So, you’re planning to make a purchase. You conduct some research online, mull it over with a couple of trusted friends, then finally make the decision to buy. It arrives on your doorstep in a couple of days with a request to make an online review. So you wait a couple of days, call the service number for help setting it up, then get comfortable with your new toy before leaving your review. What do you say?
If you were your own customer – what would you say? Well, it likely has nothing to do with what happened during the research, mulling and purchasing stages, but everything to do with what happened after your package arrived on your doorstep.
Based on research published in the McKinsey Quarterly, 90% of marketing spend goes to advertising and retail promotions. Yet the most powerful force to buy is someone else’s advocacy.
So, how do you continue to sell your brand after your customer buys your product? How do you ensure your current customers leave good reviews over phone conversations, comment sections and review boards? And how do you replicate that optimal customer experience over and over again?
Companies need to think outside just the purchasing process to make a seamless customer experience from well before the consideration stage to well past the buying stage. Think about all the instances your current customers interact with your brand (social media, contact lines, help desks) – what are you doing at all of those touchpoints to ensure customer satisfaction?
By optimizing your service at each one of those touchpoints and more, you are considering a full experience – one that will satisfy your current customers to keep them coming back (and hopefully their friends too!).
