No Post-Purchase Engagement Plan? Join the Club.
Companies maybe spending a lot of time (and money) engaging customers during the early stages of the buyer journey, but many it seems have forgotten entirely about the latter phases - which could prove to be an expensive mistake.
WBR Digital and Narvar released a report recently, "
Pathways to Loyalty and Post-Purchase Success," which explored how retailers are currently approaching the customer experience after a consumer places an order and the results are far from comforting.
The findings reveal that while communication continues to play an important role in fostering loyalty after a purchase, retailers can lose connection with customers at the exact moment they are developing expectations that will influence their future interactions (e.g., purchases) with the brand. The research suggests that engaging customers appropriately during this phase of their journey is key to building meaningful relationships fundamental to a brand's success.
"Customer loyalty is a difficult thing to capture-but retailers who successfully implement customer loyalty initiatives see revenue. This applies to all stages of the buyer's journey, most notably post-purchase-the period of time after a customer's first conversion," stated Christopher Rand, Business Analyst, WBR Digital. "The survey puts a finger on the pulse of retailers' post-purchase perceptions and strategies to highlight their importance to retailers of all sizes."
Key statistics from the survey include:
+ 90% of retailers agree that engaging customers after they make a purchase drives new site traffic and revenue; 52% of retailers strongly agree.
+ Among five initiatives, recommending new, related products brings the highest value for 40% of retailers.
+ 87% of retailers agree that providing customers with proactive information about their orders decreases call center volume.
+ Retailers identify price, internal resources, and availability as their biggest obstacles to moving forward with post-purchase initiatives.
