Did you know that the average company loses 35% of its customers within a month of completing a purchase? And an additional 16% of customers leave every year after that? You have to create an incredible post-sales experience or risk losing most of your customers.
As you are building and growing your business, it's easy to forget that your customers are the reason why your company exists. You probably have a lot of things in your mind (like where you will get the money to pay for all those new employees), but don't lose sight of the people who trust you when they choose to buy your product.
The post-sales period is crucial to create loyalty among customers and lead them to repeat the purchase of your products. Creating a great post-sales experience is critical for growing your business.
Here you can find ten tips on how to create a great post-sale experience:
1. Continue to communicate with your customers after the sale
Helping your customers to get the most out of what they have purchased is important for providing a positive post-sales experience. By keeping them updated on new features and new product releases, you are manifesting your interest in their constant satisfaction.
Asking for and incorporating customers' feedback into future products shows that you value their input, which will encourage them to keep purchasing from you. Reminding them that they aren't alone and that there is an easy way to get support if something goes wrong with the product, will make their user experience remarkable.
2. Create a space where customers can share their successes with others
A great way to help cultivate a community of happy customers is to create a space where customers can share their successful experiences with the product. By allowing customers to share their success stories with others, you will trigger their sense of belonging and loyalty to your brand and encourage repetitive purchases.
Customers want to experience personalized support that recognizes them as individuals and not just another number on a ticket. If you are trying to build a strong community around your product, make sure you come across as an active listener and prioritize customers' contributions and suggestions. Don't turn it into another marketing or sales channel.
Also, don't forget to encourage community members to share ideas and solutions regarding the product. This is important not only because it improves the overall customer experience, but also because it allows you to gather important data that can be used when developing new features or completely new products. If this is done right, your brand will be seen as one that cares about its customer base!
3. Make it easy for customers to provide feedback, then act on that feedback
It's important to be proactive when it comes to customer retention and satisfaction. You definitely shouldn't wait for customers to come to you.
Make sure you can use the data you have collected about your customers' experiences over time to identify potential issues before they arise. The same applies when identifying opportunities: use existing data points at your disposal and offer solutions before the customer expresses the need for them.
Ask customers for feedback as often as possible. Don't just say you are acting on customers' feedback, do it! It’s the best way to show your customers that you care about their opinions.
4. Make it easy for unsatisfied customers to get their money back or return your product or service
You can offer extended warranties, money-back guarantees, or discounts on future purchases. If you need to provide refunds, do it promptly and with as little hassle as possible. The more complicated you make it for customers to get their money back or exchange a product, the less the customer will be satisfied.
Create a safe environment for your customers. Put them at ease and let them know that they are in good hands so they will feel comfortable enough to come back again and again.
Also, ensure your team is available when customers need help by letting them know the customer service hours, how they can be contacted, and who else to reach out to in case of emergency.
5. Proceed with caution if you are thinking about branching out
A smart business owner knows that if you want to keep your customers happy, you have to offer them excellent post-sales service. However, offering great customer service after sale is easier said than done. One of the most common mistakes is branching out into new product lines.
Many people think it's a great idea to expand their business by offering new products or services. But you need to be careful here because changing your product lineup can be way more harmful than rewarding when it comes to providing your customers with a good post-sales experience.
Every time you add a new product, you are taking time and resources away from expanding on what you already have. Those resources could have been used to improve your existing products and services, which would have given your customers a better post-sales experience.
6. Show appreciation to your customers
There are many ways to show your appreciation to your customers for their loyalty and trust. Consider the following:
Offer a discount or upgrade on products that can fit with what you have already sold them. This shows that you recognize their purchase and want to help them get the most out of it.
Send a handwritten thank-you card. The personal touch is vital for building relationships and making people feel like they matter to you. If you have thousands of customers, consider sending out cards at least to some of them to show your recognition.
Host a customer appreciation event, like a party with free food, drinks, entertainment, and gifts. People love free stuff! This allows you to express your gratitude and learn more about what your customers would like to see in the future.
Give away a gift with a purchase over a certain amount of money spent during holidays or periods when people are probably shopping anyway, also known as "inflection points". This makes your product more attractive than competitors' ones and builds goodwill at a minimal cost to you. After all, these people were going to buy something anyway!
