Purchase follow-up provides perfect opportunities to engage and retain customers. Automate these messages, from the most basic to the most complex, and orchestrate the best of customer journeys. With CareCloud’s apps and out-of-the-box workflows, you can start right away.

PURCHASE IS JUST THE BEGINNING 

The customer’s first purchase may be the defining moment of their relationship with your brand, but the job is far from done. You don’t acquire customers only to earn quick money. Almost two-thirds of revenue comes from existing, returning customers. Therefore, your goal is retention.

A purchase follow-up message is an efficient solution designed to lead buyers further in the customer journey. It can include upselling, cross-selling, gathering feedback, or simply expressing gratitude for a purchase. In the years to come, it may become the reason customers stick to your brand and not shop with the competition.

ENHANCE YOUR FOLLOW-UP STRATEGY

After every purchase, there is traditionally a series of transactional messages: order confirmation, estimated delivery, or loyalty points acquisition. These are perfect opportunities to build up customer relationships further. Here’s how:

1. CAPITALIZE ON CROSS-SELLING

The best thing about these messages is that you still have the customer’s undivided attention: use it to increase revenue. For example, add a product recommendation to your purchase follow-up as part of a cross-sell opportunity.

This CLV boost highly depends on sufficient customer and product data, which fuels AI systems such as CareCloud’s Recommendation Engine. With it, you will ensure the relevancy and novelty of product recommendations. 

You may also include a freebie or lucrative discount as part of your follow-up. As an added value, the customer will feel understood and cared for.

2. MOTIVATE REPEATED PURCHASES

You can similarly leverage regularly purchased goods such as fitness supplements, pharmaceutics, or contact lenses. Simply automate messages reminding customers to repurchase the product when their package is running out. Now, customers will buy from you the next time they need to refill.

3. GATHER FEEDBACK

To grow, you need to know how customers perceive your brand. Send out an NPS (Net Promoter Score) questionnaire to get an approximate idea, or invite your customers to send a more detailed review.

Do not underestimate zero-party data! It is the safest and most legitimate way of gathering data precisely because customers willingly send it to you. You can gain useful demographics and profiling data or get customers’ personal product preferences without trouble.

4. EXPAND CHANNELS

Increase the reach and deliverability of purchase follow-ups. While strictly sent by email in the past, you can send out these transactional messages via any chosen channel to get the message across. Exploit other channels’ near-perfect open rates, such as SMS, WhatsApp, or Viber. 

Since these options are quite costly, you should reserve the use of these channels to select cases only, supplementing email messages. For example, you can set the workflow to employ other channels only when a purchase is larger (transactional data) or when a highly valuable customer buys (according to RFM). 

5. BUILD BRAND IDENTITY

Purchase follow-up messages present an opportunity to show customers the human side of your brand. Even though mainly informative, these messages should be as thought-out as any campaign: engaging, unique, and with a distinct voice. 

If you want to be perceived as easy-going and funny, make a smart pun or a silly joke. If you wish to have an atmosphere of luxury, focus on a minimalistic yet sophisticated email template. Be sure to automate a “Thank-You” purchase follow-up message to show you appreciate the trust and money that customers put into your brand.

6. PERSONALIZE THE REWARDS 

Personalization doesn’t stop with greetings and occasional product recommendations. CareCloud’s Marketing Automation app allows you to upgrade your purchase follow-ups. React to customers’ every move and reward uncommon purchases. As a CDP, CareCloud turns customer data into actionable insights.

Using transactional data, you can reward customers

• for their first historical purchase with an exclusive discount on the next purchase (along with a CTA to subscribe to your customer program).
• for especially large purchases, either with a voucher, reward, or additional loyalty points.
• for a purchase after a longer period of time. Send a time-limited offer to jumpstart the activity of a customer going cold.

CARECLOUD GETS YOU STARTED IMMEDIATELY

To harness the benefits of post-purchase emails, you need customer data. Customer Data Platform (CDP) provides the most direct, efficient, and cost-effective way to collect and normalize data for automation.

CDP & CRM CareCloud has that and much more: campaign creation and sending, marketing automation, analysis, and loyalty program management. With hard data behind you, every opportunity drives profit.

Build real connections with CareCloud.

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