Closing a successful sales deal should not be the end of the customer journey. Brands must also focus on the post-sales Customer Journey.
According to PWC’s survey, 96% of consumers will leave if a company provides bad customer service.
However, if they succeed in giving customers the post-sales service they expect, this can increase customer retention and encourage them to buy again.
Zippia Research states that investing just 5% in customer retention can increase profits by 25-95%.
Understand The Entire Customer Lifecycle
It’s important to consider the entire customer lifecycle, not just the initial purchase. The post-sale journey is crucial in building customer loyalty and driving future sales.
After customers buy a product, their interactions with a company are called the post-sale journey. Many brands put much effort into providing an excellent experience before a sale. However, creating a positive post-sale experience for customers is equally crucial.
This is because it can greatly impact customer loyalty, retention, and potential for future sales. Throughout this journey, customers come in contact with various touchpoints, such as customer service representatives, marketing materials, and digital content.
These touchpoints allow brands to build strong customer relationships and offer positive experiences.
Here are the top strategies to improve the post-sales Customer Journey in 2024.
Product Manual Materials
It’s always helpful to include training materials as part of a product’s purchase to assist customers in learning how to use it effectively. The training materials can be online tutorials, videos, apps, or appointments with a specialist.
By providing these materials, customers can easily learn how to use the product and avoid frustration from not knowing how to use it.
Evaluating the customers’ needs and providing the necessary materials is crucial to ensure a smooth post-purchase experience. Also, this allows them to get the most out of the product directly. In addition, they must be informed to contact customer service if they have any questions or concerns.
Provide Support Services
It is common for things to go wrong, which can happen to anyone. To help your customers during such situations, it’s important to provide multiple ways to contact your support team.
Customers may prefer different communication channels based on their preferences, age, and the nature of the issue. For example, older customers may prefer calling a support line to speak with a human, while younger customers may prefer connecting with a bot.
In addition, some customers may prefer looking for troubleshooting guides on the website to solve the issue independently.
Paired Products Cross-selling
Consider suggesting add-ons to the customers to improve their experience with the product. You can also provide warranties or special maintenance services to optimize the experience.
Automated Personalized Emails
Consider setting automated emails for important occasions like holidays, birthdays, and purchase anniversaries. Such events provide an excellent chance to show the customers they are valued even after purchasing.
Marketers can easily gain this information through a loyalty program or collect it at the point of sale (POS). Send them a tailored message on their special day, highlighting any promotions or relevant products in the email.
Customer Feedback Implementation
It is vital to collect customer feedback as it helps gain valuable insights that can be used to improve the business, products, services, and customer experience.
Encouraging customers to provide feedback is an effective way to measure their satisfaction levels. It helps to understand their preferences, needs and wants.
By conducting customer feedback surveys, one can listen to happy and dissatisfied customers and utilize their feedback to improve the overall customer experience. This ensures all customers are satisfied and willing to continue with the brand.
Significance of A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Platform in Post-Sales Customer Journey
To effectively manage customer information, brands often use CRM software. This software allows them to keep track of customer purchase history, contact details, and service requests in one central location. This makes it easier to provide better service.
In addition, CRM software allows them to segment their customers on the basis of different criterion, like purchase history, geographic location, or product preferences. These segments can target customer groups with relevant marketing campaigns, promotions, or offers. This can also help increase customer satisfaction.
Furthermore, CRM software enables customer and brand communication through various channels, such as email, phone, or social media.
They can improve customer communication and build trust by capturing customer requests and making it easier for customer service agents to respond on time.
According to Statista’s Worldwide CRM Software Market Size 2015-2026 Report, The global customer relationship management (CRM) software market is forecast to grow to USD 57 billion in 2025. This is a projected increase of almost USD 4 billion from 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1%.
Wrap Up
The post-sales customer journey is just as important as the initial purchase experience. Brands must provide excellent post-sales service to retain customers and encourage future sales.
Brands can improve the post-sales customer journey by:
- Understanding the entire customer lifecycle
- Providing product manuals
- Offering support services
- Cross-selling paired products
- Sending personalized emails
- Implementing customer feedback
In addition, using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform can help them track customer information and provide better service.
Implementing these strategies can strengthen customer relationships, improve customer satisfaction, and increase profits.
