Every bank has them: clients who rarely log in, ignore nudges, and quietly sit on balances that never meet an offer. They don’t complain. They just don’t act. In most portfolios, 25–40% of clients fall into this “dormant” bucket. They typically contribute less than 10% of revenues while consuming more than 25% of costs through servicing, compliance, and platform overhead. In Wealth, many hold billions in idle AuM that never become a mandate, a Lombard line, or a structured entry. In Retail, they hesitate on 3a, ETFs, and simple savings moves. This isn’t a side note. It’s a core earnings opportunity you’ve already paid to acquire.

Why yesterday’s reactivation failed – and today’s works

The economics have shifted. With rate cushions thin and fee income stubbornly flat, the room for passive uplift has closed. But traditional reactivation was blunt: generic emails, random outbound calls, clumsy timing, and channel silos. Conversion stayed underwhelming and fatigue set in. The modern motion is precision at scale. Use light weight AI to isolate the 20%of dormants that drive ~80% of the uplift – for example, clients with idle cash plus an upcoming mortgage renewal, or a recent payout and no investment plan. Let orchestration select offer × timing × channel. Put a trustable queue on each RM’s desk every morning. And remove the friction that used to sink intent: no PDFs, no handoffs – just two clicks and done. That is the difference between “we tried” and we booked the result.

The economics that move boards

Reactivation is typically 5–10× cheaper than new-to-bank acquisition and shows impact faster. Small, credible uplifts compound quickly. A +1–2 percentage-point improvement in activation on a well-scoped cohort often funds the entire roadmap. Push contactability up by 5–10 points with better timing and consent hygiene; double conversion from low single digits by fixing completion; cut time-to-close by 20–40%. By Friday,your scoreboard starts telling a different story: visible momentum, measurable EBIT, confidence to scale.

You can feel a high-functioning Dormant Client Activation engine as much as you can measure it. RMs spend mornings on quality conversations, not spreadsheet safaris. Clients experience one coherent offer across app, inbox, and RM outreach – same message, right time. Journeys finish in under two minutes.

Build it as an Accelerator, not a global program

Keep it small, fast, real. Launch a Dormant Client Activation Accelerator as a plug-in to what you already use: CRM and marketing automation for targeting, app and email/push for reach, RM desktop for daily activation, and API-enabled completion to seal the deal. Start in one region with a handful of journeys – for example, 3a/ETF activation, mandate uplift, or Lombard readiness. Reuse trusted data and vendors; don’t reinvent. Add fractional entry points to previously “locked” products (e.g., CHF 500 tickets) so more clients can say “yes” immediately. Make value felt with embedded simulators that show tax saved, pension gaps closed, or interest impact. Deliver impact in weeks – not at the next steering committee.

The move to make now

Dormant clients won’t wake themselves. But you can – precisely, respectfully, and profitably. Build the heatmap. Stand up the Accelerator. GiveRMs a Top-10 that closes. Let clients finish in two clicks. Then let the numbers speak: less than 10% of revenues becomes more, more than 25% of costs becomes less, and the gold you’ve been sitting on starts showing up in EBIT. The mine is already in your basement. Bring it upstairs.