The emphasis on marketing and promotional strategies, as well as advertising and search optimization, has been a longstanding approach to customer acquisition in e-commerce. E- commerce customer acquisition for years has been dominated by advertising, optimizing search, social media, influencers, and promotions. However, the accessibility of these channels is still relevant, and costs to acquire customers and competition are driving online retailers to think beyond the “point of sale”.
An increasingly great opportunity is to be had after the check-out. From the delivery update to return to customer support, warranties, product guidance, repair to follow up communication, these elements affect the brand’s customer experience. If these interactions are done properly, after-sales service can be used to foster repeat business, good reviews, recommendations and build better customer relationships.
That takes post-purchase support out of the box and makes it an integral part of the business. It is becoming an integral part of the ecommerce fueling engine.
The Customer Journey No Longer Ends at Checkout
A common ecommerce funnel approach is to see conversion as the end goal. In reality, the first order may just be the start of an extended business partnership.
The evaluation of a retailer goes on after customers have made their purchase. They are aware of the accuracy of their delivery details, their quick response from support teams and easy returns. These experiences affect their repurchase and/or their recommendation rates.
Five post-purchase moments can have a particularly strong influence:
- Clear order confirmations with a clear idea of what to do next.
- Up-to-date shipments throughout the shipping process.
- Easy to reach customer support, if there are problems or questions.
- Easy return, exchange, and refund processes.
- Helpful follow-up communication after successful delivery.
Delivery Has Become Part of Brand Perception
Customers don’t usually manage to clear logistics from the retailer. When customers place orders and they are late, without any communication, ecommerce brand takes the blame, irrespective of which logistics service provider is responsible.
Retailers are thus spending money on proactive notifications, delivery tracking, delivery windows and exception alerts. Not only does this decrease uncertainty for customers but it also helps to demonstrate to them that the retailer is responsible for the experience after they’ve paid for it.
Service Interactions Can Give Rise to Next Purchase
The information in after-sales support is of commercial value. If a customer calls in asking how to use a product, for an accessory, replacement or maintenance information they may be exhibiting another need.
These interactions can be leveraged for providing relevant support and not generic promotional messages in contemporary ecommerce businesses. The difference here is that recommendations should address an actual customer need, and not be a sales pitch in every customer support interaction.
Support Data – Reveals Customer Intent
Conventional marketing analytics may not catch the questions and issues coming in from customer service teams. If you have multiple questions regarding compatibility, sizing, replacement parts, installation, or other complimentary products, this might indicate some missteps in the current customer journey.
If service data is linked with CRM and ecommerce solutions, brands can create more relevant segments of customers, and communicate with them even better in the future. Support can thus be a source of first party insight – as well as a problem solving function.
Five Ways After-Sales Service Can Aid Customer Acquisition
Good post-purchase experiences can impact on the growth beyond the initial purchaser. There are a number of ways in which the service quality can be a component in acquiring customers:
- Customer referrals: Happy shoppers are more willing to recommend a retailer to friends and family.
- Good reviews – A good customer service experience will lead to positive product and store reviews.
- If users are happy, they can post the information and experiences about their purchases online.
- Repeat purchases: Returning customers need not make the same investment in acquiring as do new customers.
- Brand advocacy: When a customer is a good service then they can become a good advertiser of the business.
Review Connect Service with Discovery
Reviews often are more thorough than just a description of the product: they describe the complete shopping experience. Deliveries, packing, communication, exchange, refunds and responsiveness of support are all typical areas of discussion with customers.
Such remarks can make a difference when you’re trying to attract the attention of an unknown consumer. After-sales performance can thus affect acquisition indirectly through generating public evidence to decrease acquisition risk.
There is a loyalty test in return.
Often returns are considered just as a cost centre but it can also be a vital trust moment. If customers find that the policies are complicated, they may not make the purchase again if they find the policies complicated, find hidden conditions, or the refunds are slow.
The opposite reaction can be achieved with an open return. Clear instructions, an easily followed refund process, easy return options, and prompt communication ease the fear and uncertainty, even if the initial purchase was misguided, and a sense of reliability.
Retention and Acquisition Intersecting.
In the world of ecommerce, it’s becoming increasingly blurry between customer retention and acquisition. A customer that remains in the system can buy again, write a review, refer a friend or write content that can be seen by the potential customers.
This will affect retailers’ after-sales investment. Some metrics are still useful, but they only provide some of the answers, like ticket resolution time. Repeat purchase rate following the interaction of support, referral activity, customer lifetime value, review sentiment and return customer conversion rate are other parameters that companies can review.
Conclusion
After-sales service is now not only a part of the ecommerce operations but has also shifted to customer acquisition. The ability to communicate with customers about delivery, respond to their needs, provide a simple returns policy, offer helpful product information, and follow up with customers is what can influence repeat purchases, and the likelihood that they will refer you to their friends.
The best chance of success is to consider the post-purchase experience as a part of the customer journey. When your ecommerce business can provide a reliable, transparent and valuable service, it becomes a way to turn your customers into repeat customers as well as high-quality potential customer leads.
FAQs
1. How can after-sales service help ecommerce customer acquisition?
When it comes to after-sales, the positive comments, referrals, recommendations and repeat sales can be encouraged with good after-sales service. This can lead to the acquisition of new customers to a brand and also minimize reliance on paid acquisition.
2. What are the most important after-sales services in E-commerce?
These are key touchpoints that lead to successful deliveries, customer support, returns, refunds, exchanges, warranties, product instruction and after-sales support.
3. Delivery Has Become Part of Brand Perception
Yes. Clear and convenient returns can boost customer confidence as customers are aware that issues can be addressed without getting bogged down.
4. What are the ways that customer support data can enhance ecommerce marketing?
In conversations with the customer, their questions, product concerns, compatibility issues, and more are identified. These insights can be leveraged for better segmentation, content, products and related follow-up communication for retailers.