What is re-engagement?

Re-engagement – sometimes called user re-engagement or reactivation – refers to the strategies and tactics deployed to bring a user or customer back to your business after they’ve gone cold. It’s about reconnecting with inactive users, customers, or subscribers as a way to improve LTV and revenue without needing to acquire a net-new customer. 

Re-engagement differs from retention as well, as retention keeps active users engaged, while re-engagement brings back users who've already left.

What’s the difference between user re-engagement and user acquisition? 

User acquisition is about spending money to bring in a brand new customer, whereas user re-engagement is about bringing back users who are already familiar with your app or business. Reengaging a lapsed customer is far less expensive than acquiring a new one as well, often costing just a fraction of the acquisition price or a new user. 

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How do you reengage inactive users?

There are many ways to reengage users, and it can vary greatly depending on your type of business, app category, and market you serve. However, here are some popular strategies and tactics to use for user reengagement: 

1. Incentive-driven reengagement, where you offer rewards to lapsed users that make it more appealing to return to your business. 
2. Personalized messaging that targets messages based on what the user previously engaged with – like users who made a specific purchase get transaction-based incentives for similar purchases. 
3. Social proof and urgency, where you created time-limited or scarcity-based re-engagement offers to leverage FOMO (the fear of missing out) to drive users back to your business. 

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