How do you keep existing customers engaged with your brand? How do you keep them satisfied and coming back form repeat purchases? How do you make them loyalists who refer your business to others?
Instead of ad-hoc measures to improve customer satisfaction, consider implementing an after-sales service strategy to strengthen customer relationships. Learn more about impactful after-sales service measures and how to implement them successfully.
What is after-sales service?
After-sales service, also known as after-sales support, is a component of customer care, offering assistance and support to clients after they have purchased a product or service. After-sales service can use multiple methods, each engineered to enhance the customer experience.
For example, if your company specializes in home appliances, you can share informative videos teaching customers how to care for their new appliance. Or, you can implement post-purchase emails to answer any questions or proactively deal with any issues.
The ultimate goal of providing after-sales service is to foster positive client relationships and amplify customer loyalty. As a business, you want your customers to have a pleasant experience during every step of their journey with your brand, even after the sale. Keep them coming back for more by adopting remarkable after-sales support.
Why after-sales service matters
As an ecommerce business, your opportunities for customer interactions are likely more limited than companies with physical stores. Because in-person encounters with your customers are rare, offering after-sales service is another method to engage with patrons and build memorable connections.
After-sales service can:
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Enhance customer loyalty. Happy customers are loyal customers, and loyal customers are repeat customers.
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Encourage referrals. Customers refer your business and leave reviews after they’ve made a purchase. If you go the extra mile to boost customer satisfaction at this stage of the customer journey, you’re more likely to get positive reviews and word-of-mouth referrals.
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Boost your bottom line. It’s less expensive to keep existing customers than constantly bringing in new ones, making repeat customers good for your bottom line.
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Create a positive brand image. Your brand image is the overall perception consumers have of your business. When you make your customers feel valued, they’re likely to have a positive brand image and share that perception with others.
Types of after-sales services
There’s more than one way to offer after-sales services to your customers, and a comprehensive after-sales service strategy will likely involve a number of different tactics. Here are a few options you can incorporate into your business:
Education
New products often involve a learning curve, whether it’s the best way to use a new mop or understanding the suite of tools a new software offers.
For a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business, education may include videos or care instructions shared with the customer via a follow-up email. For a business-to-business (B2B) company, particularly where onboarding is complex, education can include personalized training, video tutorials, or one-on-one calls to review instructions. Position yourself as the gold mine of information; your customers will feel cared for and better prepared to use your products.
Customer rewards
Entice your customers to revisit your website by offering a loyalty program, giving discounts, special offers, or complimentary products in exchange for their continued support. You not only show customer appreciation but also promote repeat purchases.
For example, excite and delight customers by gifting birthday rewards. Taking the time to celebrate your customers makes them feel valued and keeps your brand in their minds the next time they’re ready to shop.
On-demand support
On-demand support gives your customers direct access to your support team to get help when needed. A company promptly addressing customer issues will elevate the customer’s experience and relieve their concerns.
On-demand support can come in different forms. It could include offering special maintenance services or calling customers to resolve problems and collect feedback.
Assurance
Customer assurance focuses on instilling customer confidence in a brand’s products. Implementing assurance into your after-sales service helps customers feel secure in their purchase and reaffirms your commitment to customer satisfaction.
You can demonstrate this by offering warranties, money-back guarantees, and open communication for customer feedback. The long-standing gardening business Willemse used this technique, offering customized vouchers to customers who had order issues.
After-sales service best practices
Here are four tips for providing phenomenal after-sales services to your customer base:
Respond quickly
Reply to your customers with a sense of urgency so they feel prioritized. When possible, tell them how long it will take until they can expect to receive a solution. Provide links to self-serve resources like FAQ pages in automated reply emails to give them more opportunities to solve their problems.
Train your team thoroughly
Customer service teams need both technical and soft skills training to effectively handle customer concerns. Give them hands-on training on how to use customer service software. Equally important, provide training and policy guides on how to respond to difficult complaints (when to escalate to a manager, when to issue refunds, etc). Simulate common tricky situations and role-play what ideal responses should look like.
Seek feedback
Your customers are the best resource for understanding what your business can do to improve. Within your after-sales service model, ask them to share their experience shopping with your company. You can do this via phone, email, or live chat.
Use an omnichannel approach
Give your customers multiple channels for communication, so they can choose what’s most convenient for them. Phone and live chats may be best for those looking for urgent answers, whereas email may be better for those who are handling tasks during a lunch break and need to respond on their own time.
Save customer information in a centralized location and assign each query a unique number so they can move from one channel to another without needing to repeat themselves.
After-sales service FAQ
What does after-sales service include?
After-sales service includes strategies like requesting customer feedback, offering tutorials, sending personalized messages, and providing customized solutions after a customer has bought something from your company.
How do you provide a good after-sales service?
You can deliver outstanding after-sales service by equipping customers to use your products and services in the best way possible. This can include onboarding training, instructional videos, and follow-up calls or emails. You can also reward customers with loyalty programs and discounts, provide timely and useful support, and give assurances like money-back guarantees.
How does after-sales service affect customer satisfaction?
After-sales service techniques like helping customers who have purchased your product with set-up, checking in to receive feedback, and promptly addressing their concerns can boost customer satisfaction. This in turn reduces customer complaints, boosts brand loyalty, and encourages repeat business and referrals.
