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A BBC article recently pointed to customer fatigue over the routine use of Covid as an excuse for poor service: late delivery, unavailable after-sales service, parts out of stock...
The result (and the good news for you) is that many customers are now willing to pay extra if they know they will get better customer service. It is therefore to your advantage to improve your customer experience, especially in the post-purchase.
Moreover, the contact points of your brand with your customers are now multiplied by digital. The various contact points, already acquired in the pre-purchase marketing funnel, are essential levers to maintain the link with your customers in the post-purchase. Moreover, these interactions allow you to collect valuable data on their needs, which will help you better understand them and improve your offer.
The Pimster team explains the 3 key pillars to strengthening your customer experience: personalization, omnichannel experiences and post-purchase. 👉
By improving your post-purchase experience, customers are likely to:
Finally, the customer experience is both a way to bond your user and to humanize your company thanks to unforgettable experiences or small thoughtful attentions.
For example, Chewy, the largest online pet food seller in the U.S., sets itself apart from its competitors, offering personalized services.
They send handwritten welcome cards to each new customer, leaving their contact information. They also offer portraits of their clients' pets without them even asking. Finally, if a client's pet passes away, they send a bouquet and a note of condolence.
Chewy creates memories and emotions around the simple act of buying pet food. Customers** feel special and unique when they interact with the brand. They feel valued. Even though Chewy offers products that are on average more expensive than its competitors, their customers are willing to pay more for personalized service.
Thus, personalization leads to price insensitivity on the part of customers.
What does the company get in return? And to what extent does the customer experience influence the value customers bring to the company?
This kind of thoughtfulness leads to higher acquisition rates for Chewy. The result is higher revenue and a stronger, more trusting customer relationship. The result: Chewy will soon surpass Amazon in the pet food retail industry.
One of the main keys to a successful customer experience is personalization.
This personalization is only possible if you really understand your customer in order to better target them and thus better personalize your products or services.
To do this, you can use very concrete marketing tools such as the customer journey map, which allows you to detail all the steps before the purchase. But you can also target your customer by establishing customer personas allowing you to project yourself in the shoes of your customers. This method finally allows you to use empathy, one of the six pillars of the customer experience according to KPMG, to be able to find your customers.
Once you know your customers, all you have to do is adapt the experience you offer. For example, Lego has adapted to its customers in its Lego Stores by putting shelves at children's eye level, while not forgetting adults and displaying the most complex models within reach of older children.
Did you know that companies with the strongest omnichannel experiences retain an average of 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for companies with weak omnichannel customer experiences? (Forbes, 2019)
To make your customer touchpoints available everywhere, you can implement omnichannel communication to easily and continuously interact with customers, and create value even after the purchase.
It's about establishing a course with your consumer that is meant to last. In return, your company can have a direct link with its customers, feedback and therefore more data. The continuous interaction allows you to build a trust and a privileged relationship that does not stop after the act of purchase.
A striking example is that of the pasta brand Barilla, which has done a great job of mapping the experiences of its customers after the purchase. The brand realized that the main sticking point for its products was cooking time.
So it launched Spotify playlists to replace the kitchen timer. This allows the brand to be present at an important touchpoint in its user's journey to create a new and original experience and to stay in contact with its customers after the purchase.
It would be a shame to stop there! Post-purchase has long been neglected, yet it is an unsuspected growth lever.
In post-purchase, the overall benefit-cost ratio is what brings value to customers. However, cutting costs at the expense of profits can hurt your company's competitive advantage.
For example, Dell outsourced the customer service call centre to India and the Philippines, resulting in understaffing, inadequate sales training, and long wait times.
Increased competition in the industry has led to erosion of competitive advantage and decline in market share and share price. The customer experience provided in the post-purchase is equally significant to your company's bottom line, as it is your image that is at stake.
To follow and coordinate your post-purchase actions between your different departments, you can use CRM software programs (Customer Relationship Management) allowing you to interact with your customers and track your customer data. This allows you to increase your knowledge of your customers and thus improve your overall customer experience.
For example, Enfagrow, which specializes in infant formula, collects age data from its customers to proactively send them age-appropriate product recommendations. Enfagrow sends personalized emails for each stage of baby's development, offering tips, activities, and discounts on age-appropriate products. The brand has mastered customer relationship management, leveraging customer data during their purchase to personalize their experience afterwards.
Here's the bottom line:
Don't bother multiplying your software, Pimster offers an all-in-one solution to excel in the post-purchase customer experience. We suggest that you use the user guide and our analysis software as a new growth lever, from start to finish.
If you want to boost your customer experience, it's here.