After the purchase is before the purchase. This is the motto that companies should follow when it comes to not only winning customers, but also keeping them. However, many companies think that the Customer Journey ends after the purchase of a product. Existing customers can be of enormous importance to companies.
Automate the continuation of the customer journey after purchase
In many companies, the customer journey is now defined by the Marketing Automation accompanied and controlled. These measures are important and sensible and should also be used to a much greater extent in the area of existing customers. This is because existing customers in particular are facing a considerable larger amount of data availablewhich can be used for individual advertising measures.
In addition, marketing automation offers other advantages. Employees are freed from the many repetitive tasks and can take care of the really important cases.
Upselling and cross-selling as an important sales strategy
A special aspect for existing customers is the fact that, based on previous purchases for Cross-selling and upselling measures are ideally suited. On the basis of the previous Purchasing behavior This is the best way to find out which products are suitable for these customersj.
Here, companies can celebrate significant successes along the customer journey if these links are made promptly and efficiently.
This means that companies should work specifically to reduce such Offer put optionsn and also implement them in practical everyday life. This is because the amount of work required to convince customers who are already satisfied is significantly less than would be the case with new customers.
Take customers more into account in newsletter marketing
As a rule, the Newsletter Marketing primarily to potential new customers and not to existing customers. This mistake is made by many companies that need or want to generate new leads. That also results from Generate particularly qualified leads from already existing customers is completely ignored in the process. For this reason, it is especially important that companies in the area of newsletter marketing differentiate more strongly and thus produce different newsletters for new and existing customers. This is because the information used to convince potential new customers of the company is rarely of greater interest to existing customers.
Much more often, they want to communicate along the customer journey with suitable and individual content which are easy to consume and which match the customer's interests and buying behavior.
Make customer purchase history available on all channels
An important point that is neglected by many companies is the fact that the customer journey does not only take place on the web. Customers can contact the company by phone, in writing or even in person. In these cases, it can be difficult to Consistent tracking of touch points to ensure. However, companies can actively work to improve on these points. A simple example:
A customer has purchased a vacuum cleaner from a company and received a customer number in the process. Now he has questions about the product or would like to purchase suitable accessories. The easiest option for the customer is to contact the company's support hotline. If the hotline does not have access to the customer's purchase history or does not request the customer number, the customer can theoretically call any other company. However, if he is asked and the interlocutor on the phone can not only answer the questions, but also inquire himself about the satisfaction with other products, this increases customer loyalty along the customer journey immensely.
Use existing customer data for advertising measures
Thanks to Big Data a vast amount of data is available in a wide variety of areas. However, many companies still underestimate the possibilities that are associated with it. This is because much of the data is provided to the companies by the customers. left voluntarily or are available in other ways. On the one hand, of course, the important data such as the date of birth. This, too, can be used to determine the Make the customer journey more personal and marketing measures suitable for the birthday of the customer to present this.
Further data results, for example, from the Purchasing behavior. If a customer in an online supermarket mainly buys high-quality wines at regular intervals, even with this knowledge the customer journey can be made more attractive. First of all on a purely informative level and then later with more definite buying impulses.
Obtain feedback - continue customer journey after purchase
While for new customers everything revolves around convincing these customers of the company and, above all, of individual products or services, this journey can be oriented differently for existing customers. This is because the initial information about the company has often already been obtained before the purchase, so that this information no longer plays a role in the extended customer journey.
A good option for further developing the customer journey after the purchase is the Obtaining feedback with the customers. Because this feedback also brings another contact or touchpoint. In addition, you can link the feedback with a voucher or a special discount and thus increase customer loyalty at the same time.
If a customer feels along the customer journey that their own reactions can have an influence on a company, they are more likely to give preference to that company. Feedback should therefore not only be collected, but also used to optimize the company's own services.
Conclusion: High customer loyalty is of particular importance for companies
The various measures serve to ensure that existing customers continue to be in the customer journey and these therefore always closer to the company. Especially in this day and age, in which the Customer loyalty is declining more and more in many areas, it is important for a company to skillfully inspire its own customers. Especially since existing customers can often be optimized through upselling or cross-selling measures, thus increasing the profitability of individual leads. Depending on the type of company and the nature of the offers, there may of course be other options to consider in order to optimize retention along the customer journey.
