How to Follow Up With Past Customers: Timing, Messages and the Rules

Short answer: follow up when you have a real reason, not on a fixed schedule. Send a short check-in a few days after the customer gets the order. Then write again before a date that comes back each year, before a holiday deadline, or when you have something new that fits what they bought. Keep each message personal and short, with an easy way to say no. Marketing emails have rules too. In the US, every one needs your address and a way to opt out.

Most small sellers spend their energy on new customers. They post, reply to new messages and quote new jobs. The people who already paid them, and liked the work, hear nothing until they come back on their own. Many never do. They did not go somewhere better. They just forgot to ask.

This guide shows how to follow up with past customers in a way that feels personal, not pushy. It covers what to keep on your list, when to write, what to say, how to ask for a review, and the rules for marketing messages in the US and the UK. Last, it shows how to keep track of it all without a big marketing tool.

Why past customers matter for a small seller

A past customer already trusts you. They know your work, your prices and how you talk. A new customer needs all of that explained, often in a long chat that ends with no order.

We see this in WISMO’s own order data. Across 566 customers, 57 ordered more than once. That is only 10.1% of customers. But those 57 people placed 222 of the 731 orders, or 30.4%.

30% of orders

Most sellers in that data joined in the last few months, so the share is likely to change as their history grows. But the pattern is clear. A small group of loyal customers brings in a large share of the orders. A good follow-up habit is how you grow that group.

1. Keep a simple list of past customers

You cannot follow up with people you cannot find. A chat history is not a list. Old chats get buried, phones get changed and Instagram DMs are hard to search.

Keep one list, in a notebook, a spreadsheet or an app. For each customer, write down:

• Name and how to reach them. Phone number, email or social handle. Note which one they used to order.
• What you made for them. “Blue linen dress, size 8” helps more than “dress”.
• The date of the order and the date it was for. A birthday cake on March 14 means another birthday next March.
• The occasion. Birthday, wedding, anniversary, a new baby, a work event.
• Anything personal they told you. Their daughter’s name, a favorite color, a food allergy.
• Whether they are happy to hear about offers. Write yes, no or not asked. This matters for the rules in section 5.

Add each customer to the list when the order is done, not months later. It takes one minute while you still remember the details. Our free order tracker template already has columns for the customer and the due date, so you can add a few more.

2. Write when there is a reason

A follow-up with no reason reads like an ad. A follow-up with a clear reason reads like a message from someone who remembers you. These are the moments that work best:

The check-in after delivery is the most useful message you can send. It catches problems early, while you can still fix them. It is also the right moment to ask for a review, if they are happy.

The date that comes back is where custom sellers have an edge. You know the cake was for a fifth birthday, or the dress was for an anniversary dinner. Write early enough for the customer to order in time. Use the date of the event, not the date of the order.

Holiday deadlines give you a reason to write to everyone on your list at once. It is late October now, so this is the time to plan it. Work out your last order date for each holiday first. Our guide to holiday order cut-off dates shows how to count back from the shipping deadlines. Then tell past customers that date a week or two before it.

3. Keep the message short and personal

A good follow-up is three to five sentences. It does four things:

1. Uses the customer’s name.
2. Names what you made for them.
3. Gives one reason you are writing now.
4. Makes it easy to say no, or to reply with one word.

Do not send the same text to everyone with only the name changed. Customers notice this. Change one line for each person, such as the item or the occasion. It takes ten extra seconds and the message reads like it came from you.

Here are five messages you can adapt. They are illustrative examples, not messages from a real seller.

Send these from the channel the customer used to order. A customer who ordered on WhatsApp expects a WhatsApp message, not an email. For messages at other moments, such as a confirmation or a ready-for-pickup note, see our WhatsApp order message templates.

4. Ask for a review the right way

The check-in after delivery is the best time to ask for a review. The customer is happy and the order is fresh in their mind. Wait for their reply first. If they say they love it, thank them and send the review link in the next message. If they have a problem, fix the problem and leave the review for later.

Make it easy. Send one direct link to the place you want the review, such as your Google Business Profile or your shop page. Do not send three links and ask them to choose.

