Think for a moment about how much time and energy you put into attracting new customers, then compare it to the resources spent on the customers you already have. If you notice a pretty severe bias in favor of the former, you’re not alone.
It’s pretty common for marketing efforts to be unevenly weighted toward securing new sales, leaving the valuable opportunities for nurturing existing customer relationships somewhat neglected.
Focusing more on generating repeat sales is great for your brand, and it’s essential for the longevity of your company — and that’s where after-sales marketing can be your most valuable tool.
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The Importance of After-Sales Marketing
The way customers interact with businesses, along with their expectations, has undergone a big shift in recent years. Providing a great product or service is only one-half of the deal now, as a new standard has been set for a customer experience with personalization and tailored communication.
What this really means is that businesses are expected to keep proving their value long after an initial purchase is made. So, if your B2B marketing strategies or B2C promotions are primarily focused on everything before a sale, it might be time to consider what happens after.
Remember, it’s a widely accepted fact that it’s more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to focus on finding new ones, leaving you with a higher return on investment. So, it’s in your best interests if you want to be competitive and profitable.
It’s also a way to make sure you stand out from the bustling crowd. Making the extra effort to keep your customers engaged and feeling valued pays off. You’re building a stronger brand connection and the kind of customer loyalty your competitors will be striving to replicate.
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Enhance Customer Relationships
It’s important to think about your relationship with customers in the long term, not only up until you get the first sale over the line. To strengthen this bond, one of the most effective tools at your disposal is tailored and targeted communication.
Using personalized email marketing in your after-sales strategy can have a big impact, demonstrating to customers that they’re more than just a number on a balance sheet. These emails might include a simple thank you or perhaps a follow-up on their purchase with a request for feedback.
Think carefully about the timing of your communication. While a thank you message can be prompt, an email asking how a product or service is working for them should be sent a little later, allowing them time to be able to provide a meaningful answer. These touches show that even after they’ve made a purchase, your commitment to customer satisfaction remains.
How CX (Customer Experience) Can Combat Customer Churn
Customer Feedback to Boost Loyalty
When you ask customers for feedback, make sure you mean it. This isn’t just about creating the appearance that you’re listening but about the benefit you can gain from actually listening. Seek out customers’ opinions on your products or services and make it easy for them to share their thoughts with you.
There are a number of possible ways to gather customer feedback. An email that opens up the floor for them to express their views freeform is one way. However, for more structured insights, a survey may be a better option.
Social media is another channel that can provide a quick litmus test for perceptions of your brand. Plus, there’s always the more personal approach of a phone call or face-to-face meeting, which can result in a more organic and detailed understanding of how a customer is feeling.
Once you’ve gathered the information you need, look for any issues that are coming up regularly and take steps to remedy anything that needs fixing. Once you’ve made any changes, track the customer response — did a change in your service or product affect the way customers interact with your offerings?
Consistently collecting feedback, implementing changes, and gaining insights into customer behavior will go a long way to creating loyal customers and, as a result, helping your business grow.
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Enrich After Sales Services with Resources
What value are you offering customers after a sale? Consider what you could provide to create a more positive experience. For example, educational resources like user guides or how-to tutorials can help customers get even more out of their purchases.
This provides them with useful and valuable support while also showing that satisfied customers are your priority. This showcases you as a brand that wants to share your expertise and invest in your client’s success, helping to build trust, which is a prerequisite for customer loyalty.
Another strategy that many businesses have adopted is to create a community where customers can connect with others who have similar needs or interests. An online forum or social media group where customers get to feel like they’re part of something is a popular choice, and it’s also great for creating loyalty.
Turn Problems Into Opportunities
No one likes to deal with complaints but even the best companies will have to handle them on occasion. When they arise, you have a chance to set yourself apart from competitors in the way that you handle them.
The main focus should be on finding solutions, so when things go wrong, you can take the chance to show customers that you’re going to do everything possible to make it right. Make sure the service they receive is personal and understanding.
If you have a bigger team, invest in service training to make sure difficult customer inquiries are handled with care and diligence. Also, make sure there are multiple support channels open, including email, phone, and live chat, so they can reach you in a way that ‘s most convenient to them.
Quick response times are important here, potentially preventing a difficult situation from escalating any further and making it less stressful for customers and staff alike. Look carefully at your customer service policies too.
Warranties, repairs, and return policies that are flexible and fair can have a big impact on how customers view your brand. Using these strategies to handle complaints or issues can keep customers on your side and help improve the overall post-purchase experience.
How to Drive Customer Loyalty Through Exceptional Post-Purchase Experiences
Create a Loyalty Program That Works
This idea is simple: if you want customers to stick around, reward them for their loyalty. Think about the unique needs and capabilities of your business so you can start building a loyalty program that works for you and your customers.
You could go with a tried-and-tested points system or something similar, but alternatively, you might try creating a loyalty program that offers a more personalized experience with meaningful rewards.
For example, you could offer exclusive access to new products and services or early access to sales. An approach that many businesses have adopted is a tiered rewards system.
If you offer different levels of benefits based on engagement or expenditure, you can create a loyalty program that gives the feeling of exclusivity while still remaining accessible to different-sized budgets.
Loyalty can then be rewarded at every level, but the most frequent customers get the very best VIP experience to encourage ongoing purchases or commitment.
Try to think beyond the basics of a loyalty program and craft something that fits with your brand identity while cultivating happy customers who are in it for the long haul.
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Use Automation and AI
If you want to take after-sales strategy to the next level, introduce automation and AI into your marketing efforts. Not only do they make everything run more efficiently, but they can also help you achieve new heights of personalization and excellent customer service.
Predictive AI tools, for example, analyze customer behavior and find opportunities for the next steps, such as sending out a feedback survey, an email reminder to reorder a frequently purchased product, or tailored suggestions for other products and services.
You may also find tools designed for lead generation and marketing automation to be useful in integrating your after-sales efforts with your overall marketing strategy. They simplify the whole journey, improving the consistency of messaging and communication from the beginning of a customer relationship through to the post-sale period.
However, if you use these tools, keep in mind the importance of finding the right balance between humans and technology. Chatbots, for instance, are a great tool for answering some queries quickly and efficiently, but there will always be times when human sensitivity and judgement are needed.
Build a Customer-centric Future
Fine-tuning your after-sales services and marketing is one of the best tactics you can use to encourage customer loyalty. Typically, a lot of work goes into attracting new customers, but investing in existing clients is an equally worthwhile use of your resources.
Providing a personalized experience lets customers know they’re valued while offering value in return through loyalty programs or educational content, keeping customers returning to your brand time after time.
Use the right technology solutions to help you stay efficient while you tailor the service you provide and always listen to your customers.
All these strategies will help your customer retention rates improve, which, in turn, contributes to sustainable growth and profitability.
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