9 Ways to Up Your Post-Purchase Customer Experience

The customer journey doesn’t end at checkout, these 9 strategies will help you increase your Post-Purchase customer experience.

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The customer journey is a business concept that exists for a reason. It follows a specific process starting from the pre-purchase to the post-purchase experience of each customer. The content consumption, the actual purchase, receiving the item, and providing feedback right after—are all parts of the journey.

Business owners should give each phase equal scrutiny. Every process is as important as the others, especially if you want to provide your customers with a better experience. Each stage offers a specific strategy that can boost your e-commerce conversions.

Most of you might understand why the pre-purchase and the actual deed of buying are essential. But the question for sure will be why is post-purchase behavior important?

Let us learn more about it.

Defining Post-purchase Customer Experience 

Ecommerce has grown exponentially over the years. It surprisingly became a highly-competitive market that completely embraced the digital age. 

With the rise of online shopping platforms, customers have plenty of options to spend their money. The challenge is the features and process are almost the same for each channel.

Entrepreneurs continue to level up the game by thinking of different ways to attract new customers and stay existing. That’s where the post-purchase customer experience comes into play.

As an entrepreneur, you’ll want your customers to have a positive experience, feel, and feedback on the product or service they bought on your platform. There has to be a follow-through for every purchase. It can be in the form of good feedback or a herd of returning consumers. Post-purchase behavior is often overlooked, but it is an integral part of a customer journey.

9 Post-Purchase Strategies to Improve Customer Experience

There are several ways you can improve your post-purchase customer experience. Here are nine market-tested approaches.

1. Personalize feedback request

A personalized feedback request is one way to give your customers ample time to get to know the product or the service before actually giving a remark. 

One, it indicates respect. And two, you give the consumer enough space before asking for feedback. Some brands usually wait 30 days or less after the purchase before sending out a customer feedback request via email.

2. Provide timely customer support

Customer service can bring you to greater heights if you hit the right points: accessibility, quick response time, and accurate service.

Expect your customers to demand a platform where they can air out some issues regarding their purchase or just plain aid when it comes to helping them decide which one of your offerings suits their needs.

A live chatbot on your website that responds quickly can be one solution. You can also use your social media platforms, if you have any, to provide accurate resolution to product issues and concerns facilitated by your customer service support group or an outsourced IT services provider.

3. Remember to say “Thank You.”

A simple thank you note is one of the most important things you’ll have to leave your customers after completing the purchase. It can be automated with several systems online for ease of application.

Saying thank you isn’t complicated. It shows your appreciation for the customer’s purchase, as simple as that. But such a gesture can open new doors for you as an entrepreneur. Customer loyalty is one, return and buy some more is another.

Don’t scrimp on your thank you’s. It doesn’t cost a dime to show your consumers some love.

4. Streamline the return/exchange process

A lengthy buying process can diminish your chances of a sale. A tedious return/exchange process, however, is a different story.

It’s disheartening to hear stories of customer dissatisfaction just because it took them a long while to have an item returned (for plenty of reasons, they don’t have to be all negative). The point here is you want to build customer loyalty and not scare them away.

Try streamlining your return/exchange process and give them more reasons to stay with your brand and give them an excellent post-purchase customer experience.

5. Include product description and guide in the package

Having a set of products that aren’t straightforward for usage and assembly can give the customer a superb post-purchase experience if you leave a detailed yet direct product description and a complete guide in the package.

Sure, customer service can always take that role, but consumers don’t always have the time to chat with a CSR and figure out what to do with the package. It doesn’t need to be too intricate, just enough information to help them navigate the product appropriately.

6. Monitor your parcels in real-time

Giving accurate, real-time updates on each parcel can make a massive difference in the post-purchase experience of a customer.

It can give you an edge in the market today. Take advantage of this feature to quickly do with available solution programs. You’ll better see potential troubles during deliveries, so you can intervene and create solutions right away.

7. Build branded post-purchase assets

Going with the post-purchase assets of your partner couriers can be the easiest way to ensure you deliver, but it’s also uninteresting. If you want to capture the attention of your market, you have to provide them with branded assets that follow them even after they purchase an item.

It’s called marketing, and it can create waves of significant change for your brand. Don’t mind the extra work. You have existing brand tags and artworks, and you just have to translate them into a post-purchase customer experience to make it more personal.

8. Send automated shipping notifications via email and SMS

Automated SMS and emails are helpful, especially for shipping notifications. Customers will likely appreciate any eCommerce platforms that update the shipping of their items.

You don’t need to bombard your customers with hourly updates. Pace your updates and send them a reasonable amount of SMS or emails, whichever you prefer, so you don’t push them away.

9. Use a loyalty program to show customer appreciation

You can offer your customers several loyalty programs to show appreciation. Some can be as simple as giving a particular discount on their second purchase or as elaborate as sending out a gift.

Don’t overthink the process. Think of what your customers would want without collapsing your operations budget.

Create an affinity among your customers, and you’ll indeed have them back on your eCommerce site again and again.

Conclusion

The customer journey doesn’t end when they click the checkout button. It transcends even after the buyer receives the product or service. That’s precisely why a post-purchase customer experience must also take the spotlight when it comes to brand building.

Many competitors can take your place in eCommerce if you don’t play it right with your customers. Be wise with your strategies and decisions.