Retail brands spend considerable time and effort optimizing customer touch points before and during the purchase. But what happens then? For many retailers, the line of communication disappears completely. Customers are often contacted by third-party companies that they’ve never heard of, or worse – they’re left in radio silence.
At parcelLab, we believe these companies are wasting an opportunity. A positive experience post-purchase can turn a one-off buy into a long-term customer. From ‘Add to basket’ to ‘on their doorstep’, here are parcelLab’s top 5 customer touchpoints retailers should use to make a lasting impression post-purchase.
1. Order confirmation
A personal and branded order confirmation is important. Customers are likely to refer back to this email, so you want to make sure it’s clear what they’ve bought and who they bought it from. Use this email to set clear, specific expectations for delivery as well as a link to your FAQs. This will reduce the amount of calls your customer service team will receive.
2. Tracking information
Let’s face it – people want to know when their purchase is going to arrive, so share this information with your customer as soon as possible. parcelLab recommends using a Track and Trace page that provides your customer with instant access to the live status and location of their order.
Online retailers can boost their repurchase rate by improving their post-purchase touchpoints
3. Returns communication
parcelLab recommends that retailers should keep customers updated with the progress of their return order to reduce the amount of customer enquiries they receive. Sending a returns acknowledgment and a returns success notification will keep the customer relaxed throughout this otherwise stressful process. This is a great way to go above and beyond your customers’ expectations and increase your repurchase rate.
4. Feedback request
The product was delivered without a hitch – hooray! Why not ask for your customers’ feedback to make sure it went as smoothly for them as it did for you? Adding a simple rating poll to your delivery notice will give customers the opportunity to give feedback quickly and conveniently. The results you receive from this can be used to calculate a NPS (Net Promoter Score) that can give you great insight into your performance.
5. Follow-up offer
To encourage the customer to make another purchase with you (and another, another…), consider sending them an incentive. This could be a discount or a free trial of a different product, or it could be a ‘refer a friend’ benefit. This will give customers an extra nudge to come back to your company rather than trying a competitor.
Are you ready to improve your post-purchase journey?
To sum up, you should aim to make every interaction with your customer pre-delivery delightful. Look for opportunities to keep in touch across every digital touch point. Include useful information and link back to your FAQ pages to increase traffic to your site and reduce your customer service calls.
parcelLab is the only UK company dedicated to post-purchase communication. We help businesses improve how they communicate, and turn customers into loyal brand ambassadors.
Our clients report a 90% repurchase rate and a 55% increase in customer satisfaction. Contact us now to find out how we can do the same for you.
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