25 effective ways to improve the post-purchase experience

Most businesses miss the big picture when they don't have a post-purchase experience marketing strategy. Your customers go through a lot of emotions after making the purchase. They are excited that they are going to have something new and they are also anxious to see if they have made the right decision. Understanding how your customers behave after a purchase can give marketers a lot of insight on how to build more trust.

What is the after-sales customer experience?

The way you treat someone who went from being a prospect to a customer after making a purchase; that's the simplest definition of the post-purchase customer experience. There are many ways to contact customers after they buy our product and this can have a huge impact on the business.

There is tons of research showing that it is 5 times more expensive to get a new customer compared to serving an existing customer.

Let's get straight to the point, here are 25 tips that can help you improve your customers' post-purchase experience.

1 - Say "Thank you":

This should be the first act you do. A simple "thank you" can go a long way in cementing the relationship and improving the post-customer experience. You can even send handwritten letters thanking your customers for buying from your business. This shows that you value your business and has a huge impact on your customer's post-purchase experience, it's the first step in creating a long-term relationship.

2- Refund policy:

Even before the customer makes a purchase, you must inform them about your refund policy so they are not surprised. Additionally, we recommend that you allow refunds up to a particular period.

3- Provide information

A customer buys a product with the belief that it will be easy to use but there are times when some people may not be aware of some things and need outside help. This is where the how-to guides, information brochures, FAQs, etc. help them.

4- Tips for product care:

As the creator of the product, you know all about keeping it well taken care of. Your customers may be handling your product for the first time and don't know how to maintain it the right way. Share tips that will help them keep their product safe and in top working order. When you share such tips after the purchase, customers understand that you take them into account. They will appreciate your concern for their needs.

5- Comments:

Don't you want to know how your customers feel about your product after the purchase? Understanding their level of satisfaction can help you make many business decisions that will make sense. Collecting feedback is one of the best ways to improve the post-purchase experience.

Send them simple email surveys immediately after receiving the product. You can use online survey tools, automated follow-up emails and get customer data effortlessly.

6- Recommend related products:

This is another post-purchase experience strategy that will help you gain both more money and your customer. Send them recommendations for related products that will help them use the product to its fullest. You can also send them recommendations for related products that you don't sell, but other different businesses do.

The idea is to know what your customers would need and give it to them even if it doesn't make you earn money.

7- Offer discount codes for the future:

Customers love discounts. It doesn't matter what part of the world they are from. When you offer them discount coupons for the next time they buy from you, the probability that they will do it again increases if they like the product they already bought from you. What better way to optimize the post-purchase experience?

8- Offer samples of your other products:

Let's say one of your customers buys product A, but you also have many other products. Then it would be wise of you to allow them access to other products for a short period. Your customers will not only try the products but also become familiar with them and when they need a similar product, they will choose yours.

9- Celebrate milestones:

When a potential customer registers on your website, they have uploaded their data, this includes their birthday. Send them a small discount on their birthdays or on special occasions that you know of. How would you obtain the data on important days for your customers?

Simple, enter a few questions when you send them a survey. They will be pleasantly surprised when they receive a discount. They will talk about it and share the same on their social media platforms. Free advertising for you.

10- Always reply:

If you get a query from your customer when using the product, make sure you respond without fail. Your customers must receive an answer. The same applies to people who are not customers yet.

No matter what type of message it is, your customer wants a response and you should give them what they need.

11- Communicate:

As soon as an order is placed, your customer wants to know when it will arrive at their doorstep or smartphone. If it is a physical package, the order will not be available immediately. The product will be packed and shipped to the nearest hub, then shipped to the hub closest to the customer, etc. All of this information needs to be communicated effectively. Customers must never feel they don't have enough information about their purchase. 

12- Be useful even when there are no problems:

It's not difficult to ask your customers if everything is going well. But not all companies do that because that thought never occurs to them. However, this is the prerogative of the customer success team. The customer could be dealing with a problem and is hesitant to seek help. They might even assume that it's not an important issue and wouldn't require help from someone in your company. This is where take advantage of technology by setting up automation systems to ensure that reminders, help, and other customer-friendly activities are sent on autopilot.

13- Small things matter:

Something that the business dismissed as too small could end up being a nuisance to one of your customers. That is why you must be careful with all aspects of your business. Customers are looking at you, and so are your competitors. If your product is something they use every day, the ramifications of your insensitivity will be huge for the customer.

14- Voice of the customer:

It is a term used to describe the process of capturing customer likes, dislikes, and preferences. Metrics like revenue, churn, etc., while important, are vanity when it comes to the changes you can make by knowing your customer too well. If you want to give them a post-purchase experience that will blow their minds, then you need to invest in listening carefully.

