Getting potential customers to convert should be a major initial focus of any business, but it is not enough to keep your business running for years or even decades. Emphasizing post-sale relationships is where truly sustainable growth comes from, because return customers tend to buy more products and even refer you to new potential customers. Keep reading to learn about the importance of investing in customers after the first purchase.
How Post-Sale Investment Leads to Better Growth
Increase Upselling and Cross-Selling
Post-sale investment first leads to better growth by increasing both upselling (customers upgrading their purchase) and cross-selling (customers buying additional items related to the original purchase). After all, people who are already very satisfied with their purchase are more likely to trust your brand and its various products.
For example, a CNC shop that is happy with its woodworking tool purchase is more likely to expand further by using products from the same brand. The kind of satisfaction that drives customers to buy more expansively comes from customers getting the most value from their purchase, which is another sign to invest in customers after the initial purchase.
Better Customer Lifetime Value
Investing in customers after purchase also increases customer lifetime value (CLV): the total revenue that a customer brings to a brand during their entire relationship. Even though you have successfully converted them, customers are less likely to make another purchase if they do not feel supported.
Post-sale investment does not just stop at decreasing churn or improving upselling and cross-selling. Fully supported customers will consistently buy from you while becoming a natural advocate for your business. All of these factors dramatically increase the value that a customer brings beyond their first purchase.
Improved Customer Loyalty
In general, investing in your customers leads to improved brand loyalty. Satisfied and engaged customers are more likely to trust your company and to continue buying its products. It actually costs more to acquire new customers than it does to retain them, so customer loyalty is not to be underestimated.
Customer loyalty also compounds in a way that cannot be matched by just trying to appeal to an increasingly large audience. Pulling in and converting customers can still be a main focus, but the value of a customer who is loyal to your brand will only continue to grow as time goes on.
Automatic Word-of-Mouth Marketing
When you create loyal customers through post-sale investment, you also get built-in word-of-mouth marketing. Customers who feel supported and have gotten the full value from your products or services now have reasons to recommend your brand. Instead of focusing on a broader target audience, take the customer base you do have and convert them into advocates.
Word-of-mouth marketing has many benefits over traditional advertising methods, one of which is building a network of loyal customers. Loyal customers can talk to their friends, family, and coworkers who are most likely to benefit from your brand because they have insider knowledge. If you keep investing in customers after the initial purchase, you will soon enough have better retention rates and exponential growth.
How To Invest in Customers After the First Purchase
1. Create Self-Service Options
Creating self-service options is about helping customers get the most value out of your products or services without the intervention of your employees. Also, many customers prefer to troubleshoot their own issues without having to contact your business and wait for support. For example, a CNC shop owner who buys an acrylic machine wants to have everything he needs to properly use and install it from day one. Making that process difficult increases churn.
Knowledge bases are another popular self-service option, because they answer the most frequently asked questions that customers tend to have about certain products. AI chatbots can be similarly installed so that customers can quickly solve their problems. Either option will also give your customer support team more time and energy to handle higher-priority issues.
2. Request and Act on Feedback
Requesting feedback is another common way to further invest in customers, and it works best when you show that you’ve acted upon their problems and/or suggestions. Start perhaps by doing a personalized check-in through email, the phone, or your app within 72 hours of the first purchase. It can be a very short inquiry or a full conversation depending on what you sell.
Even though it might not feel as personal, it is often worth setting a schedule or structure so that you are regularly requesting customer feedback. Set common intervals like 30 or 90 days after initial purchase and follow up organically in some way. This tends to be more effective than just sending out anonymous surveys, although these methods can be done in conjunction with one another. Acknowledge all feedback that you receive and find a way to demonstrate that you have taken appropriate action. This can greatly improve customer trust and loyalty.
3. Personalize Customer Service
The best customer service models are those that feel personalized to each customer. This method of post-sale investment is possible for even the smallest startup. In fact, many corporations and other large businesses farm out their customer service to automation and overburdened customer support staff. Smaller competitors naturally have the freedom to interact with greater depth than that.
Customer service personalization is about having full conversations with customers and ensuring that they leave fully satisfied. Train yourself and any customer support staff you have to track customer preferences, remember past conversations, and keep those details in mind whenever engaging with returning customers. That level of personalization will improve brand trust and get you closer to converting customers to full-blown advocacy.
4. Establish a Rewards Program
Establishing a rewards program is another fundamental way to continue investing in your customer base. This can start out with simply giving customers a free item after a certain number of purchases or giving a discount on a new, pricier item. The point of your rewards program should meet customer needs, because a poor design will only lead to increased customer frustration.
The format of your rewards program will naturally depend on the products and services offered by your brand. For example, a company that offers a subscription cannot really offer anything for free besides maybe a significant discount or a free month during their subscription period. Other businesses, like CNC shops, sell such large and expensive products that giving out free or heavily discounted products does not make much business sense.
5. Encourage Referrals
Finally, you can invest in your customer base by encouraging them to make referrals. You first have to ensure that your product quality is high and that customers are getting the full value from their purchase. Once that is established, you can ask at specific times for a possible referral. Such moments might include right after a return purchase or after taking action on customer feedback.
Customer referrals can also become part of your rewards program. Offer some form of incentive for a limited period of time or make it a regular, structural part of your loyalty scheme. Perhaps customers will get something free or discounted if the person they refer successfully converts. This type of post-sale investment has a low cost while greatly improving conversion rates.
