Most of the time, the companies arranging these machines provide the initial training. Providing pre-installation services for items such as a copier machine or an air conditioner will greatly facilitate the customer. What are its types, and how can a business improve its after-sales service?
In other words, the quality of this service can be a competitive advantage that makes your customers keep coming back for more. Another important touchpoint in the after-sales service is the promotion of related products. These tactics, known as cross-selling and upselling, can be used to boost sales and increase the average order value of your online store. Acquiring products without even seeing or touching them means that customers or potential customers will have plenty of questions and possible concerns about your products. They may even want to return or exchange a product if these concerns aren’t quelled before, during, or after the sales process.
For example, after being sold a bike, after sales service may involve free bike maintenance for a number of weeks. Along with the standard warranty, customers can also upgrade to the Suzuki Protection Plan, a transferable warranty that makes sure the customer is taken care of, even after they’ve purchased. Now that you have a grasp on how to deliver stellar after-sales service, let’s look at some examples of companies that are doing it right. Personalization isn’t just preferred, it’s expected, especially after the sale. Personalizing communications by things like product specs or store location can help the customer make future purchasing decisions that align with their needs. Because of this, optimizing your post-checkout operations to take advantage of all its benefits should be the priority of all online stores looking for growth and success in the long run.
- Thinking back to the Gartner survey, the better service your customers receive, the more likely they are to stick around and spend more with your company.
- Occasionally, an employee oversight results in delayed shipping or onboarding.
- We can draw a straight from after-sales service to a better customer experience, especially since 94% of customers claim that positive customer experiences encourage them to continue buying from the same brand.
- Further, because you’re showing your expertise and providing them with all of the information they need, they are far less likely to leave your company for a competitor.
- Paying attention to your after-sales service experience helps you cultivate your customers’ loyalty, improves your brand’s reputation, and helps you better understand your customers.
Such after-sales support may come free with the purchase of an item and may also be sold as part of a more comprehensive service plan, such as how Best Buy Co. sells Geek Squad computer-related service plans. Service offered through a help or support desk may include technical assistance for personal computers, mobile phones, software, machinery and a variety of other products. Instead, spend just as much time making your new customers have a great experience. It’s also about empowering your customers to get the most value out of your product. LastPass provides their administrators and end-users with ongoing free training on how to set up their computer security systems.
Let’s review several examples of companies that managed to incorporate outstanding after-sales service. A customer’s interactions with you shape their perceptions of your brand, from when they first heard of your brand to well after they’ve purchased your product. A positive post-sales experience can help your customer think of your brand as familiar and trustworthy, leading to increased customer loyalty and sales. It is an online platform offering solutions related to webinar hosting, email marketing, landing pages, and similar services. The company not only provides high-quality services, but it also offers free specialized courses to its customers as a part of their after-sales service. These courses help the customers to understand the complexities of online marketing and how they can do it effectively.
If a product is broken or damaged, the corresponding sales professional should be able to exchange it immediately. Likewise, it can be beneficial to invite your customers to share their positive experiences or post reviews and stories on your social media or website. As you continually reach out and improve your after-sales service, your customers will see you as a company that cares about their opinion and wants to provide a product that meets their needs.
Customize the customer experience.
Of course, you made a product with an intention to satisfy your customer’s need. The customer may use his device over time, but it might not function as effectively as ever. The return of the product is facilitated with a refund or another https://1investing.in/ product from the same company. There are many ways to collect customer feedback, such as pop-up surveys on a webpage or in an email campaign. You can also send personalized messages or request an interview for rich qualitative feedback.
And since 65% of new business leads come from referrals, according to a survey of marketers, it’s critical that your existing customers are happy with your after-sales service. If they aren’t, you’ll see fewer and fewer new leads coming from referrals. Leads that are referred to your business by previous, happy customers are the most valuable asset in your sales funnel.
Friends and family are among the most trusted sources of information for most people, and hearing good news about a company can mean the difference between purchasing from them or heading to a competitor. Freshdesk makes it easy to manage the after-sales support process easily with detailed customer profiles, all-in-one-place conversations, and simple feedback tools. You should also build educational resources for your customers to become product experts and extract additional value from your product or service.
We’ll also review tips for the effective implementation of the strategy. Accessibility to new product versions is another way a company can build loyalty. Many vehicle manufacturers, like Toyota or Skoda, offer trade-in deals, so that a customer can buy the next-generation car model at a reduced price.
This may entail training on existing features or education about new uses or capabilities. The business reasoning behind after-sales support is that it can contribute to brand loyalty and repeat sales; happier customers tend to create repeat customers. Good after-sales services can also result in positive word-of-mouth for a company. Poor after-sales support can prevent companies from achieving a good customer satisfaction record and therefore growth. After-sales service is almost a mandatory section in the overall marketing strategy of any business. Top-quality customer support can increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
After-Sales Service
Customer feedback is one of the most important things in sales and marketing. As you reach out to your customers and keep them engaged, you’ll find opportunities to seek feedback from them. This will help you to see where your product or service is hitting the mark and where it might be falling short. Regarding paid upgrades, many companies offer tiered subscriptions or additional services that can be purchased optionally. Done right, this helps to broaden your market as you target different customer needs with your product. Added features are a common after-sales tactic that allows customers to access free or paid upgrades to their product or service after their original purchase.
types of after-sales service
Selling to a customer is like winning a game of chess — you need to think several moves ahead to stay ahead of the competition. After-sales service is like the endgame strategy that helps you conquer cohesive, lasting relationships with your customers. In turn, people who have positive after-sales experiences are more likely to make repeat purchases, leave great reviews and boost your revenue through positive word-of-mouth. Telecommunication companies are a fine example of 24/7 online customer support. In fact, these companies have dedicated helplines where customers can call anytime for their queries or issues, and that too free of cost. Moreover, these companies provide free customer support online through dedicated online customer service agents or chatbots.
How excellent after-sales service drives sales and increases brand value
Make it easy for your happy clients to post reviews online and share stories on social media. There are more avenues than ever for people to share their views—positive and negative—about products, services, and experiences. If you provide multiple channels for feedback early and often, you can reach customers before they angry-Tweet about their new MMORPG expansion not downloading.
Personalized solutions
Like how marketing can be credited with bringing in new customers, quality after-sales support ensures higher lifetime value (LTV) of your existing customers. After all, delight is the fourth stage of a marketing funnel after conversion. Automated customer service lines can give advice and solutions to frequent or even more complex issues and questions.
Your repeat purchase rate measures the percentage of your customers who return to patronize your business again after the initial purchase. If your product/service has feature parity with your major competitors, customers have to narrow down their options by adjacent metrics like support responsiveness, pricing, etc. If you can guarantee that customers will always get the help they need, even after the purchase, it’ll make you a more attractive option. You can use machine learning to recommend additional products and enhancements based on your customer’s previous purchases and interests. From the moment a purchase is made, the journey of a customer with a brand is far from over.
Thinking back to the Gartner survey, the better service your customers receive, the more likely they are to stick around and spend more with your company. Whatfix is a no-code digital adoption platform that enables product managers to create contextual in-app guidance, product-led user onboarding, and self-help user support – all without engineering dependencies. With Whatfix, create branded product tours, user onboarding checklists, interactive walkthroughs, pop-ups, smart tips, and more – all enabling customers and users with contextual guidance at the moment need. A lot of e-commerce companies provide online support for product-related queries. Shopify, a leading e-commerce platform, is known for its impeccable customer service. They’ve identified the channels their customers prefer and implemented their after-sales support services across those channels.