Companies use Voice of the Customer to see if there is a gap between the promised customer service and the actual customer experience. You have many techniques like interviews, live chat, surveys, website behavior, NPS, focus groups, emails, and more. The information you get from all of these places consistently helps you gain a highly evolved understanding of your customer.

15- Ask for comments:

Everyone wants social proof, especially businesses. Even your customers would want to brag about the fact that they are using your product. Ask feedback from customers after a period when you know they've been making good use of your product. If they had a bad experience, it would be a great opportunity for you to fix it even before they can tell their friends and family about it. Working on the problem that was brought to your attention can take you from being a dissatisfied customer to a happy one.

Your customers will use product reviews for their purchase decisions. If you don't have any reviews on your website, then it doesn't look good for your business. This is what we would advise: request a review from all your customers, even those who have been customers for a long time.

16- Make customers trust their purchase:

There was a time when customers were wary of buying products online. The reason was that they wanted to "feel" the product before buying it. Companies started taking professional photos of their products from different angles so that the customer can be sure of exactly what they are getting. Make the digital experience memorable by alleviating their fear of getting a product that doesn't look like the one they saw on the website.

17- Build a community for your customers:

Although building and maintaining a community for your customers is a difficult task because there are so many factors involved, you want to make sure that there is a lot of participation from community members as you work on delivering content that attracts the interest of everyone involved. It is a gateway to creating a lasting relationship with customers. It's an easy way to conduct surveys, customer feedback surveys, enroll customers in loyalty programs, and more. You can drive the conversation there and once you build a thriving community, members will answer questions from new customers. That's how powerful it is.

18- Loyalty programs:

Running a loyalty program for customers who advocate for your brand is a great way to build your brand and ensure they stay with you for a long time. It's a win-win as you're giving your customers more reasons to stick around while making sure they make more purchases from your business.

There are many different ways to design loyalty programs. The sky is the limit, well at least your imagination is. When you offer something so that your customers will only stay with you, they are more than likely to do so. Loyalty programs are extremely powerful in turning apathetic customers into brand advocates.

19- Interact whenever possible:

Do you see a missing comment on a random person's Facebook profile about your product thanks to Google Alerts? Do you ignore it because only a few people will see it or do you think a comment on someone's profile is too insignificant to warrant your attention? Then, you couldn't be more wrong. As we have mentioned over and over again, your customers are always looking at you. They want you to appear out of nowhere to relieve their stress.

It is imperative that you engage with them anywhere you see mention of your brand. Even if it's a rude comment. More than winning a customer, it's about being true to your word as a brand that cares about its customers.

20- User guides:

Offer your customers materials that help them better use the product. Write how-to guides, FAQs, and other materials that will enhance your experience. It will smooth things over for customers and clear up any doubts they may have had while using the product. Also, allow them to ask questions if they have any.

21- Be respectful:

You may get calls from customers facing a problem and you are the only person to fix it. Make sure the customer service executives on your team are respectful of the customer, no matter how unreasonable someone may seem. You are there to help customers, not to judge any of their actions.

22- Keep it simple:

Do you have any of your customers scratching their heads during any part of the buying process? Well, customers want to get things done as quickly as possible, they don't want to waste time on anything. The easier it is, the better experience they will have and the more likely they are to come back to you as a customer.

23- Create an unboxing experience:

If it's something affordable and appropriate for the type of product you're selling, you can create an unboxing experience for your customers. This is a great post-purchase experience that you can create and is worth sharing with your customers. They could even make a video of the unboxing and post a video on their social media. Go to great lengths to convince your customers to post their unboxing experience online using your brand's social media name.

24- Omnichannel support:

Your customers want to contact you in any channel they consider appropriate. Don't offer them just one channel of communication. With CRMs today it's easy for you to maintain information about customer order history and add additional information in one place. This will smooth the process even if you offer them different types of channels for customer support.

25- Make a memorable experience after the purchase:

Take a look at each step that occurs after the purchase of the product. How can you create memorable moments for your client? You can do this for any part of the checkout process. It could be during the incorporation or a week after receiving the product. Even something as simple as a handwritten message can make your customer extremely happy.

Conclusion:

If you want to stay in business for a long time, you need to realize that the post-purchase experience is very important and deserves your team's time, effort, and expertise. Helping your customers after they've purchased might seem obvious to you, but a lot of businesses fail at this point. They don't have an agenda when it comes to retaining their customers with a smart post-purchase experience program.

Understanding that a customer's journey doesn't end after the purchase will make your business extremely successful. Invest in the post-purchase experience, take pride in your customers, and make sure they feel the same about you.