Sand-Mill Model

Win Back of Inactive Customers: when the Wheel stops

2026-04-17T20:24:00+02:00

Win Back lost customers: can we intervene before it's too late?

In this article, we will see how to recognize inactive customers and how to implement effective Win Back strategies.

Recognizing Inactive Customers

The first step in the Win Back process is to recognize who the inactive customers are.

Monitoring the time elapsed since their last purchase helps identify customers who may have lost interest or turned elsewhere for their needs.

Studying Re-Purchase Cycles

Customers are in the Sand-Mill Model Re-Purchase Wheel, where each rotation represents a new purchase.

The period of time between one purchase and another defines a Re-Purchase Cycle.

The duration of these cycles, besides significantly varying among different companies, also varies within the same company.
By studying the data, we might notice that the time between the first and second purchase is different from that between the second and third.

This time-frame can:

Shorten for products with periodic purchase: after a few purchases, the consumption habit is already consolidated.
The replenishment automations do the rest and help keep the Rebuy Wheel active.
Lengthen for businesses based on the Value Scale: consuming high-end products or services usually takes more time than consuming entry-level ones.

In any case, identifying the duration of rebuy cycles for our businesses is like setting a benchmark.

It allows us to compare at any time a single customer's situation with this benchmark and consequently understand if they are an active, at-risk, or lost customer.

Example of a Repurchase Cycle Analysis document.
You can create a copy of the template here.

Data-driven Win Back Automations

Analysis of customer behavior data in each Repurchase Cycle is essential to determine whether a user has been lost or not.

Generally, there are 3 errors in Win Back strategies.

In order of importance, they are:

Not setting up any Reacquisition Automation (the issue here is lack of awareness)
Not building data-driven Win Back automations (many companies set random dates instead of analyzing individual Repurchase Cycles)
Basing data on the mean instead of the median

In my experience, the median is much more accurate than the mean.

The reason is simple: the average, in fact, is influenced by all those outliers that reappear long time after "contaminating" our analyses.

How to use these data?

Simple. Once the median value is identified, we can consider as "at risk of abandonment" the users who have exceeded this time frame since their last purchase.

Instead, those who have exceeded 2.5 times that date will become inactive or lost customers.

The simplest way to manage these dynamics is to adopt a dynamic RFM segmentation, defining different ranges for the 3 metrics Recency, Frequency, and Monetary.

The data we have identified are the Recency parameters, while Frequency identifies the Repurchase Cycle in which we operate and Monetary the Level of Value reached.
The 3 metrics can be combined in pairs to form segmentation matrices.
Another technique I use is to make a time stamp of each purchase by saving a custom date for First Purchase, Second Purchase, Third Purchase, and so on.
Finally, if this is your first time approaching this type of analysis, you can start simply by analyzing the metric Average Days Between Orders. The process is simple: you will need to export the data from a segment (e.g. exactly 2 purchases or more than 2 purchases) and identify the median value.

Example of data analysis

As an example, I report the actual data of average and median of the metric Average Days Between Orders for the customer segment that has made at least 2 purchases in an ecommerce I follow.

AVERAGE	78.78
MEDIAN	33.75

As it is evident, the average easily lies and is tainted by some users with "anomalous" behavior.

But how do we use this data?

Simple: we can consider users who have not made a purchase in the following 34 days after their last purchase as at risk of abandonment, while those who have not made a purchase for more than 85 days (=34*2.5) are seen as lost customers.

These latter become the target of our Win Back automations.

Win Back Strategies

Win Back strategies can vary depending on the business.

The golden rule is to remind users why they bought from us in the past.

This is especially true for those who have purchased only once and are stuck in the first Reacquisition cycle.

Generally, most inactive customers have made just one purchase.

The very first win back email for users stuck in the first Reacquisition Cycle can simply do this:

Remind the customer why they purchased in the past
Clearly show the benefits offered by the product
Make the customer feel recognized and appreciated, part of a community

An email like this repositions the brand in the customer's mind.

This simple activity can already bear fruit.

But every Win Back strategy needs to be tailored.

Here are some possibilities to include.

The irresistible offer

A classic automation strategy to win back inactive customers is to propose an irresistible offer, something so enticing as to stimulate a renewed interest in the company.

This can include significant discounts, access to exclusive products, or unique benefits that are hard to refuse.

The good old discount that always works. But don't overdo it.

Relaunch of new products

An alternative solution to discounts could be to automate the highlighting of new products that have been launched since their last purchase.

We leverage the novelty principle to rekindle interest.

We show how these new products help achieve the goal that the customer has shown us to have with his first purchase.

Understanding motivations through surveys

Once inactive customers are identified, it is interesting to try to understand their motivations.

These customers have not reacted to the re-purchase automations we have built.

Why? Let's try to find out.

Customers are not all the same and feedback collection questionnaires are valuable tools in this phase: they offer direct insights into the reasons for their inactivity.

This information is crucial for adapting Win Back strategies.

The answers to the questionnaires allow us to segment customers based on the reason for their lack of re-purchase.

Assignment to a segment can trigger specific automatic flows to manage each of these reasons.

But beware: we cannot expect a high completion rate from a segment of inactive customers.

Therefore, in parallel, we must implement solid reactivation strategies that do not necessarily depend on these responses.

Gift Card on promotion

Ok, these (ex) customers are no longer buying for themselves. But maybe our product can be a great gift idea. Let's try to reactivate lost customers with a promotion on Gift Cards.

The result could be surprising.

The founder's email

An effective idea is to have the Win Back email sent directly in the name of the company's Founder.

This tactic works well and can be integrated with those seen earlier.

First of all, change the sender's name, moving from a corporate Sender Name (e.g., Visologiq) to a personal one (Valentina from Visologiq).

This is an opportunity to reaffirm the brand values, what led to the founding of the company, and especially the famous "why buy from us".

Finally, we can insert a tempting offer, such as a limited-time discount, to encourage a quick decision.

