Most customer experience efforts are focused on getting customers into and through the sales funnel. However, a company can do follow-ups with customers to get them to continue doing business with it. Even so, the organization should do the post-purchase customer experience follow-up with care because consumers should not see it as spam.
As outlined by CMS Wire, business executives shared strategies that they learned as the best practices after the sale for continuing customer experience.
Send Detailed Updates And Limited Feedback Request
According to John Ross, president, and CEO of Test Prep Insight, they changed the way they do post-sales customer experience because consumer behaviors have changed due to the pandemic. Also, because now consumers have made more purchases online, they are more concerned about post-sales actions compared to prior COVID19. Which at the same time, they found two strategies that are quite helpful.
The first one is sending updates via SMS. Ross mentioned that it should be used where possible as customers want to know the status of a service or a product that they are expecting.
“The last thing they want is to check the order status and see a vague message like “processing.” Provide detailed and transparent status updates, especially by text message if possible. Customers are now accustomed to receiving commercial texts for dentist appointments, golf tee times, FedEx deliveries, etc. As long as the customer agrees, leverage SMS updates where possible, as it provides an excellent post-sales CX,” clarified Ross.
The second method is limiting the feedback request emails. Feedback data is crucial to improve the business and make consistent changes to the customer experience. However, customers will not like it if they receive a lot of email requests to fill out a survey or submit feedback.
“The best practice is to limit feedback or review request emails to a maximum of two. Send one feedback request email two days after their product or service is delivered (while they are still happy and thinking about your company), and follow up with a second request one week after that if you didn’t get the feedback or review you were after. Beyond that, it’s a lost cause and any more follow-up emails risk alienating an otherwise happy customer,” Ross suggested.
Be Responsive
On the other hand, the founder and president of Cafe Last, Graham Cooke said they mainly use email to make sure that their customer has had a great experience.
“We send our first email three days after the sale is complete, basically asking how we have done utilizing a review system, 1-5 stars. If the customer gives us a 4-or 5-star review, we graciously thank them and ask them to share a review on Yelp or Trustpilot. If we get a 1-3-star review, it automatically creates a support ticket so our customer support team can reach out and do our best to make the experience right. Additionally, the happy-customers segment gets added back to our marketing list so we can continue selling to them in the future,” asserted Cooke.
Cooke clarified that the main purpose is to fix any concerns that the customers might have and ensure that they resolve them before they leave a negative review or shop with new customers in the future. Also, customers want to feel as if they are being looked after. So, if they leave a bad rating, reaching out to them instantly might change their mind.
“We have had customers leave a bad review due to a misunderstanding, and then once we make it right, refer their friends and send new sales to us,” Cooke said.
Create A Sense Of Exclusivity
Chris Laan, founder of Designer Sheds recommended offering customers the opportunity to be members of an exclusive group.
“Create an invite-only Facebook group that’s only for verified buyers or subscribers to your service,” Laan said.
Laan further said customers are more likely to buy from the same brand again in the future when they have a good experience with the product or service.
“Moreover, people simply love sharing, especially with others who understand their field or work in a similar industry. And finally, an exclusive group can be its own form of tech support, as well as an excellent starting point for research when developing new products, services or features,” he asserted.
Laan advised that if the organization does not have the resources to run a Facebook community, then at least provide an exclusive mailing list to join or to share YouTube videos only for customers on a similar subject or an in-depth ebook.
“The key here is that you need to provide real value,” Laan explained. “Customers already expect to receive marketing emails and sales offers from your company from date-of-purchase until the end of time — or at least until they decide to unsubscribe. By actually taking the time to build something that’s only for the people who’ve actually made a purchase at your company, you’re bringing customer obsession to life in a way most shoppers have never even experienced.”
