Mohan Ramaswamy

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One of the biggest ironies about shopping in the digital era is that for most brands, the end of the interaction with their consumers is the moment the sale is completed.

Pretty crazy, given the amount of time you hope customers ultimately spend with your products post-purchase: that’s when people actually use them, bring them into their lives, and hopefully, start the journey to becoming a lifelong fan.

I’m sure you’ve seen those “purchase funnel” and the McKinsey “customer decision journey” diagrams before. By and large, companies spend the bulk of their time — and budgets — in the initial stages, such as a “awareness” and “consideration.” In fact, Adobe found that online retailers spend upwards of 80% of digital marketing budgets on customer acquisition alone.

Optimizing these initial phases, while hugely important, is relatively easy. Digital offers constant opportunities to tweak and improve SEO, target users based on past behaviors, and/or offer compelling product deals. So savvy companies are focusing on what happens at the tail of the purchase process, revolving around long-term loyalty. The most beloved brands are less concerned with the sale and are more focused on ensuring that customers are getting the most value out of what they’ve purchased.

Extending beyond the purchase is only going to become more important as consumers are more closely tied to technology. According to a Support.com survey from October 2015, connected consumers (U.S. shoppers aged 18-60 who consider themselves very connected to technology) said that the post-purchase aspects make up the most memorable brand experience — even more than the ease of shopping online or research and discovery. They also indicated that the post-purchase experience with products would make or break their brand loyalty.

While several brands have invested in digital products that enhance the immediate post-purchase experience — think along the lines of the Domino’s Pizza Tracker keeping tabs on your delivery — there’s a lot more potential for companies to unlock additional value by creating longer-term post-purchase experiences that drive preference. Traditional modes of post-purchase satisfaction, such as extended warranties or flexible return policies, are commonplace and may even be perceived as self-serving for companies.

Here are four brands that are ahead of the curve.

KUVEE In addition to keeping your wines fresher, this Wi-Fi connected bottle enriches the wine drinking experience by serving up pairing tips and tasting notes to make you smarter about your hobby over time. This content is valuable enough that you engage with it between purchases, and may even come to rely on it as your sommelier.

WAYFAIR The online home store now offers product assembly and installation —similar to Amazon home services — to help consumers enjoy their purchases from the minute they receive them. An offshoot may be long-term product support, again giving customers a reason to engage with the brand outside of the product purchase experience.

TESLA Post-purchase connectivity can also help bridge the gap between new technologies and customer concerns. In February, Tesla announced that it would offer free tows for up to 500 miles for all Tesla owners, as a way to reassure early adopters of electric car technology. Additionally, because Tesla conducts software updates via WiFi, they’re helping owners to consistently get more and more out of their cars. And they are significant ones too, not just little tweaks. Last fall, update 7.0 gave Model S and Model X owners Autopilot technology.

TARGET By helping users store information on their home's specs, as well as their past purchases, the retailer is removing the burden of remembering what specific products or lighting you need. It also provides users with additional content and inspiration between purchases.

Many companies haven't started to explore the opportunities in post-purchase relationship management yet. Enhancing the experience can start with easy-to-use digital tools for customers to register products and find out about new features, updates, warranties, and even lost-and found. But driving this post-purchase engagement will soon become an expectation from consumers in order to gain their loyalty.

Ask yourself, where can we add value, support, and enhancements to existing products across the customer lifecycle? Brands that employ this strategy will deliver more personalized experiences for their customers and keep their fans loyal and happy.

Mohan Ramaswamy

Brooklyn, New York, United States

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Mohan Ramaswamy

Brooklyn, New York, United States 3K followers 500+ connections

See your mutual connections View mutual connections with Mohan Sign in Welcome back Email or phone Password Show Forgot password? Sign in or New to LinkedIn? Join now or New to LinkedIn? Join now

About

Experience

Work & Co

-

-

-

Education

Columbia University - Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science

View Mohan’s full profile

Other similar profiles

Gareth Kay

Ramon Jimenez

Eric Pakurar

Anne Rivers

Gabriela Pulido

Jenny Karn

David Gaglione

Bob Morris

Mark Asbell

Julie Diaz-Asper

Mike White

Peter Ross

Jay Cranford

Josh Moore

Jared Hendler

Marcela Gómez

Joy Milkowski

Conrad Jungmann Jr. ✮ REALTOR®/ Author/ Screenwriter

Teddy Lynn

Bob Martin

Explore collaborative articles

Others named Mohan Ramaswamy in United States

Mohan Ramaswamy

Mohan Ramaswamy

Mohan Ramaswamy

Mohan Ramaswamy

Brooklyn, New York, United States

3K followers 500+ connections

View mutual connections with Mohan

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