Here is an example of an effective founder email that embodies all these elements:

Win-back Through Multichannel Messaging

Another effective tactic for reactivating inactive customers involves using multichannel messages to create engaging and personalized dialogue.

As we have seen with the Sunset Workflow, if the main channel (email) seems not to be working, let's try another one: WhatsApp.

Varying communication channels and adapting them based on customer actions increases the chances of capturing their attention and inspiring a new purchase.

For example, if an inactive customer visits the website but does not make a purchase, we can replace the classic browse abandonment email with a targeted and personal WhatsApp message.

KPIs for Win Back strategies

Among the key metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of Win Back strategies stands out the reactivation rate, which is the percentage of inactive customers who make a purchase after receiving Win Back communications.

It is also important to monitor the interaction rate (open, click, conversion, and unsubscribe) on different channels (email, SMS, WhatsApp), in order to continuously optimize the reactivation strategy.

Finally, it is crucial to monitor the impact of these campaigns on the long-term customer value (LTV) and on the number of churns. Wheel of Rebuy.

Conclusion

Although rebuying is at the core of the logics of the Sand-Mill Model, there will always be customers who do not repurchase within the timescales set by basic automations.

These customers need to be identified and managed with specific automations: Win Back automations.

The goal is clear: reactivate the Wheel of Rebuy.

Remember: you can identify inactive contacts, such as those who have exceeded 2.5 times the median time in each Rebuy Cycle.

Once identified, you will need to implement an automatic strategy to reactivate them.

But remember that prevention is better than cure. Winback flows have modest results for a very simple reason: they intervene when it's already too late.

Do not abandon post-purchase customers, only to try to reactivate them when you have already lost them.

It is much better to invest energies beforehand in creating real Repurchase Cycles and prevent churn.

To help you map out each timed communication in each Repurchase Cycle, I have decided to share the template that I use.

It's a Google Sheet file that you can duplicate and that allows you to:

View the sending frequency in each Repurchase Cycle
Avoid overlaps that confuse your customers.
Schedule timing for each email
Segment the audience with precision

You can access it for free here.

Sunset Workflow - Keeping the list clean

2026-04-17T20:24:00+02:00

Have you implemented a Sunset Workflow?

It is a fundamental automation to keep your email list clean and efficient.

In this article, I will show you how to implement a process to identify and manage inactive contacts, improving deliverability and the quality of interactions with your audience.

Sunset Workflow: how it works and what it's for

One of the goals of every company that uses email marketing in a healthy way is to communicate with people interested in receiving communications.

It is inevitable that some users have a higher level of engagement than others and therefore interact more with the brand: they read and click on emails, visit the site, purchase frequently, and use the services.

However, there are users who, at some point, just disappear.

They no longer open any emails, they don't return to our site.

They are missing.

Well, at least they haven't unsubscribed, you might say.

Wrong: having many "inactive" users damages our reputation with email providers (such as Google and Yahoo).

This compromises our deliverability, the ability to reach everyone else's inbox, avoiding spam.

Implementing a Sunset Workflow is precisely for this: to clean up our database from those inactive contacts who are not interacting with our emails anymore anyway.

Once set up, the flow gives us one last attempt to reactivate them before their final deletion.

Also remember that keeping the list clean helps us not only maximize deliverability (and therefore effectively reach all "engaged" contacts), but also to improve email marketing metrics (Delivery Rate %, Open Rate %, Click Rate %, Conversion Rate %), making it easier to truly understand the effectiveness of a campaign or an automated flow.

Another significant advantage is of an economic nature: generally, the cost of ESPs depends on the number of contacts in the list. Keeping it clean, removing or archiving inactive contacts also allows us to lower monthly costs.

Once all the advantages are understood, it is clear that every company with a solid lead generation strategy and a healthy and respectful approach to contact management should have an active Sunset Workflow.

Implementing an Effective Sunset Flow

The Sunset Workflow is a Full-Sand-Mill automation.

This means that its target includes all inactive contacts: both the leads in the Funnel and the customers in the Reacquisition Wheel.

To implement a Sunset Flow, you can follow these steps:

1. Identify Inactive Contacts

The first step in building the foundation strategy of the Sunset Workflow is to establish precise criteria for identifying inactive contacts.

This implies defining time windows in which to check a user's activities.

The lack of engagement during this period will lead us to consider a contact as inactive.

Historically, the most commonly used trigger for a Sunset Workflow was the failure to open emails (for example, for 4 months).

The innovations introduced by iOS 14, particularly the privacy feature that prevents tracking email opens, have affected the reliability of this metric.

This means that marketers must now consider other engagement indicators, such as click-through rate or on-site user actions.

Advice:

Instead of relying on email opens, I suggest creating the unengaged user segment in this way:

Have received over 10 emails in their lifetime

AND

No clicks in emails in the last 6 months AND
No Site Visit in the Last 5 Months AND
No Purchase in the Last 6 Months

2. Activate Re-engagement Strategies

After identifying inactive contacts, the next step in the Sunset Workflow is to implement real "re-engagement strategies" aimed at regaining their attention and interest.

A Sunset Workflow generally includes a minimum of 2 emails and is structured as follows:

#1 - Initial Re-Activation Email:

My advice is to have an initial email reminding of the benefits of staying subscribed to the mailing list, especially the added value offered by our Newsletter.

A prerequisite that I take for granted, but which is not so obvious, is to have adequately clarified the Unique Selling Proposition of the newsletter, why people should stay subscribed and open our emails.

This value proposition reminder is followed by the key question: "Do you still want to receive our communications?" with a clear and direct CTA.

It will allow interested parties to "raise their hand".

Response Management:

If the contact clicks the CTA, they are considered reactivated. Otherwise, we move on to the next step.

#2 - "Last Chance" Email:

If there is no response, send another communication.
An example could be: "This is your last chance to stay with us. Do you want to continue receiving updates and our resources in advance?"

