Post-purchase personalization increases customer retention by 40% and savings by five times that would otherwise be spent on acquiring new customers.
(Source: Inc42)
When customers enter social media, they are immediately thrown into the realm of well targeted sponsored advertisements, string of marketing prompts, etc.
This is because the objective of D2C businesses is to provide today’s tech-savvy consumers with hard-to-find products and trend-focused designs.
But how can one tell a new company is to be trusted?
How can one distinguish the good from the bad?
The fact is, customers frequently rely on the details provided on the “buy now” page. To evaluate a product’s ‘real-life’ attractiveness, audience consider factors like EDD, returns policies, user reviews, and occasionally even the integrated Instagram feed.
What does this tell?
Customers obviously value the pre-purchase experience.
Equally, if not more, important is the post-purchase experience.
It decides whether the customer will return to make repeated purchase or not, what kind of reviews the D2C brand will garner, the impression it will make in the market through word-of-mouth, etc.
Hence, it is not enough to just make the customer place the order.
Instead, the real art is to sustain the customer and its spending on the brand way into the future until brand loyalty finally takes root.
So how can that be done?
What makes a D2C customer keep coming back?
Statistics reveal that more than 95% of internet buyers follow and track their orders.
Every day until they receive their shipment, about half of them check the order tracking page. More than once a day, 20% of consumers check the status of their orders.
This demonstrates the expectation for delivery and the joy following a purchase.
However, 7 out of 10 customers also admit that they would prefer monitoring the tracking status for updates than contact customer service in the event of delays.
What does this customer behaviour reveal?
The modern consumer is accustomed to an “instant” lifestyle.
The instant dopamine dose is a norm for the D2C buyer, pursuing which it tails the status of its ordered parcel.
They are no longer accustomed to the slow internet connection and regularly scheduled TV shows. They are used to receiving replies straight away. Their demand for visibility on packages is a clear example of this attribute.
In this context, for D2C brands, the mentality of the “restless shopper” can prove to be very advantageous.
The crux of superior post-purchase experiences boils down to the quality of two things:
COMMUNICATION AND VISIBILITY
They work well together to win over customers’ trust and loyalty by offering alluring transparency and proactive business ethic.
According to Market Metrics, the probability of selling to an existing happy customer is up to 14 times higher than the probability of selling to a new customer.
With this goal in mind, here are some essential components that any D2C brand must have in order to elevate their customer’s post-purchase experience:
1. Tracking page equals transparency. Every D2C brand must have a custom tracking page.
Although a tracking page is a very straightforward service, it significantly improves the brand’s perception among consumers. When customers wanted to check the status of their airway bill number, they were quite happy to visit a courier page.
Thanks to the amazing selection of shipping software that is presently available, this pointless rigmarole may be safely stowed away.
The trick is to create the monitoring page in accordance with the brand’s concept and aesthetic while keeping it clear, thorough, and classy.
For instance, while shopping online, customers don’t need to search further for information thanks to the tidy tracking pages provided by Plum Goodness, Wow Science, and The House of Rare.
2. Keep notifications true to their word. D2C brands win hearts with honesty!
It is the best feeling in the world when the phone pings to let you know the shipment is ready for delivery.
At that moment, the pump of anticipation and excitement has people looking out the window.
However, the majority of the time, customers receive their items days after reading this communication, which is full of empty promises.
Must they remain at home?
Do they need to leave?
Should they alert their spouse, neighbour, or security guard?
No one likes to be left on a cliffhanger and messing with customer’s excitement byletting them down with delayed delivery proves to be the biggest turn-off and disaster for a D2C brand.
Real-time notifications sent by SMS, IVRS, WhatsApp, or email should not lag or be premature. In order to avoid sending your consumer into a hissy fit, it would be best to straighten out customer delivery experience by collaborating with the top service providers in the industry.
Real-time status updates are an art that Decathlon has mastered.
This goes a long way in prolonging customer lifecycle and loyalty to the D2C brand.
3. Brand Recall is important. Not out of sight is not out of mind!
How often do customers become utterly confused when they read the shortened name of a delivery service in their SMS list?
Especially given that the majority of consumers buy many items from several online retailers at once.
It really is a no-brainer to use white labelling.
This will also go hand in hand with brand recall.
It is time to quit hiding behind third-party doors when it comes to exposure and let your business identity stand out in all kinds of communication.
A white-labeled WhatsApp brand account provides with precise tracking information and this reinforces the post-purchase experience of the customer by several notches.
In exchange of convenience and comfort, D2C brands can carve out their market by offering crystal clear service every step of the way.
4. Support teams should treat chatbots like an extension of the team.
A customer hates non-delivery more than anything.
If there is anything more annoying than being given a weird name, being told their product is ready for delivery when it isn’t, and having to go to a courier website to monitor their order, it is the failed delivery of the order after prolonged wait and hassle.
Failed delivery shatters customer trust more than anything, proving to be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back.
D2C brands can sidestep this landmine by creating an automated resolution mechanism to address non-delivery notifications right away.
In the realm of customer service, chatbots have proven to be invaluable assets. By automating routine interactions, chatbots reduce customer wait times, improve response accuracy, and free up human agents to focus on more complex tasks.
Thus, D2C brands can put up chatbots to assist customers with frequently asked questions, resolve potential issues, handle concerns such as “customer unreachable” or “incomplete address” using an automated contact flow.
This system will help to guarantee that customers receive their purchases on time in addition to prioritizing the concerns of the customer singularly and swiftly.
All these features are effective weapons for every D2C company that wants to become well-known. It sets a good impression and establishes an air of professional transparency that today’s customer immensely values.
By following these steps and making tweaks to the customer post-purchase experience, D2C brands can experience instant decrease in client attrition and an increase in brand trust and loyalty by offering transparency in delivery.
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