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Customer Operations

Reactivation: reach out because of their history

Your past customers are the easiest work you'll ever win back, and the easiest to annoy. Reactivation checks each one against simple rules (is service actually due, is anything already open, have we asked recently, did they agree to hear from us) and writes to the ones who qualify about their own equipment and their last visit. We build it on your customer and service history, with your rules deciding who hears from you.
Talk through your customer listSee the rules ↓
service duenothing opennot askedopted inresultA.B.furnaceeligibleC.D.water heaterserviced in MarchG.H.ACJ-560 openK.L.boilerasked 3 weeks agoM.N.water heateropted outP.Q.water heatereligibleA.B.Your furnace tune-up is due. T2 lastserviced it in October 2025.Book a time?P.Q.Your water heater is 11 years old. A flushand anode check now can add years.Book a time?

“It's been a while” isn't a reason

Most reactivation is a blast: everyone who hasn't booked in a year gets the same offer. It reaches people who were here last month for something else, people with a job already booked, and people who asked not to be contacted, and it says nothing about them in particular.

Reactivation works from each customer's record. It checks whether service is actually due for their equipment, whether anything is already open, when you last contacted them and whether they agreed to hear from you. The ones who qualify get a message about their own equipment and their last visit, and a reply or a booking goes straight into the job system.

Today, and with reactivation

Today

  1. 01A seasonal email to the whole list.
  2. 02The same offer for every customer, whatever they own.
  3. 03Customers with open jobs or recent visits get it too.
  4. 04Replies land in a shared inbox.

The customers you most want back are the ones a generic blast teaches to ignore you.

With reactivation

  1. 01Each customer is checked against the rules, every week.
  2. 02Service due is worked out from their equipment and last visit.
  3. 03Anyone with something open, or asked recently, is left alone.
  4. 04Opt-outs are never contacted.
  5. 05A reply or a booking goes straight to the job system.

Fewer messages, each one worth reading.

Four rules decide who hears from you

  1. Due by its history

    Not by the calendar

    Service intervals by equipment type and age, counted from the last visit you recorded.

  2. Nothing already open

    No crossed wires

    No open job, quote or support case. Those are their own conversations.

  3. Not asked recently

    Room to breathe

    No reactivation message in the last 90 days, whatever channel it went on.

  4. Agreed to hear from you

    Consent first

    Only customers who opted in, on the channel they agreed to. Opt-outs are never contacted.

Three customers, three answers

The same rules, three different outcomes, each recorded on the customer.

A.B. · furnace

last service
October 2025, T2
open work
none
last contacted
April 2026
consent
SMS and email
message
“Your furnace tune-up is due. T2 last serviced it in October 2025. Book a time?”
outcome
booked online for 12 Nov

What changes from one business to the next

Service intervalsBy equipment type, age and how it's used
Who's eligiblePast customers, lapsed plan members, old quotes
Quiet periodsHow long after any contact before a reactivation message
OffersAny seasonal offer, and who it applies to
Maintenance plansMembers handled by their plan's own terms, never assumed

A common starting point is your CRM or job system as the customer record, with n8n or Trigger.dev running the weekly eligibility check, PostgreSQL for the rules and history where your tools can't hold them, and your existing SMS and email providers. These are starting candidates, not requirements.

Is a reactivation system the right fit?

Good fit

  • You have years of past customers in a CRM or job system.
  • Equipment needs regular service, or past work leads to future work.
  • Reactivation today is an occasional blast to everyone.

Avoid when

  • Customer records don't say what was installed or when it was last serviced. That comes first.
  • Most customers never need you twice.

How we'd approach it

Most of the early work is agreeing service intervals, who's eligible, quiet periods and what you'll offer.

  1. 01

    Understand

    As much as the problem needs

    We map how the work runs today: who does what, which systems hold the records, and where it breaks.

  2. 02

    Design

    Decided before it's built

    Ownership, rules, integrations and exceptions, agreed with you and written down with acceptance criteria.

  3. 03

    Build

    Connected to what you use

    We build the scoped system, connect it to the tools you already run, and test it on the cases that matter.

Related systems

The capabilities underneath

For your industry

Questions about reactivation

Is this just email marketing?

It uses the same channels, but it starts from each customer's record rather than a campaign. Most of the list is left alone on purpose.

What about customers on a maintenance plan?

They're handled by their plan's terms. Reactivation never assumes a plan covers a visit; it checks the plan's own record.

How often does it run?

Weekly, typically. Each run only messages customers who newly qualify, and every message is logged against the customer.

Can old quotes be followed up the same way?

Yes, with their own rules, such as a quote that was never accepted and hasn't been revisited in six months.

Win back the customers you already have

Tell us about your past customers and how you reach them today. We'll show you who's due and what we'd send.

Start a project