Archiving of Inactives:

After this ultimatum, if the user does not interact with the content, we will archive them automatically.

BONUS: Think about integrating WhatsApp

Did you really think you could maximize the reactivation of those who do not interact with emails by sending another email?

You have a better opportunity: use a WhatsApp message.

WhatsApp, with its high open rate and immediacy of communication, offers an alternative channel to reconnect with users.

By using WhatsApp Business API (I explain how it works in this article), we can send a reactivation message with a quick multiple-choice response directly on this channel that is by its nature interactive and conversational.

Hello [name], it's been a while since we last saw each other. Are you still interested in receiving emails with updates and promotions from [brand]?

Yes, are there any promotions currently?
No, unsubscribe me
Only via email, do not contact me via WhatsApp

For those who answer “Yes”, we can propose a dedicated win-back promo.

This approach increases the chances of winning back those users who seemed unreachable via email.

Maximize Deliverability

In addition to the Sunset Workflow, to ensure proper management of the relationship with contacts and to maintain a clean and effective database, I recommend implementing:

Make unsubscribing in 1 click easy (there's not much more to add here)
Implement a dedicated Branded Sending Domain (e.g. send.yourwebsite.com)
Verify that you have configured your domain's DMARC policy
Set up a Preference Center: Offer the possibility to modify communication preferences, giving the customer control over the type and frequency of emails.

Ask for Feedback at Unsubscribe: Consider adding a brief survey to understand the reasons for unsubscribing, providing valuable data for future strategies.

Some response options I recommend testing:

The email content is no longer relevant to me
Emails are too frequent
I never subscribed to your emails
The content is not what I expected
I already follow the brand on social networks
Other (the other option allows you to gather additional insights into other reasons behind the unsubscribe)

These steps ensure that your Sunset Policy is not only effective, but also customer-oriented.

Conclusion

The Sunset Workflow is an essential automation for managing inactive contacts.

Implementing it in your business will allow you to reactivate some of them, but also to clean up your list automatically and consequently see an immediate cost savings in the monthly fee of your marketing automation software.

By removing inactive contacts from your database, you will also see better and more accurate performance for your flows and newsletter campaigns.

This activity will be appreciated by email service providers and greatly reduce your chances of ending up in the SPAM folder.

Do you want to optimize your Marketing Automation strategy with my help?

Contact me!

Birthday Automations

2026-04-17T20:23:00+02:00

Ah, the birthday automation, one of the essential automations for an e-commerce!

Implementing it doesn't just mean sending wishes, but building a strategy to bring value in a special moment and strengthen the relationship with the brand.

In this article, we will analyze how to implement Birthday Automations with a targeted approach, exploring techniques and strategies to maximize their effectiveness.

1. Obtaining the birthday date

Collecting birthday dates represents the first crucial step in implementing an effective birthday automation strategy. This process begins with optimizing subscription forms and using engagement tactics to encourage sharing of this personal information. It's a delicate balance between privacy respect and offer personalization, where transparency and perceived value play a fundamental role in convincing the user to share such data.

What are the strategies to obtain the birthday of leads and clients?

Let's discover them together.

1.1 Requesting the Date of Birth in the Newsletter Form

Asking for the date of birth in the newsletter subscription form, where an incentive such as a discount voucher is generally offered, is a direct and effective method to collect this information.

A good practice, however, is not to ask for too much information at this stage, so as not to compromise the form conversion rate.

In some markets, such as in fashion, the most important information to request is gender, so it may be necessary to use another step.

1.2 Use a dedicated pop-up

An alternative approach is the use of targeted pop-ups, to be shown exclusively to monitored users whose date of birth is unknown.

These pop-ups, appearing in specific contexts or after certain user actions, can request only the birthday date.

Asking for this information in a second step compared to the first contact is often perceived as less invasive. After all, the date of birth is very personal information!

The use of dedicated pop-ups allows customization of the message and makes it relevant by illustrating the benefits that the user will obtain by providing the information, thus increasing the likelihood of obtaining a positive response from the user.

1.3 Email "Fake Birthday"

A creative technique to collect customers' birthday dates is sending a "fake" birthday email on a random date.

The subject and the preview text must make it seem like the email is real.

Subject: Happy Birthday!

Preview Text: Here's the gift we have thought for you.

This email, which can be inserted into a welcome or reactivation automation, seems at first glance like a birthday greeting email and attracts a lot of attention precisely because it arrives on the "wrong" day.

Once the email is opened, it confesses the "joke", but also explains that we really like to celebrate and value customers on their birthday.

For this reason, we invite the user to enter their date of birth, perhaps offering an immediate incentive in exchange for the information.

This last precaution allows us to avoid "crafty" customers who enter a fake birthday date very close, in order to immediately receive the incentive.

However, even if this happens it doesn't matter much: a sale is always a sale.

2. Birthday Automations

The actual birthday automation has as its trigger the date of birth.

However, starting from this date, we can build different strategies from the classic wishes, to implement a pre-birthday or post-birthday automation.

2.1 Classic Birthday Automation

This automation sends personalized wishes and special offers on the day of the birthday.

The emails may include unique discount coupons, with an expiration date that should be at least a week after the birthday.

In this way, the sequence can continue with follow-up messages that remind about the expiration date and suggest products based on historical purchase behaviors.

Dynamic product recommendations allow us to easily suggest products that are most likely to interest the customer.

Consider that the average user, on that date, may receive multiple birthday communications from many brands: think about how to add a unique touch that identifies your company, to increase the emotional impact.

2.2 Pre-Birthday Automation:

This strategy is very interesting in sectors related to personal image such as beauty or fashion.

It involves predicting a sequence of emails that starts before the birthday, offering products or services that the customer may want to use for their special day.

For example, a beauty salon could send an offer for a special pre-birthday treatment, while a clothing e-commerce could suggest outfits for the party.

Levers such as: "Be beautiful on your birthday!” or “Receive it in time to celebrate!" can be used.

