Great customer service doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it can be surprisingly easy. There are a few key pillars that hold up customer care, and one of the most important is after-sales support.  
 
Get this aspect of your service right and you can boost customer loyalty, helping to drive future business and resulting in clients who are 100% happy with what you do. Get it wrong, and you risk forfeiting return business. 
Yet, despite its position as one of the foundation stones of great customer care, many businesses still underestimate its importance. They focus almost entirely on transactions and making sales, without investing any time and effort in creating a deeper connection through after-sales follow-ups.  
 
When you consider the fact that it is on average seven times more expensive to make a sale to a new customer than to a returning one, it seems like this could be a big mistake. 
 

The benefits of after-sales care 

With more and more people shopping for goods and services online, the face-to-face customer relationship is becoming rarer. In the absence of this kind of contact, you need to make sure that you are doing what you can to add value to any transaction. But it’s more than that. These days, many customers expect some level of after-sales support, and if you are not providing it, they will be able to find it elsewhere. 
 
Dedicating yourself to providing good after-sales care is an opportunity to boost your sales and improve customer loyalty. Good services will help you to stand out from your competitors and see an overall surge in business performance. 
 
So how do you go about offering better after-sales care? 
 

Thank you confirmations 

If a customer makes a purchase then you need to say thank you. There are several main ways of doing this. The first is to send an automated email, which can also serve as a confirmation of purchase and is an opportunity to remind them of other products that they might have missed. Use links to drive further traffic and sales. 
 
Alternatively, you can add a note to the invoice as you dispatch their item. This can have an even bigger impact if it’s written by hand, creating a more personalised experience for the customers and helping to keep them coming back for more. People love the personal touch and this is a cheap and easy way of delivering just that.  
 
You can also provide personal contact details if they should have any queries, which also adds a more individual appeal. 
 

Follow up email 

Once the initial transaction period is over, you should send a follow up email to make sure everything is going as planned. Ask your customers if they are satisfied with the service you provided and see if they have any feedback.  
 
Remember to keep this kind of communication simple and straightforward. Don’t try and sell, or at least don’t make it a commercial contact. Just aim to let them know you are there if they need you. The main goal of this kind of communication is to gather data and information about how well your products and services were received. 
 

Keep in touch 

This should be followed up with regular communication, sending newsletters, offering new information, links to relevant content and the like.  
 
Your aim is to try and establish yourself as an expert in the field, so if your clients do need any further help and support, they know where to come. Once you have achieved this, they will be much less likely to go elsewhere. 
 

Ask for reviews and recommendations 

If you’ve provided a good service, there is no reason your clients wouldn’t recommend you. Happy customers are often keen and eager to let other people know, and by suggesting a place where they can do this, you have a natural reason to get back in touch. Plus, it’s your chance to find out what they really thought about you.  
 
In this way, after-sales care has an element of symbiosis about it – good both for your customers and for your business. 
 

Make new offers 

Of course, just because they have bought products or used your services, it doesn’t mean that any customer wants to be bombarded with emails or communications trying to get them to buy more. But if there are new products or offers available, people do generally want to know about them. 
 
Keep your after-sales messages short and succinct. Try and target goods and services that are relevant to the customers’ previous purchases, and you might find that this kind of direct support has good results. 
 

Be there 

Of course, not all after-sales care will come from you. In fact, much of it will be directed at you from the customers. Sometimes, after purchases are made, customers need to get in touch with questions and queries about your goods. And the last thing they want is to find themselves speaking into an answerphone or browsing an unrelated forum trying to find answers. 
 
You need phonelines where people can get in touch with you, email addresses that you check regularly and respond to, and chat functions on your site that give people immediate answers. As mentioned above, it is much easier to win repeat business than it is to find new customers, so you need to work hard to ensure that you are providing them with all the care and attention they need. 
 
 
Here at itseeze Web Design Watford we provide all the above. We make sure that we are on hand directly to answer questions, and care for our customers long after the initial transaction period.  
 
We really value our customers and work hard to ensure that you are always happy and getting the most out of your online presence. The sale is only the beginning of our relationship, which is why we always stay in touch with you afterwards and offer ongoing website support for every client. 
 
If you’re interested in working with a local web design company who always puts the client first, why not get in touch with our friendly team today to learn more about the affordable website design services we can offer. 
 
Share this post:

Leave a comment: 

Our site uses cookies. For more information, see our cookie policy. Accept cookies and close
Reject cookies Manage settings