In the competitive modern market, it’s not enough to just make a sale and satisfy your customers on a one-time basis. These days, you need to maximize customer loyalty and keep buyers coming back for more.
But that’s easier said than done, especially if most of your business infrastructure is focused on acquiring customers rather than retaining them. Today, let’s look at eight ways you can keep your customers happy post-sale and bolster customer loyalty for the long term.
The Importance of Post-Sale Customer Engagement and Service
Post-sale customer service—customer service and engagement tactics you perform after making a sale—is crucial for one key reason: It costs more money to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one.
Imagine that you spend $20 on average to acquire a new customer. In contrast, it only costs you $10 in marketing materials to get a previous customer to buy another product from your brand after their initial purchase. The benefit is clear: a better bottom line for your brand and more consistent purchases for your company.
In the long term, post-sale customer engagement and service are critical because they help you build up a loyal customer base your brand can rely on time and again. The most successful businesses are not those that constantly acquire new clients. They have a dedicated consumer base that purchases new products as they are released.
If you practice good post-sale customer service:
- Your customer loyalty will increase. Consumers will continue to shop at your brand, even if a competitor has temporarily lower prices or attractive alternative products.
- Your new products will be purchased more quickly, helping to improve brand awareness for those products and maximize their market appeal.
- Your finances will be more stable since you can rely on a steadier income each month.
Considering these benefits, improving client loyalty immediately after the sale is a no-brainer.
8 Ways To Boost Customer Loyalty Post-Sale
You can improve customer loyalty after making an initial sale in multiple ways. Many of these methods can also be combined for even greater effectiveness. Let’s take a closer look at each method in detail.
– Ask for Feedback (and Make a Space for Customers To Give It)
– Train Your Customer Service Team for Comfort and Care
– Send Handwritten Thank-You Cards
– Offer Discounts or Upgrades (in Some Cases)
– Give a Gift or Bonus for Certain Purchases
– Nurture the Relationship with Email Marketing
1: Get To Know Your Customers
First and foremost, use CRM platforms and software to get to know your customers as intimately as possible. At the very least, you need to know their birthdays, email addresses, and favorite products, because this information is vital to your business.
The more you know about your customers, the better you can use personalized marketing, which is now the gold standard for selling to your ideal customers. As an example of personalized marketing, an email can be sent to a previous buyer on their birthday with a special discount. Due to this post-sale service, that customer might consider treating themselves to a present at your store just because you remembered their birthday.
The information you gather can yield significant marketing and sales benefits, so collect as much data as possible and don’t ever give up the opportunity to learn more about the people buying your products.
2: Ask for Feedback (and Make a Space for Customers To Give It)
Allowing customers to express their happiness with the service you’ve provided fosters great ties between you and your brand. Obtaining post-sale client feedback via chat, email, or surveys is a fantastic approach to provide superior service. In addition, the useful data collected might assist you in customizing your live streaming.
Some helpful tips when asking for customer feedback include:
- Emailing brief surveys or questionnaires with no more than five questions.
- Inquire about specific topics, such as the price of your products, what they enjoyed about your livestream, and the customer’s ability to locate what they were seeking.
- You should though avoid requiring customers to take surveys, since this may discourage them from returning to your brand.
The most important part is to put customer feedback into action. Consider this input if buyers want to see more product colors, sizes, or various ways to purchase. You give the customer flexibility by also providing several payment choices.
Being open about any additional credit card fees, shipping expenses, and shipping dates sets the customer’s expectations. Also consider covering any of these extra fees as it sends a positive jester that saves the customer money.
Read More: How Live Sales Improve Customer Satisfaction
3: Train Your Customer Service Team for Comfort and Care
Perhaps most importantly, you should train your customer service team to offer comfort and care to everyone who contacts them, no matter what. If a buyer wants to return a product, for instance, you’ll have a better chance of retaining that customer if your CS agents:
- Respond promptly
- Don’t try to change the customer’s mind
- Are kind and considerate throughout the interaction
Even if customers are initially upset, they might get over it and realize that the people representing your company are trying to help them. Even if they had to return a product for some reason, this could make them feel good about your company.
4: Send Handwritten Thank-You Cards
You can always send a handwritten thank you card, especially if a customer purchases a relatively expensive product. The right thank you card can cement your company in the buyer’s mind, making them more likely to turn to you when they need to purchase something similar in the future.
That said, ensure the thank you cards are authentic, heartfelt, and legitimate. If a customer feels your gratitude is fake or insincere, the value and effectiveness of the thank you card will be reduced.
5: Offer Discounts or Upgrades (in Some Cases)
From time to time, you might provide post-sale customer service by offering discounted upgrades to those who’ve already made one or more purchases.
For example, suppose a customer purchases a product that goes well with another offering at your online store. In that case, you might offer to sell them that accompanying product at a slight discount. Not only will this potentially help you net an additional sale, but it will also show your customers that you pay attention to what they buy and have their best interests at heart.
You can offer discounts or upgrades via email with an email marketing platform or at the checkout (though that’s technically not a post-sale service).
Read More: 3 Ways to Reduce Abandon Shopping Carts During Checkout
6: Give a Gift or Bonus for Certain Purchases
In the same way, you can offer gifts or bonuses for certain purchases, especially costly ones that require a lot of money from the customer.
Assume a customer purchases a high priced product or makes an exceptionally large order. To sweeten the bargain, offer them a special discount once they make the purchase, as well as the option of a birthday discount. Or if you are a jewelry or retailer, recommend a matching necklace, bracelet, or ear rings that makes the offer hard-to-resist. It’s a great way to thank people who buy big things from your business and get them to spread the word.
7: Build a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program can be highly effective when building and keeping customer loyalty. Buyers can join a loyalty program to get free shipping, regular discounts, and birthday surprises, among other things.
Once a customer joins a loyalty program, they aren’t likely to leave the brand unless they have to. In this way, building and maintaining a stellar loyalty program could be the best way to build and maintain a long-term customer base that will stick with your company through thick and thin. Just be sure to make your loyalty program attractive enough for people to sign up!
8: Nurture the Relationship with Email Marketing
As mentioned above, email marketing can do a lot for post-sale services. In fact, email marketing is a highly effective channel for nurturing customer relationships. Send your customers regular emails with helpful information, personalized ads for products you know they’ll like, and other goodies.
All of that will do a lot to keep your brand in the minds of your target audience and give your customers the impression that you want to keep the relationship going.
Learn More: 5 Ways to Win Customers with Automated Emails
Customer Loyalty Brings Retail Success
In the end, the best way to keep customers long-term is to ensure they are happy with your service after the sale. If you have a steady group of customers, you can grow your business and maybe even move into new retail or online markets. Good luck!
About the Author: Magnus Eriksen is a copywriter and an eCommerce SEO specialist with a degree in Marketing and Brand Management. Before he became a copywriter, he worked as a content writer for digital marketing companies like Synlighet AS and Omega Media, where he learned how to do both on-page and technical SEO.