The goal is to be relevant and useful, encouraging purchases before the big day.

2.3 Post-Birthday Automation:

This strategy stands out by sending communications after the birthday, avoiding the congestion of messages that the customer might receive on the same day.

An example could be: "We forgot your birthday! Here's a special way to make it up to us."

This approach can catch attention and opens the door to interactions with the customer on a day when they are calmer and more likely to shop online, compared to their actual birthday when they might be away from home or celebrating.

Which one of these is the best strategy?

Obviously, it depends!

Each of them requires a deep understanding of its audience and the ability to personalize the offer to maximize the effectiveness of birthday automation.

3. Integration with the global strategy

Birthday email Sequences are Full-Sand-Mill automations: this means that they involve both Leads in the Funnel and customers in the Repurchase Wheel.

This doesn't mean that the content has to be the same for all audience segments.

For example, synergies can be studied with the VIP Program and Loyalty Programs.

In birthday emails, we can include conditional blocks to remind specific benefits to VIP segments, we can give bonus points to users who are close to a certain Loyalty Program threshold to allow them to unlock a reward.

For VIP members, we could also consider sending a paper letter to give special wishes, maybe with a complimentary product sample.

Remembering a friend's birthday is important to build a strong and lasting bond.

It's clear that, even though we send wishes to everyone, we want to give a special gift to our closest friends. It will be the same with our VIP customers, the friends who love to visit our e-commerce site more often!

Conclusion

Birthday automations represent important Full-Sand-Mill automations.

They are a means to create significant emotional connections with leads and customers on their unique and special day.

Through strategic data collection, offer personalization, and integration with loyalty and VIP programs, companies can deepen the relationship with customers and increase engagement and sales.

In this article we have analyzed different strategies to obtain the date of birth and to use this valuable information in the best way. Are you ready to implement them?

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Referral Program: viral growth through automations

2026-04-17T20:23:00+02:00

Do you have a Referral Program?

You probably should, as the saturation of digital advertising channels is driving up customer acquisition costs year after year.

With Referral Programs, companies that already invest time and effort in building relationships with customers have a great opportunity to extract, in addition to Customer Lifetime Value, also some Customer Referral Value.

If you are ready to discover how to integrate a Referral Program synergistically into your Sand-Mill to acquire new customers at a low cost, then read this article!

1. Referral Programs in the Sand-Mill Model

The main goal of a Referral Program is simple: encourage customers to invite friends and family to make purchases, in exchange for an incentive.

Before delving into the details of implementing referral programs, it is essential to review two fundamental concepts of the Sand-Mill Model:

The Advocacy Base and User-Generated Touchpoints

Within the Sand-Mill Model, Advocacy is not a phase.
The Model, immersed in the Sea of Micro-Moments, is supported by the Advocacy Base, consisting of all user-generated touchpoints united by a positive sentiment.

Social media posts, positive reviews, comments, community activities, and even sharing referral links messages: they are all points of contact with our brand, created by users.

Referral Programs are a powerful channel to stimulate the generation of touchpoints, thus contributing to building the Advocacy Base. But the benefits do not end here.

The Double Virtuous Circle

The implementation of referral programs within the Sand-Mill Model generates a double virtuous circle.
Firstly, it brings new contacts directly into the "Bottom of the Funnel" (BOFU), the phase closest to the purchase moment.
Secondly, it helps generate higher profits from existing customers through new spins of the Rebuy Wheel.

To fully understand this concept, let's imagine an existing customer inviting a friend to try a product or service through a referral program.

This new customer goes straight into the BOFU because they have been recommended by a trusted friend who invited them to make a purchase directly. For most businesses, this means that the purchasing process is significantly shortened!

At the time of the invitee becoming a customer, the Referrer (the one who invited the friend) will receive a reward.
This could consist of a discount voucher or additional points for a Loyalty Program.

What matters is that, in order to use this reward, the customer will have to make a new purchase, completing a new spin of the Sand-Mill Model Wheel.

Clear so far?

Referral Programs are therefore a powerful tool both for acquiring new customers and for maximizing the value of existing customers within the Sand-Mill Model, a double virtuous circle!

2. Essential Automations for Effective Management of Referral Programs:

Efficient management of referral programs requires the implementation of well-defined automations.

These automations allow you to send the right messages at the right times, ensuring better interaction with customers and program users. In the context of the Sand-Mill Model, where precision and timing are essential, these automations are of vital importance.

Here are some of the key automations:

#1 - Referral Program Introduction

It is important to choose the right moment in the customer lifecycle to invite them to participate in the referral program. So, what moments should be chosen as triggers for this automation?

A first high engagement moment to consider is clearly the time of purchase.
We could decide to include the invitation to the Referral Program at the beginning or end of the Onboarding Sequence.

Another option is to focus on the best customers who are in the Repurchase Wheel, when they have just made a new rotation.

In this case, we can choose whether to use the number of rotations made (for example, inviting to the Referral Program after the third purchase), or at a certain spending threshold, using Value Levels.

In the example I am reporting here, I used both criteria to determine entry into the Referral Program.

The program activation can be integrated as one of the unlockable milestones within a Loyalty Program based on points.

In other cases, we may want to make this opportunity available to all users, as Privalia does. I therefore also refer to leads in the Sand-Mill Model Funnel who have never made a purchase.

In my opinion, this approach is particularly interesting for SaaS companies adopting a freemium model: it allows generating value from users using the free version, not by extracting LTV, but CRV (Customer Referral Value).

#2 - Referrers Training

After the invitation, it is useful to send Follow-Up emails. In these emails we can share resources, creativity and information to facilitate referrers in the referral process. This simplifies the process for them and increases the conversion rate. It is important to show all the ways they can refer a friend.

We also need to think about how to simplify the sharing of the referral. For example, we can create a page with quick share buttons via email, WhatsApp, and social media with a pre-filled message. People are busy. Let's do everything we can to make these actions easier.

