A win-back flow re-engages inactive customers who haven't ordered in a while. Instead of a single email, you can send a series of timed messages with increasing urgency and incentives to bring customers back.
With Metorik Engage, you create flows by building multiple automations that share the same trigger conditions but use different delay periods. This guide shows you how to set up a 3-email win-back flow targeting customers who haven't ordered in 90+ days.
Win-back flows in Metorik consist of separate automations that trigger at different times:
Email 1: Sends when a customer becomes inactive (e.g., 90 days since last order)
Email 2: Sends 4 days after Email 1 (94 days since last order)
Email 3: Sends 6 days after Email 2 (100 days since last order)
Each email uses the same base audience filters but adjusts the time-based filters to create the delay between messages.
Go to Engage → Automations and click New Automation.
Select Customers as the resource type. This lets you target customers based on their purchase history and activity.
Give it a descriptive name like "Win-Back Flow - Email 1" and add a description noting this is the first email in your re-engagement series.
Use Metorik's segmenting system to identify customers who haven't ordered recently. For a 90-day win-back flow, set these filters:
Last order over 90 days ago — Identifies customers who haven't purchased in 90+ days
Last order less than 91 days ago — Creates a 1-day window, ensuring it doesn't trigger for very old customers.
Add additional filters to target valuable inactive customers:
Total spent over $100 — Focuses on customers with meaningful purchase history
Orders count greater than 1 — Excludes one-time buyers who may not return
Click Segment Customers to preview the audience and verify it matches your expectations.
The combination of "over X days ago" and "less than Y days ago" creates a narrow trigger window. This ensures customers receive the email exactly when they hit 90 days of inactivity, not every day afterward.
In the message composition step, scroll down and click Add Discount to generate unique coupon codes for each recipient.
Configure the discount:
Discount type: Percentage discount (e.g., 15% off)
Amount: Enter the discount value (e.g., 15)
Expiry date: Set 14-30 days after generation to create urgency
Code prefix: Use something like "COMEBACK" for recognisable codes (e.g., COMEBACK9X2K7)
Restrict to customer email: Enable this to prevent code sharing
Insert the coupon variable into your email content. Each customer receives their own unique code.
In the advanced settings, enable Send automation multiple times.
This allows customers to re-enter the win-back flow if they become inactive again after making a purchase. Without this setting, a customer would only receive the flow once, even if they stop ordering again later.
The flow triggers multiple times when:
A customer becomes inactive and receives the emails
They make a purchase (no longer inactive)
They become inactive again (90+ days pass)
They re-enter the flow and receive the emails again
On activation, you'll see existing customers who already match your filters (those already 90+ days inactive).
Leave the checkbox unselected to skip these current matches and only send to customers who become inactive going forward. This prevents surprising long-inactive customers with an email.
Alternatively, if you want to reactivate dormant customers immediately, check the box to send to current matches.
Build the second and third emails by duplicating your first automation and adjusting the delay filters.
Return to the Automations list, click the three-dot menu on your first email, and select Duplicate.
Rename the copy to "Win-Back Flow - Email 2".
For the second email (sent 4 days after the first), update the time filters:
Last order over 94 days ago
Last order less than 95 days ago
This creates a 4-day delay. Customers who triggered Email 1 at 90 days will now trigger Email 2 at 94 days.
For Email 3 (6 days after Email 2), use:
Last order over 100 days ago
Last order less than 101 days ago
Modify the email content for each follow-up:
Email 1: Friendly check-in, mention it's been a while, offer a small incentive
Email 2: Increase urgency, highlight what they're missing, enhance the offer
Email 3: Final attempt, strongest incentive, mention coupon expiration
For the discount, consider increasing the value in later emails or using the "Use previously sent discount code" option to reinforce the same coupon from Email 1.
Tailor your win-back flow to different customer segments:
Adjust the Total spent filter to create different flows for different value tiers:
High-value customers (spent $500+): Offer a larger discount or personalized outreach
Mid-value customers (spent $100-500): Standard win-back flow with 15% coupon
Low-value customers (spent under $100): Smaller incentive or exclude from the flow
Create separate automations for each tier with appropriate messaging and offers.
Use the Products purchased or Categories purchased filters to reference what customers bought:
Include related product recommendations in the email
Mention when it's time to restock consumable products
Highlight new arrivals in categories they've purchased from
For example: "It's been 90 days since you ordered from our Skincare line. Time to restock?"
Even with the delay filters in place, add a safety filter to exclude anyone who recently ordered:
Last order less than 90 days ago: Set to "is not in" or exclude customers who ordered in the last 90 days
This prevents sending win-back emails to customers who have already returned.
Test with current matches first: Before activating for future matches, send to a small group of current matches to verify your messaging and coupon setup.
Monitor coupon usage: Check your Engage Sent emails report to see how many coupons were generated and used.
Adjust timing based on your product: For consumables, shorten the inactivity window (60 days). For durable goods, extend it (120+ days).
Track reactivation rates: Use Metorik's customer reports to measure how many inactive customers return after receiving the flow.
Learn more about dynamic coupon codes and discount settings
Understand activation options and sending limits
See customer onboarding email series for a similar multi-email flow pattern
