Many ecommerce brands make the mistake of looking at a sale as their end goal. But the truth is that if you want to build a successful ecommerce business, you’ve got to think long-term about ecommerce marketing. One of the most effective ways to encourage repeat business is through post purchase engagement.
Below, we’ll cover 5 of the top ecommerce marketing strategies to help increase engagement after a purchase and influence repeat sales:
Post Purchase Ecommerce Marketing Tip #1 – Send an order confirmation email that promotes engagement.
The first step in post-purchase engagement is the order confirmation email. Customers expect ecommerce brands to send a digital receipt with confirmation of their purchase after they have checked out. But are you really taking full advantage of this opportunity to engage with your customers?
Rather than just sending a digital receipt that simply lists the items the customer has purchased with costs and delivery expectations, use this opportunity to engage even further. Here are just a few elements that you can incorporate into your receipts to encourage post-purchase engagement:
- Recommendations complementary products or other products the consumer might like based on what they have just purchased.
- Request for customer feedback or review on the sites that your target customers frequent most.
- Prompt or special incentive for customers to join your referral or loyalty program.
- Promotional code or special discount on the customer’s next purchase.
In addition to the elements above, you should also make it as simple as possible for customers to stay in touch with your brand. You can include social media sharing buttons and prompts within the email that make it easy for customers to click and follow you online. You can also prompt the customer to join your email list to receive updates and promotions from your brand.
Here’s a great example of post-engagement content from Dollar Shave Club:
Not only does the email have the items that will be in the order, but it has a prompt for their referral program with easy social share buttons. Below, there is also a “things we want you to know” section that can help their customers get the most out of the products they’ve just ordered.
Post Purchase Ecommerce Marketing Tip #2 – Educate customers on the products they’ve purchased.
Another one of the best ecommerce marketing strategies for improving post-purchase engagement is product education. Educating the customer on the best ways to get the most out of your products will help improve customer satisfaction and thus, decrease returns. Not only are product returns costly for the business, but they can also impact the customer’s perception of your brand. Providing post-purchase education helps remove any potential obstacles that buyers might have with your products.
Education is also a great way to build trust with consumers. By providing education on how to use and maximize the value of certain products, you are showing consumers that you value their satisfaction. Offering this type of content to the customer after their purchase can lead to stronger customer relationships and even promote brand loyalty.
You can start by creating Frequently Asked Questions content to send along in your marketing emails. Work with your customer service teams to find out what types of questions consumers often ask before or after purchasing the product. Find out if there are any common obstacles that buyers face or ask for help with after they purchase. Then, you can create FAQs that pre-emptively address these issues before the customer has to ask.
Here’s a great example of a post-purchase email from Best Buy that provides both content and a way for consumers to ask questions or get more information about the product they’ve purchased:
Another great ecommerce marketing tactic that works well for consumer education is how-to videos. If you sell a product that requires assembly, you can create a video guiding the consumer through the assembly process. You might also use video content to show buyers how to use the product, maintain the equipment, or get the most out of the product with special tips and tricks.
In addition to providing product education, you may also want to include FAQs or other information about delivery, cancellations, changes, and other common issues customers have after placing an order. This can go directly into the order confirmation email. It often works nice as a footer at the bottom on the email like this:
Including clear contact information with a prompt for consumers to contact with any questions or concerns is another great way to reduce returns and increase customer satisfaction. Include the contact information in all email communication to ensure that customers can reach you when they need to.
Post Purchase Ecommerce Marketing Tip #3 – Recommend products based on buying behavior.
Today’s consumer expects personalization as part of their shopping experience. One way that you can provide this personalization while also encouraging repeat purchases is through tailored product recommendations.
To make this ecommerce marketing strategy work for you, you’ll need to dig deep into your customer buying data. You can use this information to better understand what types of products consumers like, which can be used to predict future orders or suggest products that consumers may be interested in.
In addition to using buying behavior, you can also work to collect additional information from the consumer to help you better understand their needs. This is a great way to not only engage the customer after their first purchase, but also improve the recommendations that your company is able to make. Here’s an example of a product recommendation email that uses specific information collected from the customer to recommend beauty products:
In this example, the brand uses information the consumer has given them through a customer profile about their needs and preferences to recommend specific products. By encouraging the customer to give your brand personal information, you can better learn what they need and want and use these details to provide more specific and relevant product recommendations.
To collect personal information from your customers, you may want to create a customer profile option or send out a survey. Once you have this data, find new ways to use it when providing recommendations or predicting future purchases.
Post Purchase Ecommerce Marketing Tip #5 – Encourage customers to leave you a review or product feedback.
Another one of the best ecommerce marketing strategies for encouraging post-purchase engagement is asking customers for reviews. In today’s competitive online marketplace, online reviews have become the new word of mouth. By asking customers to review their experience, you are presenting them the perfect opportunity to engage with your brand while also sharing their experience with others who may need some encouragement to finally make a purchase.
This example of a post-purchase follow-up email makes it easy for consumers to leave their review with the click of a button:
In addition to asking for reviews, you may also want to get some general feedback on the purchase. Not only does this help you better understand how you can improve your products and the buying experience, but it lets the consumer know that you care about their opinion and experience.
Here’s a great example of a post-purchase follow up email that makes it easy for the customer to leave their feedback on the product:
Note that the email includes the name of the exact product that the customer purchased. Then, it makes the feedback process simple by allowing the customer to select a thumbs up or thumbs down based on their experience. This review system helps a company better understand which products are most popular as well as get a general sense of how consumers feel about interacting with their brand.
If you find that consumers were less than satisfied with their purchase through either their review or direct feedback, you can then take the opportunity to reach out and provide some resolution. This will help you retain more customers while showing others that your brand is serious about customer service.
Applying These Post Purchase Ecommerce Marketing Strategies
Remember, ecommerce marketing isn’t over after the customer has made the purchase. If you want to encourage repeat purchases, you’ve got to reach out to consumers after they buy and encourage them to continue engaging with your brand. The ecommerce marketing strategies above are a great starting point for getting the most out of your post-purchase engagement.
The key to effective post-purchase engagement is consistency. You want to ensure that you are taking advantage of every opportunity to reach out to and connect with consumers after they buy. Use your data wisely to provide consumers with timely and relevant communications that keep them interested and encourage them to buy again.