#3 - Thank You Message for Inviting a Friend

After the invitee has signed up, we need to automate a thank you message. This message should also include the rewards or incentives promised as a reward for their contribution.

We can implement a follow-up sequence that reminds contacts to use the discount coupon obtained.

#4 - Automatic Welcome Emails to Invited Guests

At the time of registration, the invitee should receive a personalized Welcome Email with the name of the friend who invited them and all the details about the incentive to use for the first purchase.

These are the basic automations needed to implement a Referral Program.

Additional Tips

To keep Referrers active and motivated in the long run, we can add an Automation for Additional Bonuses when reaching certain referral milestones.

Offering increasing rewards as referrers reach certain referral thresholds motivates them to continue inviting friends and sharing the link on social networks.

If a user reaches a certain threshold of referrals made, they should automatically receive additional bonuses. This encourages referrers to keep promoting the program.

I also recommend implementing an automatic email that allows users to share Improvement Feedback.

Listening to the feedback of referrers and making improvements to the program based on their opinions: not only will it make them feel involved and appreciated, it will help us build a truly effective program, capable of giving our best customers exactly what they want.

Finally, remember that keeping the referrer motivated and engaged is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and care.

The main reason a Referral Program fails is because users are not aware of it.
No matter how enticing the rewards and incentives offered are, if users are not aware of the referral program, referrals will not be obtained.

We need to maintain a constant communication with referrers through email, notifications or in-app messages. We can include program updates and simple incentive reminders with a universal block inserted in all transactional emails and messages sent at key moments by our business.

Just like Deliveroo does.

3. Key Metrics to Evaluate Referral Program Efficiency:

Evaluating the effectiveness of a referral program within the Sand-Mill Model requires analyzing various key metrics. These metrics provide an overview of the program's performance and help identify areas for improvement.

The KPIs I recommend monitoring are these:

Customer Referral Value (CRV): This metric represents the overall value generated by users invited by a single user. A high CRV indicates that referrers are bringing valuable users, contributing to the success of the program.
Conversion Rate from Invited Lead to Converted Customer: This metric measures how many of the invited leads actually become customers. A high conversion rate indicates that the program attracts quality leads.
Average Time to First Purchase: This metric measures how long it takes an invited user to make the first purchase.
Since the Referral Program brings users directly into the BOFU, it should be significantly lower than the average of leads from other channels.
Number of Referrals per User: This metric quantifies how many friends or customers each referrer has successfully invited.
A high number can indicate strong participation and involvement of referrers.
Average number of Purchases by users generated from the Referral channel: This metric indicates how active the customers generated from this channel are.
It can be combined with calculating the Life Time Value of these users.

These metrics provide a clear view of the performance of the Referral Program, monitoring them is the basis for identifying frictions and making improvements.

Conclusion

As we have seen, integrating referral programs into your Sand-Mill can help you build a solid Advocacy Base in the Sea of Micro-Moments.

A Referral Program is an alternative, effective, and low-cost customer acquisition channel.

But it is also a way to retain your best customers, leading them to Repurchase.

For these reasons, we have defined the Referral Program as a double virtuous circle that leads your company to grow.

Remember that automations are fundamental for the success of a Referral Program.

You must ensure that your customers are aware of the existence of your program, and that they remain motivated over time.

You will need to ensure that the incentives reach the right contacts at the right time and are used.

Monitoring key metrics, such as Customer Referral Value (CRV), will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your program in the long run.

It's time to put into practice what you have learned and start harnessing the potential of Referral Programs, integrating them into a complete Sand-Mill!

Loyalty Program: how to build it

2026-04-17T20:23:00+02:00

The Sand-Mill Model is a customer loyalty-oriented framework.
And in B2C there's nothing better than a Loyalty Program to make it work.

In this article I will show you how to create an effective Loyalty Program.

Table of Contents

Programma Fedeltà: come funziona

Loyalty programs are a very effective tool to create and maintain a lasting relationship with your customers and represent one of the most effective drivers for the Sand-Mill Model Re-Purchase Wheel.

I'm not the only one saying this: according to the Loyalty Report 2021 conducted by Bond and Visa, loyalty programs influence 91% of consumers to make more frequent purchases and 63% to spend more on each individual purchase.

The keys to success, as in all relationships, are related to listening and the consequent relevance of communications: customers appreciate being recognized and rewarded for their purchases and loyalty to the brand. A well-structured and personalized loyalty program can be a crucial element for differentiate from competitors and create a strong emotional connection with customers.

Loyalty Programs are also an excellent tool for collecting customer data, better understanding their preferences and purchasing behaviors, and connecting the dots between online and offline: loyalty cards have always been the best methodology for also tracking in-store purchases.
With this data, it is possible to trigger email and WhatsApp automations, to bring users back to our online or offline store with targeted suggestions.

The components of a Loyalty Program

One of the main advantages of a Loyalty Program is to introduce a dynamic of gamification in managing customer relationships, through points, levels, and rewards.

The Loyalty Points

Loyalty points are the thermometer of the customer's commitment in the relationship with the brand.

I have tested different ways of assigning points in the past.

The options available to us are:

1€ spent = 1 point: the most immediate understanding option
1 € spent = 100 points: this option can be used when you want to make the association between points obtained less immediate and more detached
A turn of Wheel = 1 point: used to detach points from monetary value, measuring only the repurchase frequency as a loyalty index.

Points also allow you to take advantage of scarcity by setting an expiration date.

This can be set at the end of the year, after 365 days from the acquisition of points or according to other logics, depending on the average repurchase cycle. It is important to remind program members of this deadline with a series of automatic emails.

In order not to cancel out the advantage obtained in a calendar year in the following year, it is possible to set the retention of a certain percentage of the points obtained, or define saving thresholds, which can correspond to level thresholds.

When the previous points expire, the customer's balance will start again from the last saving threshold reached.