If you want to offer something in return, be careful. In the US, the FTC’s rule on consumer reviews started on October 21, 2024. The FTC says the rule does not ban incentives for reviews. But you cannot ask for a positive review in return for the incentive, and you cannot hint at it either. So “10% off your next order for an honest review” can be fine. “10% off for a 5-star review” is not. Review sites often have stricter rules of their own, so read the site’s policy first.

5. Follow the rules for marketing messages

A check-in about an order the customer already placed is part of that order. An offer, a sale or a “new item” message is marketing. Marketing messages have rules. This section is general information, not legal advice, so check the rules where you and your customers live.

Email in the US. The FTC enforces the CAN-SPAM Act. It applies to every commercial email, not only bulk email. The FTC’s guide says each marketing email must:

• Use honest “From” details and a subject line that matches the message.
• Make clear that the message is an ad.
• Include a valid postal address for your business.
• Tell the reader how to stop getting marketing emails from you.
• Stop sending within 10 business days after someone opts out.

The FTC treats an email that only confirms or completes an order the customer agreed to as a transactional message, not marketing. Add an offer to it, and it may count as marketing. Each email that breaks the law can bring a penalty of up to $53,088, so please read the FTC’s full guide before you send offers by email.

Email and texts in the UK. The ICO’s guide to the PECR rules covers emails, texts and direct messages on social media. You can send marketing to an existing customer without asking for consent first, but only when all of these are true:

• They bought, or asked about buying, something similar from you before.
• The message is about your own similar products or services.
• You gave them a simple way to opt out when you took their details.
• You give them a way to opt out in every message.

The ICO calls this the “soft opt-in”. If you did not offer an opt-out when you took the order, you need the customer’s consent before you send marketing.

Broadcasts on WhatsApp. A WhatsApp broadcast list sends one message to many people at once. Each person gets it as a private chat from you. But WhatsApp’s own help page says that only people who saved your number in their contacts receive it. Everyone else gets nothing, and you are not told. A list can hold up to 256 contacts. In some countries there is also a monthly limit on broadcasts.

The simple rule that covers most of this. Write to people who bought from you, about things close to what they bought. Tell them how to stop hearing from you. When someone says stop, stop, and write it on your list.

6. Know when to stop

Following up should feel like good service. Too many messages make it feel like spam, and a customer who feels spammed will not order again.

• Leave space between messages. For most small sellers, a few messages a year is plenty. Do not send more than one marketing message a month to the same person.
• Stop after two messages with no reply. Wait for the customer to contact you. You can still send them a holiday deadline once a year if they never asked you to stop.
• Stop at once when asked. A “no thank you” or “please stop” is final. Reply once to say you understand, then mark it on your list.
• Do not follow up on a complaint with an offer. Fix the problem first. An offer sent while a problem is open feels like you did not listen.

7. Keep track of who you contacted

A follow-up habit fails when you forget who you wrote to. Then you message the same person twice in a week, or nobody for a year.

Add three columns to your customer list:

• Next follow-up date. The day you plan to write next, and why. For example, “Feb 20, birthday in March”.
• Last contacted. The date of your last message.
• Opted out. Yes or no.

Once a week, sort the list by next follow-up date. Send the messages that are due, then update the dates. It takes about ten minutes. For the rest of your order process, the made-to-order business guide covers lead times, deposits and capacity.

How WISMO helps you follow up

You can do everything in this guide with a notebook and your phone. WISMO is one way to keep the list for you, without typing it twice.

Every customer you take an order from is saved in WISMO’s customer list. Each customer’s page shows their past orders, what they usually order and how much they have spent in total. You can also add a customer by hand before their first order. Our customer database page shows how it looks.

On a customer’s page, you can set a follow-up reminder for any day, with a note such as “Birthday cake again, Lily turns 6”. On that day, WISMO sends you a push notification at the hour you choose. You can add a Repeat or VIP tag to orders too, and filter your order list by tag. The customer list, the reminders and the tags are free on every plan.

WISMO does not send WhatsApp messages, texts or marketing emails for you. It reminds you, and you send the message yourself from your own phone. That keeps every follow-up personal.

Your first 30 orders are free. WISMO Pro is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and you can try Pro free for 7 days.