+ day lapse, switch to founder signature; the personal cue matters more as the lapse deepens.
Reply rate for this pattern on mid-AOV DTC: 8–14%.