One last piece of advice: to strengthen branding, avoid simply calling them "points", but choose a creative and original name, linked to the brand or product.

Starbucks has little stars that it calls "Stars", Verdevero (an Italian brand of ecological and sustainable detergents) calls its points Little Leaves.

The Levels of the Loyalty Program

The levels of the Loyalty Program can be used to keep users motivated to achieve specific spending goals.

They consist of growing benefits that lead to rewarding the most loyal customers with exclusive advantages.

An example is Genius, Booking's loyalty program, where customers can reach higher levels by making new bookings through the platform.

The operation is simple: to move up a level, it is necessary to complete the required number of stays in 2 years. If a stay dates back more than 2 years ago, it will not count.

Once the advantage is obtained, it will last for life.

Programs like Genius are based solely on levels.

Therefore, they do not provide for redeeming points to obtain an immediate reward.

Genius, the loyalty program of Booking.

Is it better to use a tier system or a points redemption system?

It clearly depends on the business model.

However, loyalty program tiers and points redemption can be complementary if integrated correctly into a strategy.

We can do this by applying the Sand-Mill Model and its two main segmentation tools, the Wheel Turns and Value Tiers. Here's how:

To identify loyalty program tiers we use Wheel Turns (number of purchases).
To assign points we use the spending value, setting tiers to redeem rewards in conjunction with the Levels of Value.

The possible strategies that derive from this logic are many.

For example, we can match one of these levels to entry into the VIP Program, which in turn will unlock the right to double points for each purchase.

The points can then be redeemed and "burned" in exchange for rewards.

Rewards

Loyalty programs can offer customers a wide range of rewards.

Among the most common rewards are discounts on future expenses, free items, product or service upgrades, and access to exclusive content.

The rewards of loyalty programs can be divided into different categories, such as:

Discount coupons: points are converted into discount coupons that can be used online or offline.
Free products: these can be normal products for sale that are redeemed by converting a certain amount of points.
Brand exclusive accessories: these can be branded accessories, not for sale, but obtainable only through the loyalty program.
Exclusive access: this type of reward offers customers access to exclusive events, offers, or services.
Donations supporting a cause that shares the brand's values: for example, if the product is linked to sustainability, it is possible to offer the customer the opportunity to convert points into donations to environmental associations.

Loyalty programs can offer combinations of these rewards, creating a diverse system to incentivize customers to return and purchase. It is important to choose rewards that best fit your business and your customers to ensure the effectiveness of the loyalty program and enhance customers' shopping experience.

Advanced Tips

Once the Loyalty Program has been built, we need to make it effective.
Custom automations, integration with other Marketing Automation flows, and bonuses come to our aid.

Use automatic emails from the Loyalty Program

Automatic emails play an important role in adopting the Loyalty Program and making it effective.

I have written a specific article to analyze all automatic emails to implement in an effective Loyalty Program.

Here I want to emphasize two main types of emails.

The first email (the most important)

My advice is to introduce the Loyalty Program into the Re-purchase Wheel as soon as a user becomes a customer, celebrating this milestone.
In this first email, you can also suggest to the reader some activities to earn extra points.
We can encourage them to follow our social profiles and tag us in a Story, write a review, and invite a friend through the Referral program.

Reactivation

It is essential to set up automatic emails to reactivate inactive customers, those who are no longer making purchases from us.

I have mapped out different ways to reactivate users with automatic emails linked to the Loyalty Program.
1. Reactivation by offering extra points for purchases within a tight timeframe
2. Reactivation by suddenly loading bonus points: makes reaching new levels or rewards more attainable.
3. Reactivation anticipating the next milestone

If you want to know more, I have collected and mapped all the different automatic emails to be implemented for managing a loyalty program in this article.

Talk often about Points

To keep customers engaged in the Loyalty Program, it is useful to always keep them updated on their points and any expiration dates.

You can do this by including this information in a box at the end of the emails (both for post-purchase transactional emails and other automations).

This way, customers will always have their points balance and available reward options under control: this will encourage them to come back and make purchases.

For example, if a customer has 495 points and only needs 5 more to get a reward, the Abandoned Cart email can indicate the lack of a few points and highlight how completing the purchase allows reaching that specific reward.

This simple trick will increase the effectiveness and conversion rate of the email.

Provide a FAQ section

An effective Loyalty Program is clear and has simple goals for customers to achieve.

To reduce friction and the load of questions for your Customer Care, remember to include in the page of your website related to the Loyalty Program a FAQ section, with frequently asked questions and their answers.

This page can then be linked in all communications that refer to the points and the Loyalty Program.

Use Bonuses, Not Discounts

Once you understand how the Loyalty Program works, it is clear how bonus points are a healthier alternative to discounts for running promotions.

For example, with bonus points, we can surprise the customer on their birthday or encourage them to fill out surveys.

Bonus points also allow us to incentivize actions in support of the Advocacy Base (social media follows, story tags, reviews) and stimulate Referral.

We can test different ways of assigning bonuses and evaluate the impact on new spins of the Repurchase Wheel.

The three main ways of assigning bonus points are:

Direct loading to the customer's account:
E.g. We have added 100 bonus points to your account! You have unlocked these benefits
Promotion for a limited time that doubles the assigned points:
E.g. Buy by the end of the month and you will receive double Loyalty Points
Fixed bonus in exchange for a purchase:
E.g. Make a purchase today and get 100 bonus points

I'll close with a final tip: to engage with your audience and at the same time strengthen your positioning, you can also award extra points from your Loyalty Program when people take an action consistent with your values.

For example? If you want to strengthen your sustainable positioning, offer an extra 100 points to those who plant a tree with Treedom!

Conclusions

I have analyzed the different components of a Loyalty Program and the elements to consider in order to strategically build it.

Keep in mind that very often less is more: better to have few mechanisms, but clear and easy to manage.

Many offline retailers, e-commerce businesses, and omni-channel realities have already implemented a loyalty program. However, they often do not realize that simply implementing it is not enough to make it work.

