Goodbye is not the end

As soon as your client has paid, the sale’s done? Yes and no: As soon as the checkout is done, after sales begins! 

Now you can demonstrate how much you really care. Depending on your industry, products and services, this can mean different things: sending the link to a tutorial video, asking for feedback on experience and satisfaction, appreciating the purchase with a discount on a complementing service or product that fits their profile … The more creative, helpful and personalized you get, the more special you make your customers feel – and the more they'll remember you and stay engaged. 

Don’t underestimate the power of these gestures. Many studies have shown that customer retention is the most profitable action. HubSpot for instance found that it's five to 25 times less expensive to retain an existing customer than to onboard a new one – and that a five percent increase in customer retention can increase your company’s revenue up to 95%.

In Merkle’s 2020 edition of its Loyalty Barometer Report, 41% of the questioned consumers state that a “Thank you” message is one of the most important interactions brands can offer them – and for 59%, offers and gifts rank number one. 

But if you just indiscriminately send out catalogues after any purchase, unrelated to the client’s buyer persona, don’t be surprised if your numbers don’t go up. Salesforce’s latest, 4th State of the Connected Customer Report underlines what should be clear by now, anyhow: the vast majority of customers prefer personalized products or services to standardized ones. 

Another finding from the same report emphasizes the relevance of a personalized, proactive, customer-centric approach even more: Across all generations, from Baby Boomers to Generation Z, around 69% of the customers expect sales representatives to develop solutions for them, instead of just pitching products!

Do what your present and future customers expect from you and show how much you value and understand them. And remember: the better your clients think about you, the better they will speak about you. Word of mouth has always been powerful – but in times of social media, it easily becomes priceless.