From First-timers to Forever Fans - All about the post-purchase experience

P.S.: Post-purchase strategy goes beyond order confirmations. This blog talks about exactly that. Give it a read. I bet you won’t regret it. 😎

Wondering how to create superfans for your brand? Here are a few straightforward and easy tactics. Happy reading 🙂

Do numbers tell you everything? How many likes? How many email subscribers? How many purchases?

Or is there more to that? 

As an entrepreneur, you have to remember that there are real people behind all that data. People who are looking for trustworthy resources that add value to them every time they interact. 

Once you do that, you give rise to superfans. 

Customers may buy a product. But superfans will be your biggest supporters. They will promote you and your products. They will be your loyal brand ambassadors.

So, what does it take to convert first-timers into forever fans?

Blood? ❌

Sweat? ❌

Good customer experience? ✔️

It’s not a work of a single, huge magical moment, but of many smaller magical moments that transform first-time buyers into repeat buyers and eventually into superfans.

All you need to do is create that journey that will guide them to super fandom, slowly and steadily.

How do you do that? Maybe start with, not forgetting them?

Why does it matter? 

You spend tons of money on marketing campaigns, optimize your website, simplify the checkout process, and finally, make the customer buy. Now what? Is the job done? 

Not even close!

The actual work starts after the sale is made. 

What brings your customers back to your store for another shopping spree depends a lot on how you treat them after their first purchase. It can mean a difference between disappointed, churning customers and loyal brand advocates. 

By improving the post-purchase experience, you can encourage customers to buy again and again.

And when you do this, you get superfans and lay the foundation of a sustainable brand. 

So, here are the practical post-purchase tactics you can attempt to create superfans. 

Here we go! 🕺

Post-Purchase Wisdom: The Real Deal 🤯

Most of the blogs related to the post-purchase experience talk about sending order confirmation messages, thank you messages, etc. 

Let’s divert from the basic and talk about the practical post-purchase wizardry.

Here’s the real deal. When navigating the post-purchase journey, the wants and needs from customers are shockingly different from what brands deliver.

Let’s understand it more deeply.

After the first purchase, 

👉 Brands POV: most brands engage in pushy cross-selling and persistent upselling. An engagement strategy like this makes complete sense, but let’s have a look at customers’ point of view. 

👉 Customers POV: they want to feel less guilty about the big purchase, have high expectations and require constant validation for their choice. 

Let’s jump into a bit more detail.

When we take some major life decisions, the feeling of remorse and guilt envelopes our minds and we go in the state of overthinking. Same happens when a buyer makes a big purchase. Retail stores give instant gratification. You buy a product, you take it home and enjoy it right away. With online commerce, the time between “order placed” and “order delivered” is often filled with rethinking.

As an e-commerce brand, this is the time for you to build the hype around the product and remind the customer why they purchased it in the first place. Giving constant validation about their purchase fills customers with excitement and creates an ever-lasting impact on their mind. 

Once you cover the basics and ensure your customers are having a great experience with their first products, cross-selling and upselling become a lot easier and come across naturally.

Let’s dig more. ⛏️

Exceeding Expectation: Going above & beyond or just being better than expected? 

People often think that exceeding expectation is not their cup of tea. However, in true sense, exceeding expectations is not going above and beyond. It’s just being a little better than expected. 

Here’s an example.

I went to Socials on a friday night, without pre-booking the table. Big mistake, but couldn’t fight the urge to party on the weekend. The staff told me the wait time is 15 minutes, I was pissed. But they called out my name in 8 minutes, I was overjoyed. This right here is an example of exceeding expectations by being slightly better than expected. 

The only thing you have to be good at is being consistent. You want your customers to use the word always followed by something positive, such as, “They are always helpful,” to describe their experience with you.

Do this and you’ve cracked the deal. 

Create Deeper Connections 

Be the brand that knows its customer’s pet’s 🐶 name. 

Is it too much to ask for? 

Personalisation matters. When you see your name scribbled on the coffee at Starbucks, you click a picture and post it on the gram. You feel nice.

Using data about the customer in the right way will create a connection. Abuse the data, and the customer will disassociate from you. Getting a hold of customers’ information helps you create a better relationship and emotional connection with them. 

Concluding Remark

Remember, post-purchase strategy is about creating an experience that turns first-time buyers into superfans. So, don't forget to give attention to the real people behind the data. Trust me, it will be worth it in the end. 

Happy post-purchase strategising! 🤑