It is also necessary to communicate with customers in a relevant and personalized way, leveraging transaction data and building a relationship of mutual value.

This is where the power of Marketing Automation comes into play.

Building a plan that will accompany customers from the first purchase to subsequent cycles of the Repurchase Wheel is now essential. Remember to plan for reactivation emails using incentives on points instead of discounts and set up automations to remind customers about expiring points, suggesting how to use them.

And now? Dive deeper into all the automated emails you need to implement in your Loyalty Program in this article.

VIP Program: loyalty your best customers

2026-04-17T20:23:00+02:00

Do you have a VIP program in your e-commerce?

You should. In the world of e-commerce, the Pareto principle applies perfectly: 20% of your customers generate 80% of the revenue.
A VIP Program helps you give your best customers the attention they deserve.
Don't risk losing them: focus on them by building a system of exclusive benefits (no, I'm not talking about discounts).

I wrote this article to help you fully leverage the potential of your VIP customers.

By reading to the end, you will discover the most effective email sequences to keep them engaged and boost the revenue generated in the Wheel of your Sand-Mill. All without using discounts (or almost).

Table of Contents

Who are VIP users and why they are important

If you have an e-commerce, you will know that the most loyal customers are the ones who make a difference. They are the ones who support you in difficult times, regularly buy your products, and recommend them to others. They are users not to be missed, to be treated in a special way.

We will call them VIP, because for us they are truly Very Important People.

Many e-commerce businesses struggle to grow because they treat all customers the same way.
If you are starting to understand the logic behind the Sand-Mill Model, you know that you should anticipate every single turn of the Wheel to continue growing over time.

Let's see how to leverage the VIP program to build the strategy behind the Wheel of Rebuying, the section of Sand-Mill dedicated to customer management.

To start, it is important to define who our VIP Customers are. The definition and characteristics of VIPs can (and should) vary depending on the type of business.

To help segment customers, the Sand-Mill Model Wheel offers two tools:

Value Levels
Number of Rotations

The two tools can be combined with each other, although I recommend keeping it simple by choosing only one of the two criteria to manage entry into the VIP Program clearly.

Let's see what they consist of.

Value Levels

The Value Levels segment customers based on their overall spending value.
The innermost levels, with smaller diameter, contain customers with lower overall spending. The outermost levels gradually contain users in segments of higher spending. Each e-commerce brand should have at least 3 Value Levels to effectively segment their customer base.
To define the overall spending value that determines entry into the VIP program, my suggestion is to consider three times the average order value (AOV).
For example, a customer could become a VIP when reaching the Third Value Level, having spent over €300 in the e-commerce.

Number of Rotations

In the Sand-Mill Model, each rotation of the Reacquisition Wheel represents a new payment from the customer.
We use the Number of Rotations to segment customers based on the number of purchases made.
For example, a customer becomes VIP when making their third purchase.

We will use the combination of these two segmentation tools in automations to make communications relevant and personalized.

By the way: once you've identified your VIP customers, you can create a specific list and use it to segment your customers in automated email sequences.

What advantages to offer to VIP customers of an e-commerce?

If we want to treat a user as a VIP, we will have to offer some benefits. But which ones?

First of all, let's clarify one thing: the VIP Program is not (in itself) a Loyalty Program (points collection), nor a Referral Program.
Exclusive benefits for VIPs can be multiple and not necessarily discounts.
If we already have a Loyalty Program, which involves converting points into discounts, VIPs will in any case be the ones who will benefit most.

So here we are talking about something else. Here are some advantages to reserve for VIPs:

Early access to sales (my favorite initiative and the one that brings more revenue)
Sneak peek of new products

Priority assistance
Involvement with questionnaires + surprise if they fill them out
Other surprises directly in each order (samples or sample of new products, handwritten thank you letter, brand gadgets, ... even chocolates in the package can amaze)

As an alternative to discounts, for VIPs we can provide:

Double points for the Loyalty Program
Free shipping on all orders (if the margin of our e-commerce allows it)

In addition to incentives, there is an element that makes the difference between a successful VIP program and a failure: automatic communications.

Automations for a Successful VIP Program

The VIP Program is a tool that allows us to strategically plan customer repurchases, extracting the maximum possible value and increasing lifetime value.

Having a strategy to guide users to the next spin of the Repurchase Wheel, allows us to do so by sending the right message at the right time.
I have collected for you the emails and automatic sequences that make a difference in a successful VIP Program.

Here's what awaits you: anticipate the benefits of the VIP Program

You are almost a VIP, but you don't know it yet.

This email should be sent (automatically of course) to users who have almost reached VIP status.
It only takes a little effort, one more order.

If they still don't know about the program's existence, they won't be incentivized to make a new purchase to join it.

We need to use the anticipation strategy, to stimulate curiosity and build anticipation.

But how does this automatic email work?
Let's start from the assumption that our goal is to convert a customer who has already shown interest in our products or services, but has not yet made the purchase that would make them a VIP.
When the system detects that the user is close to reaching VIP status, we send them an email that gives them a taste of what awaits them (for example, it informs them that they will find a gift included in the order they have just placed).
This way, the user will already feel part of our exclusive community and will begin to imagine the cumulative impact of all the other benefits we will offer.

But why does this work? Anticipation is a powerful psychological tool that can motivate people to do extraordinary things: the mind begins to imagine how nice it would be to always have such advantages. And this is an incentive to make an additional purchase to become a VIP.

The teaser email should be fun, interesting, and engaging. Don't just list the benefits, but tell a story that makes the user want to be part of it.

You're on the VIP list! Welcome Mail to the VIP Program

This is the email that a user will receive as soon as the conditions to become VIP are met.

Remember that this represents an achievement, a milestone in the Customer Journey of the client.
We must carefully design this experience in our Sand-Mill.

This email arrives at a key moment, when the level of engagement is high. We expect a good CTR and therefore make sure to build an email that is not simply transactional.

