Why the Customer Experience After the Sale is Crucial for Your Business Success
Customer Experience after the sale will make or break the customer’s loyalty. Gaining new customers can be 5 to 10 times more expensive than selling to existing customers, and on average, current customers tend to spend 67% more than newcomers to your business. For example, after you’ve sold a product, the CX doesn’t end there. We have all purchased a product, got it home, and what happened after the purchase negatively or positively affected our view of the company.
Unfortunately, I suspect a negative experience happens more often than a positive one. Once a product is sold and delivered, most companies need to give adequate thought to how customers use and interact with their products. Ninety-six percent of customers, as reported in a 2020 study by Shep Hyken’s CX consulting firm, are prepared to abandon your business in response to poor service.
My Move to a New Home and CX
To illustrate, recently, in my new home, we had several after-sale experiences that were both positive and negative.
- The Ring doorbell and Roomba vacuum required updated Wi-Fi connections. Initially, making the Wi-Fi change on the Roomba was difficult, but Roomba released an update that made it easy. Accordingly, my view of the Roomba brand was already positive but became more so after the software change. Ring, on the other hand, was different. It needed to be more straightforward and more convenient to reset the Wi-Fi connection. While I still like the doorbell, I may look for an alternative if I need one.
- Moving on to product registration, I found the process very cumbersome, except for the backup generator and the garage door opener. The manufacturers of these products made it easy to register. One of the reasons I ordered a generator support package was because of how easy it was to register the product.
- In another instance, the local distributor delivered the wrong dryer model and a refrigerator with a damaged door. There also needed to be more clarity from the distributor about when to pick up the incorrect dryer. While these experiences did not negatively influence my view of LG, the manufacturer, I would think twice about ordering products from Ferguson.
Customer Experience after the Sale – What You Should Do
To change this situation and make the after-sale experience a crucial part of the overall experience, broaden who is involved in the CX improvement process. Designers and engineers need to be in the CX improvement process. How they design a product affects the customers’ ease of use.
Warranty registration and support is important. Make that registration process easy. If you use QR codes to provide the serial number, model, etc., make them easy to find! Also, consider that when a customer registers a product, this is an excellent opportunity to (1) get feedback and (2) sell additional products or services.
Be aware of the distribution channel. A dealer or distributor can influence the customer’s views of your product and brand. While a bad experience may not be the fault of the OEM, a customer may think otherwise. Look for ways to get formal and informal feedback from your end customers. This feedback is necessary to bring attention to the customer experience and provide better accountability for the distribution channel.
It Is Not Over Until It’s Over!
Getting a product sold and shipped is only part of the customer experience. It is just beginning. What are you doing to make that experience the best it can be and keep that customer?
