A diner who used to come in every other week, then went silent for two months, is not gone — they are distracted. The Win-Back Lapsed Diners automation watches every contact’s last_visit_at field, fires a three-touch recovery sequence at the 60-day silence mark, and tracks the percentage who come back through the door. Recovering one in five is rent money.
What it ships with
- GHL workflows:
Win-Back – Detect Lapsed,Win-Back – Touch 1 SMS,Win-Back – Touch 2 Email,Win-Back – Touch 3 Free App,Win-Back – Reactivation Tracker - Pre-written copy for all three touches (warm tone, no guilt)
- POS-tied reactivation detection (next closed check = reactivation, workflow exits)
- Exclusion list: diners who unsubscribed, moved, are deceased, or were flagged as do-not-contact
- Reactivation rate dashboard
- Custom fields:
lapsed_at,winback_touch_1_sent,winback_touch_2_sent,winback_touch_3_sent,reactivated_at,winback_excluded
The flow (step-by-step)
1. Lapsed detection
Nightly, the system scans every contact with at least 2 prior visits. If last_visit_at crosses 60 days and winback_excluded is false, the contact enters the sequence and lapsed_at is stamped.
2. Touch 1 — SMS (Day 0)
“Hey [first_name] — we miss seeing you. Been a couple months. Anything we can do to get you back in this week?” Warm, short, no offer. About 12-18% reactivate from this touch alone.
3. Touch 2 — Email (Day 4)
For diners who didn’t reply or visit, an email follows with a quick “here’s what’s new on the menu” hook — a chef’s note style, two new dishes, no discount. Keeps the relationship warm.
4. Touch 3 — Free App (Day 10)
The closer: a free appetizer on their next visit, valid for 30 days. SMS plus email. This is the touch that converts the diner who needed a reason to choose your restaurant over the new spot down the block.
5. Reactivation detection
Any closed check at the POS during the sequence (or within 30 days after touch 3) triggers reactivated_at and exits the workflow. The diner re-enters the normal loyalty pipeline.
6. Permanent exclusion
Diners who reply STOP, who bounce email twice, or who get flagged by staff (the GM can mark winback_excluded from the contact view) are removed permanently. Some diners moved. Some diners passed away. The system respects that.
What you can expect
Operators typically see reactivation rates of 18-28% across the three-touch sequence inside 30 days of touch 3 — meaning roughly one in four lapsed diners walks back through the door. Free-app comp cost is materially lower than the average check those reactivated diners run, so the ROI is positive on the first reactivation visit. Pattern data from the dashboard tells the GM which diner cohorts are most rescuable (lunch-only diners reactivate faster than dinner-only, for instance).
Setup & customization
Pre-built: the lapsed-detection job, all three touches, the reactivation listener, the exclusion list, and the dashboard.
What you tweak in 10 minutes: the silence threshold (60 days default — some quick-service concepts run 30, fine-dining can run 90), the touch cadence, the free-app offer (some operators use a free dessert or 15% off), and the expiry window on the comp.
Compliance notes
Win-Back SMS and email run as marketing under TCPA and CAN-SPAM respectively, using the consent the diner gave at original reservation or POS sign-up. Every touch includes STOP language (SMS) or one-click unsubscribe (email). The 30-day touch cadence stays well inside carrier-recommended frequency caps for restaurant marketing under 10DLC. The exclusion list is honored across every workflow in the snapshot, not just Win-Back — a STOP reply removes the contact from Birthday, Specials, and Win-Back simultaneously. Deceased-diner flagging by staff prevents the most painful compliance and PR mistake a restaurant can make.
Get your regulars back before your competitor steals them for good. Install the Restaurant Snapshot for $997 full or $997 lite, 30-day money-back guarantee. Buy now or book a walkthrough.