Random acts of marketing for quiet customers

Random acts of marketing, or random acts of kindness, means giving a customer something they did not ask for and are not expecting: a small credit, a free upgrade, a handwritten note, a gift. The usual target is someone who has gone quiet, with the aim of bringing them back and leaving a good impression. It works best when the gift is relevant to what they do with you and does not look like a disguised promotion.

How to do it

1. Define "quiet". Pick a rule from your own data, such as no login for 30 days or no order in the last 90 days. Start with a short list you can handle by hand.
2. Choose a gift that costs you little and means something to them. A free month, a credit for next time, a free upgrade of their plan for a month, or a free add-on they have not tried.
3. Make it personal. Use their name and mention what they did with you ("for your next trip" in a travel app, "for your next batch" in a product they reorder). Say plainly why you are sending it.
4. Do not ask for anything in the same message. No survey, no review request, no "upgrade now" button. If the gift is a thank-you, keep it one.
5. Send it from a person, not a no-reply address, so a reply reaches a human.
6. Check what happened. Compare logins, orders and cancellations for the gifted group with similar customers who got nothing, a few weeks later. Keep a small holdout.

Examples

Chewy. In June 2022, a customer named Anna Brose tweeted that after she tried to return unopened dog food following her dog's death, Chewy sent her flowers. TODAY reported the story on June 17, 2022, and quoted Chewy's senior director of customer service, Andrew Stein: "Showing up for our customers during important milestones in their pet parenting journey is core to our DNA". The article says Chewy has also sent paintings to other grieving customers. This is a gesture triggered by an event the customer had, not by an inactivity rule, and it is not guaranteed to every customer.

When it backfires

• It may not build loyalty. A 2026 paper in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour, "When Surprise Leads to Consumer Loyalty?", ran three online experiments. The authors found that surprise rewards increased loyalty when people attributed them to the firm wanting to serve customers, and that adding explanatory information strengthened that effect. The takeaway: a gift that looks like a trick may not help, and a short, honest reason may.
• Marketing law still applies. A discount email to a lapsed customer is a commercial message. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide says every marketing message needs "a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out" and that requests must be honored "within 10 business days". If your customers are in the EU or UK, check consent rules first.
• Teaching people to go quiet. If inactivity reliably triggers a discount, some customers will learn to wait. Vary the trigger and the gift, and keep it occasional.
• Cost on the wrong people. Customers who left because the product did not fit may take the gift and leave anyway. Segment by past usage, not just inactivity.
• Creepy personalization. Mentioning details the customer did not expect you to track reads as surveillance. Stick to what they did with you.

Questions people ask

What are random acts of marketing? Unexpected, unrequested gestures from a brand to a customer, such as a gift, credit or upgrade, meant to build goodwill.

Which customers should I surprise? Start with people who were once active and went quiet, and people who just had a bad experience. For customers who hit a good moment, see celebrate milestones.

Sources

• TODAY: Chewy sends flowers after a customer's dog dies, read Oct 8, 2026
• Journal of Consumer Behaviour: When Surprise Leads to Consumer Loyalty?, read Oct 8, 2026
• FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business, read Oct 8, 2026