A reactivation campaign is a structured outreach to past customers who haven't booked in 6–24 months. The goal is to reconnect, restate value, and generate bookings from a warm audience. Here's how it works in practice.
Step 1: Segment the list
Not every past customer gets the same message. Customers from 6–12 months ago are warmer and get a different message than customers from 2–3 years ago. Customers of a specific service (e.g., annual maintenance) get a message timed to when that service is most relevant seasonally. Segmentation improves response rate by 2–3x versus a single broadcast.
Step 2: Write the message
The most effective reactivation messages are personal in tone (first name, reference to previous service), specific about what you're offering (a seasonal check, a discount on a specific job), and clear about the next step (reply to this text, call this number, book at this link). Under 160 characters for SMS, under 100 words for email.
Step 3: Send via SMS and email
SMS open rates are 95%+ compared to 20–25% for email. For reactivation, SMS almost always outperforms email on response rate. A combined campaign — SMS first, email follow-up 3 days later to non-responders — typically produces the best results.
Step 4: Handle responses and book jobs
Responses come in as texts or calls. They're warm conversations with people who remember you positively — the close rate is significantly higher than for cold inbound leads. A well-executed campaign on a list of 200 typically produces 8–25 booked jobs over a 3-week period.