With the ever-growing number of sellers on e-commerce platforms, merchants invest a lot of time and money to convert visitors into customers on their channels but often neglect the refining of the post-purchase process.

Although it is not always easy to secure that initial purchase, the priority for sellers should be to increase the overall Lifetime Value (LTV) of each customer, as this will increase the chances of yielding the strongest return on investment (ROI) long-term. Even if the visitor has converted, there is no guarantee that they will become a repeat customer.

Maintaining an active relationship with customers through post-purchase communication can provide vital insight into what worked well, what worked poorly, and whether all pain points have yet been addressed. Forging a connection to create a long-term customer can provide great value beyond the monetary exchange involved in acquiring products or services.

The post-purchase experience matters to consumers

The process of research and evaluation for a considered purchase by a consumer could be anywhere between a few minutes to a few months. Likewise, the actual purchase can also vary from a simple click to a more comprehensive checkout depending on the product and platform. However, the post-purchase and product experience process will continue for a long time. The average life expectancy of the item will heavily influence this: for instance, a refrigerator will be expected to last longer than a new TV.

Regardless of the length of the post-purchase experience, it is the closest direct touchpoint and most recent experience that a customer will have with a brand before another purchase cycle or subscription renewal. Research reveals that as many as four out of five customers have reportedly switched brands due to poor experiences, demonstrating that more merchants need to prioritise optimising the post-purchase customer journeys.

Therefore focusing on refining the process for each customer will in turn boost the overall amount of money that a customer will spend with your business throughout the duration of the relationship with the brand. The process of acquiring new customers is always considerably more expensive compared to retaining existing ones, so customer experience should be at the forefront of a brand’s communication strategy.

Tips for improving the customer experience

To build a better digital experience with your customer, it is important to address their expectations. Customers should be able to find or purchase items with as few clicks as possible, and for their search box terms to deliver top-ranked, relevant links during the purchase process. However, gaining a customer’s loyalty can be considerably more challenging. The Activ8 team has collated a few useful tips to consider when establishing a post-purchase strategy.

Offer continued support

Providing customers with ongoing support once they purchase an item can be achieved in many ways. Establishing an automated email system to send confirmation, shipping and tracking emails, linking your customers to help pages, and sending replenishment reminders, are ideal methods for facilitating the customer to help themselves as easily as possible. Additionally, by being transparent businesses can build trust with customers and show them they understand their pain points.

Returns & refunds

Reduce any post-purchase customer worries by ensuring that they are fully aware of the refund policy and returns process. This should be clearly linked within your email communications, as a good returns and refunds process can save a lot of time answering customer service queries or triggering manual refunds.

Use feedback and data to improve

Any data, customer feedback, and reviews should be compiled and analysed to track all aspects of the customer experience. This data can then be used to improve customer service management, gradually refining the process until it fits the exact requirements of the target customer.

Go beyond transaction emails

Transactional emails will tend to receive around 8x higher open and click-through rates compared to other types of emails, making them an ideal opportunity for showing additional value to your customers.  Once customers have placed their order, they will want to keep track of its progress and will be more open towards your emails at this point. Optimising these communications to add more value through personalisation, product usage tips, or useful links and guides will provide an additional touchpoint for customers to engage with the brand. 

Offer exclusive promotions

Using thank you pages or exclusive discount codes in emails can incentivise repeat conversions from customers. This is an opportunity to further build on the customer experience through incentives, such as getting users to sign-up to a mailing list for 10% off their next order, increasing the chances that the customer will be ready for future transactions. It should be noted, however, that some marketplace channels such as Amazon have strict guidelines about promotional content included within customer communications.

Provide content that meets customer needs

Our team always stresses the importance of starting from the perspective of the customer and how they interact with a platform when creating content; each channel will have its own demographic, so brands must study the needs consumers will have during the awareness, familiarity, and consideration stages, and what the effective way to fulfil them would be.

Content designed for the purpose of product help – social media, community posts, PDFs, guides, videos – provides a vast opportunity for brands to engage with users and control messaging using creative content. Messaging should focus on informing the user about the product and address any questions or objections.

Pick the right delivery systems

The fulfilment process will be the foundation for all the customer interactions that come after: a negative delivery experience can alter how a customer will perceive the brand. Setting up tracking software with deliveries is an important step to keep customers constantly updated about the status of their order and boost trust. Merchants offering tracking via their own website have the added advantage of being able to integrate personalised offers and relevant brand messaging to prevent customers from using a third-party app to track their package.

Monitoring all delivery events from a central system also enables merchants to keep track of any exceptions and notify customers on time if a delivery problem occurs. This way an alternative solution can be provided to a customer with an offer of a discount or free offering to avoid a negative experience.

Refine the post-purchase experience to gain loyal customers

Businesses that are interested in converting one-time customers to brand loyalists must focus on refining the post-purchase customer experience. The conversation should continue after each sale through adding value to transactional emails, providing incentives for repeat purchases, cross-selling, or personalising support and tips for customers to enhance the overall experience.

Paying attention to customer reviews and feedback across all platforms is essential for evaluating the efficiency of each stage of the post-purchase experience, and ultimately informing practical refinements to your methods. Investing in ways to improve your brand and leave a positive impression with a customer is an ideal opportunity for brands seeking to improve customer retention and loyalty.