Reacquiring lost B2B customers: a seller-based decision typology for sales potential and loss reason criticality

Purpose This study aims to conceptualize and structure a digitally supported customer reacquisition protocol in business-to-business (B2B) markets from the seller's perspective. Specifically, the study examines how B2B sellers evaluate lost customers using sales potential and loss reason criticality, while also exploring the enabling role of customer relationship management (CRM) systems and social media within customer reacquisition processes. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative multi-phase research design based on triangulated in-depth interviews with experienced B2B sellers operating in industrial markets. Interview data were analyzed through iterative thematic coding procedures inspired by Gioia et al. (2013), involving first-order concepts, second-order themes, and aggregate dimensions that support the development of the proposed decision typology. Findings The findings suggest that customer reacquisition efforts in B2B markets are frequently informal, fragmented, and highly dependent on seller judgment rather than standardized organizational protocols. Two key dimensions emerged consistently across the empirical material: sales potential and loss reason criticality. Together, these dimensions underpin a seller-based customer reacquisition decision typology that guides customer reacquisition prioritization. CRM systems and social media currently support customer monitoring and communication. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to customer reacquisition literature by conceptualizing customer recovery as a seller-based resource allocation and decision-making process operating under uncertainty. The proposed seller-based customer reacquisition decision typology extends relationship marketing and customer portfolio perspectives by integrating customer recoverability and anticipated future value into a structured decision framework. The study also highlights the need for stronger integration between qualitative seller knowledge and digitally supported customer management systems. Practical implications Managers should formalize customer reacquisition protocols within CRM systems, integrate qualitative seller insights into customer intelligence processes, and support sales teams through cross-functional coordination, training, strategic account reviews, and structured customer recovery routines. The findings further suggest that organizations should progressively develop digitally supported customer reacquisition capabilities capable of combining transactional customer data with contextual seller interpretations. Originality/value The study provides an empirically grounded seller-based conceptualization of a digitally supported customer reacquisition protocol within industrial B2B contexts. It introduces a structured decision typology based on sales potential and loss reason criticality while clarifying the underexplored role of seller judgment, CRM systems and social media within B2B customer reacquisition processes.