Send gift boxes filled with goodies or products related to what they have already purchased on the occasion of a special event for them (e.g. birthday).
7. Continually monitor and refine your service offering
Managing the post-sales journey is an ongoing and evolutionary process, so you need to make sure that it continues to be refined and enhanced over the long term. There are many ways to collect customers' feedback about their post-sales experience, but they can differ in their value and insight.
Methods of gathering customer feedback that is valuable include:
Customer surveys.
Customer focus groups.
Email support tickets raised by customers.
User group meetings where customers interact with each other and share ideas or feedback related to the product.
It's also important to remember that not all feedback needs to come directly from customers. Input from sales teams (who are in direct communication with clients), account management teams (who follow customers throughout their journey), and even partners can be just as valuable in improving your post-sales experience.
8. Prioritize customer retention as much as acquisition
You have probably heard that "it costs five times more to acquire a customer than keep an existing one". So why do so many companies focus on customer acquisition instead of customer retention?
Here you can find some tips that can help you to reduce the churn rate:
Offer additional products or services to existing customers.
Build customer loyalty by offering valuable services and benefits, such as free shipping.
Encourage customers to purchase from you again by offering discounts and special offers.
Up-selling and cross-selling are both effective methods for increasing sales.
9. Build customer loyalty by focusing on adding value
Creating a great post-sales experience enhances customers' loyalty and trust. The better the journey you can provide them after buying your product, the more likely they will engage with you again in the future. So you have to ensure that you are delivering as much value as possible in every interaction.
To deliver a great experience, you first need to understand the customer journey and identify the so called touchpoints, i.e. interactions between companies and their customers. By strategically leveraging these touch points, you can provide customers with a great experience and increase the retention rate.
Within the customer journey, the post-sales stage is a matter of living up to the promises made during earlier stages. In this phase the touchpoints include product reviews, thank you letters, product feedback surveys, up-selling/cross-selling emails, subscription renewals, customer support channels, customer success programs and self-service resources. It is very important to add value to customers during each of these interactions to increase their satisfaction and gain their loyalty.
The entire sales funnel and post-sales experience should be as seamless and involve minimal and easy steps. If any of your processes are too complex, you will lose most of the customers midway.
10. Create a FAQ section on your website
One of the most frustrating moments for customers occurs when, after buying your product, they don't know how to use it. The easiest way to prevent this situation from happening is to create a post-sales experience that is clear and easy to navigate. And with an effective FAQ section on your website, you are well on your way!
To create an effective FAQ section on your website, you need to determine which are the most frequently asked questions about your products. This can be done by interacting with the marketing team and sales team who have the best insights into your products.
Once you have a clear idea of the most frequently asked types of questions, start writing up answers that are as clear and detailed as possible. With your answers, you should help the customer to use your product successfully, discover the different functionalities, and get the most benefits out of it. Such resources might include templates, cheat sheets, video tutorials, and other resources to help customers save time.
This demonstrates that you're truly listening and paying attention to their needs, which is often enough for an angry customer to calm down if they are upset with you.
Conclusion
Don't underestimate the importance of a great post-sales experience. Your ability to retain customers and gain their loyaly mostly depends on the post-sales experience you are offering them. Their willingness to repurchase from you will increase if they are satisfied with the overall journey they have gone through with you so far.
Remember, there is no best way to create a post-sales experience. Every customer is different, and every business is different, so make sure you identify what makes sense for your specific business.
And if you're struggling to figure out how to add value in this area, consider adopting Layerise solution.
How can Layerise help you improve your post-sales experience?
If you are struggling with providing adequate post-sales experience, you can team up with Layerise. Layerise is a powerful brand-specific product assistant that helps brands and their end-users achieve an excellent experience.
Customers can easily access assembly guides, troubleshooting assistance, and warranty and maintenance updates seamlessly. Brands can use this platform to create interactive product assistance using multimedia and in several languages depending on the user's location.
Businesses can also get actionable insights and deploy customized marketing campaigns to ensure better customer satisfaction, excellent post-sales experience, and better customer retention.
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