How To Keep Customers
In The Buying Cycle
Written by Rob Lane.
1. Overview
Everyone goes through a decision-making process before buying something. We may not realize it sometimes, but it’s happening in the background. Do an internet search and you’ll find any number of articles and studies on the buying process.
Physical store floor plans have been designed around this process for a long time now, and the ecommerce world is quickly learning how to take advantage of it as well. Marketing messages, website layouts, email calls-to-action – all are increasingly being refined to increase conversion rates by playing right into this process. Yes, the nature of the messaging has changed to be more customer-centric, but the desired outcome is the same.
2. Post-Purchase Matters
For our purposes here we’re going to focus on the final stage of the buying process. In fact we would argue it’s even more important than the rest. Post-purchase evaluation is quite simply when your customer decides how they feel about their recent purchase. The outcome of this thought process will be a big influence over future purchases and recommendations. When happy, they are far more likely to be a repeat customer, and to recommend your store to others. When they are not, you not only lose future sales from this customer, but potential sales from their family, friends, coworkers, etc.
This evaluation process ties directly into future business, and the good news is you can have direct influence over it. Our customers have proven this to be true, and they continue to take advantage of it daily.
3. Where To Start
Every customer has one thing in common – they’ve provided their email address as part of the purchase process. As we like to say, email is the most direct line to your customers, so take full advantage of it. No other digital marketing channel offers that one-to-one connection!
Rare customers are having great success with post-purchase follow up emails – with the most common being a welcome message to new customers. The messaging itself is simple enough, but where the email really shines is through the inclusion of highly personalized product recommendations, made possible by Rare’s unique predictive algorithms.
The welcome message enhances the positive image of your brand by further expressing your appreciation for their business – a reinforcement of the message they would have received at the time of purchase, but this is more personal. The product recommendations, tailored directly for each individual, make the content more relevant, and help foster a real connection. Plus it gives customers a sampling of what other products await them should they decide to purchase again.
4. Timing Matters
Based on results from our own customers, sending a welcome mailout 7-14 days after a purchase results directly in repeat business. Our customers consistently see open rates of well over 70% on these mailouts, and in many cases repeat orders follow in less than 60 days. A few of our customers have seen repeat orders within 48 hours! How sweet is that?
5. The Buying Cycle
Engaging customers in this 7-14 day window is what we mean when we say “keep customers in the buying cycle.” Your new customer is still enthusiastic about their purchase, and have either just received it or will be anticipating it’s arrival. Their excitement for your brand is high, and then a beautifully designed, fully responsive, and very personalized email lands in their inbox – at a time when they are most likely to open it. It’s easy to see why engagement with this type of mailout is high.
Note that the email doesn’t have to contain a discount or other offer, but that is entirely up to you. It’s the spirit of the message, combined with the timing and the personalized nature of the content that makes the difference. If you wish, you can run some A/B tests on the content and let Rare pick a winner for you.
Keeping customers in the buying cycle is really about the relationship you develop with them after that first purchase. Remember that 80% of people who purchase from you will never be back, but at Rare we are helping our customers change that number every day.
6. What’s Next?
If you’re an ecommerce merchant and don’t have automated email marketing campaigns setup for your store, you’re losing money. Right now.
Rare.io makes it easy to start using automated email campaigns for common challenges like: Welcome Series, Abandoned Carts, Order Follow-up emails and more! You can learn more about our powerful email marketing automation features here or go ahead and get started right away by using Rare.io for FREE.
And if you’re one of the thousands of merchants who are already using Rare’s Smart Email Marketing software and want to see how our Customer Success Team can work with your brand to grow your revenue – feel free to book a call at your convenience here.
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