The Welcome email in the VIP Program can have several possible CTAs:

A surprise / reward, such as bonus points for the Loyalty Program
An NPS survey;
Exclusive access (to a community, a site area, priority support or a physical location)
Unlocking the referral function (a better way to offer discounts that, as we will see later on, allows you to create a double virtuous circle)

From the moment a user becomes a VIP, we can adopt a more intimate communication style. Hey, we're friends now!

This email should list the benefits that the customer will be entitled to from now on.

We can also consider sending a welcome sequence to the VIP program to analyze each of these benefits in detail, or periodic reminders in case some of them have not been used within a certain period of time.

VIP status expiration

The VIP status brings several benefits, but it must be earned year after year.

An interesting and effective automation I have experienced is one for communicating the VIP status expiration.

After Black Friday, it will be important to send a sequence that reminds:

How many purchases the user still needs to make by the end of the year to confirm their VIP status
What benefits it has today and what it risks losing

This type of communication exploits the psychological lever of scarcity, creating a sense of urgency and motivating the user to make further purchases to maintain their own status.

Obviously, we will also need an automatic re-confirmation email to be sent as soon as the requirement for renewing the VIP status in the following year is met.

VIP: a personalized touch in all sequences

To build an intimate relationship and make our VIP Program effective, it is essential to maintain consistent communication in all emails dedicated to VIPs.

Let's make an example?

For VIP customers, we have included the right to free shipping.

If a VIP customer abandons the cart, it makes sense to remind them of this benefit in the Abandoned Cart Recovery email!
Let's also include contact information for priority assistance via WhatsApp, so they become familiar with another touchpoint that allows for immediate and exclusive support. Now, that's what I call VIP treatment, right?

But we can do more by leveraging expiration conditions.

Has this customer already made 2 purchases during the year? Let's communicate that the new purchase will confirm their VIP status for the following year.

Beyond automations: getting the most out of the VIP Program

Integration of the VIP Program with other loyalty programs

To ensure the effectiveness of the VIP Program and its consistency within the Sand-Mill we are strategically building, it is essential to integrate it with other loyalty programs.

In particular, it should be linked to the Loyalty Program, which involves collecting points to encourage repeat purchases, and to the Referral Program, which allows for benefits by inviting new customers.

The Loyalty Program

The Loyalty Program can be communicated immediately after entering the Repurchase Wheel.
The collection of points is something underestimated and very powerful: it provides us with an incentive tool parallel to

quello economico.

I punti potrebbero essere trasformati in sconti (es. ogni 100 punti = 1€ di sconto), oppure utilizzati per ottenere prodotti e accessori esclusivi, normalmente non disponibili all’acquisto.

Potremo usare i punti omaggio per incentivare azioni specifiche, come:

il follow sui Social Media
la partecipazione ad Eventi
la creazione di UGC

Questo ci permette di stimolare comportamenti che andranno a costruire touch-point generati dagli utenti nel Mare di Micro-Momenti.

Per rendere il Programma Fedeltà ancora più coinvolgente, potremmo creare diverse categorie di utenti (Silver, Gold etc.) e introdurre elementi di gamification. L’accesso stesso al programma VIP diventa un possibile bonus da sbloccare raggiungendo un livello specifico.

The Referral Program

Access to the VIP program could also unlock the opportunity for Referral, thus reserving the possibility of bringing a new customer exclusively to the most involved and engaged users. This strategy would help create a solid Advocacy Base in the Sea of Micro-Moments, making users feel even more part of the community and encouraging them to create new touch-points.

The Referral program is a strategy that impacts user acquisition (bringing new potential consumers to the brand, directly in the lowest stages of the Funnel), on customer retention (the incentive offered in exchange for inviting new purchases, i.e., additional "spins of the Wheel"). Think about it: it is a double self-sustaining virtuous circle that activates monetization (revenue generated from purchases made by both new users and those who can use earned bonuses) and the virality of the brand's communication. Obviously, the Referral program and the Loyalty program can also be combined with each other. This allows us to offer, in exchange for referrals from our customers, not just an economic incentive (like a €50 discount), but 5,000 points that can unlock exclusive levels and receive gifts.

Early access to sales for VIPs

For a VIP, early access to sales should be almost a right. Do you agree? Think about it: everyone always gives discounts to new customers, but seasonal discounts can become the key to a tailor-made promotion, without eroding margins in other periods of the year. The early discount for VIPs is not an additional discount (we would have done it anyway), however, it allows us to retain these special users, satisfy them by allowing them to find the perfect size, and continue communications over a longer period of time. One technique I really like is sending an email inviting our VIPs NOT TO PURCHASE in the period before the promotion. This "care" can also be successfully used in an exclusive community, as in this Verdevero example.

It will only make the relationship better.

A DEM plan to enhance VIPs

Not just black Friday and seasonal offers: it is useful to plan some specific emails to send to VIP customers throughout the year. They are the most engaged contacts, after all.

Here are some of the emails that we can include in a DEM plan to enhance our VIPs:

Special promotions aimed at increasing AOV (e.g. a gift for every purchase above AOV or a 3x2 for VIPs)
Exclusive content (to keep them aligned with internal processes for developing new products, so they know what's coming in advance)
Selection of content extracted from the exclusive Community
Evaluation questionnaires to listen to needs, requests, and suggestions
Invitations to events
Early access to pre-orders of new products

Conclusions

Most e-commerce websites do not pay enough attention to VIP customers.

If someone has spent 3-5 times the AOV over the last 12 months, they are not just any user: they are a VIP and you should treat them as such.

You need to spoil them and make sure not to lose them. Build a relationship by adopting a more intimate communication style, with exclusive product launches, feedback collection surveys, early access to sales, and priority support.

VIP customers identify with your brand and can be the engine that drives revenue flows in your Sand-Mill.

Do not abandon them, keep them engaged and aligned with business decisions, sharing news in advance and making them truly part of the family.