Creating the ultimate post-purchase experience with Hive

Keeping customer retention and advocacy after the purchasing process can be a challenge. And while many businesses focus on acquiring new customers, the post-purchase phase holds immense importance in driving customer retention, loyalty, and advocacy.

In the following article we will explore the key benefits and elements of the post-purchase experience, and provide actionable insights for your brand to create a seamless post-purchase experience. We will cover:

• What is post-purchase experience
• Why is post-purchase experience essential for e-commerce brands?
• Using third party apps to communicate with your customers
• How we create a seamless post-purchase experience at Hive
• Pioneer the post-purchase experience with Hive

What is the post-purchase experience?

The post-purchase experience encompasses a wide range of interactions and activities that occur after a customer has made a purchase. It goes beyond the transaction itself and includes various elements that contribute to customer satisfaction and loyalty such as:

Communication throughout the fulfillment and delivery process

Customers expect timely updates on the status of their order, estimated delivery times, and any potential delays.

Post-delivery communications

Requesting feedback or reviews to gather customer opinions and improve their products or services, and ensuring that orders arrive promptly and in excellent condition.

Seamless tracking options

Let your customers easily monitor the progress of their order as it reaches their preferred destination, be it their home or a pick up point.

Fast click-to-door time

A great post-purchase experience is a speedy one – customers expect orders to arrive quickly after buying. Find out more about click-to-door time in another blog article here.

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Why is post-purchase experience essential for e-commerce brands?

The post-purchase experience holds an immense significance for e-commerce brands as it directly impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

Here are some key benefits of a successful post-purchase experience:

• Increase in your customer’s lifetime value (LTV)
• Transparent communication between your brand and your customers saves you time

Increase in your customer’s lifetime value

The post-purchase experience plays a vital role in building trust and fostering loyalty among your customers, ultimately increasing your customer lifetime value (LTV).

According to Gladly's Customer Expectations report for 2022, an impressive 72% of consumers expressed their willingness to invest more in a brand that ensures a quality customer experience. It reaffirms their decision that they chose your brand and creates a sense of trust in the company's ability to fulfill their expectations.

Furthermore, satisfied customers who have experienced a smooth post-purchase journey are more likely to become loyal brand advocates, recommending the brand to others and increasing LTV through ongoing engagement and purchases.

Transparent communication between your brand and your customers saves you time

Transparent communication between your brand and your customers plays a vital role in fostering a positive relationship. This transparency instills trust and reassurance, as customers feel empowered with the knowledge they need to navigate the post-purchase process effectively.

Additionally, transparent communication reduces your customer service time. By providing clear and comprehensive information about the post-purchase process; such as order status updates, delivery tracking, and proactive issue resolution, you can significantly decrease the number of customer inquiries and support requests. This allows your customer support team to allocate their time and resources more efficiently, enabling them to focus on other crucial tasks.

In essence, transparent communication is a win-win for you and your customers alike, as it enables better relationships and more efficient processes.

Using third party apps to enable communication with your customers

Using third-party apps can be an effective way to enhance post-purchase communication with your customers. These apps can help you streamline and personalize your communication efforts, facilitating the post-purchase experience.

For instance, email marketing tools like Klaviyo allow businesses to send targeted and automated emails to customers, keeping them informed about their order status, shipping updates, and any other relevant information.

You can even integrate some communications tools with your 3PL’s software. For example, integrating Klaviyo with Hive is incredibly easy, as you only need to plug in your API key, and no coding is required.

This means that you can set up automated post-purchase email campaigns in a matter of minutes, saving time and resources while providing a high level of customer service.

Ultimately, by leveraging third-party apps, such as Klaviyo and Hive, you can optimize your post-purchase communication process, improve customer satisfaction, and build long-lasting customer relationships.

How we create a seamless post-purchase experience at Hive

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Working with a 3PL partner that has a comprehensive post-purchase offering like Hive can be incredibly beneficial for businesses looking to provide a top-notch customer experience. Hive's post-purchase app is fully customizable and enables businesses to communicate order status with their customers, keeping them informed of any updates or changes.

Use Hive’s post purchase app to communicate transparently and cross and upsell

Hive’s post-purchase app is a customizable tracking portal that enables customers to stay informed about their order status. This app allows customers to track their orders, view their order history, change the address, and initiate returns with ease.

You can also use the post purchase app to cross and upsell items. You can prompt your customers with further products they might enjoy or exclusive offers.

For example, if you are a company that sells protein powders, why not showcase further flavor options to your customers to tempt them into repurchasing and trying something new.

An address validation tool to save you hours of time

Your brand can easily have accurate and timely deliveries using a validation system. When a customer enters their address during the checkout process, our tool automatically verifies its validity and checks for any potential errors or discrepancies. If an invalid address is detected, the customer is promptly notified via email to review and update their address themselves.

By providing this proactive solution, orders are fulfilled and delivered without delay, avoiding potential delivery issues or returns due to incorrect addresses and optimizing your time and resources.

Specifically, it minimizes your need for back-and-forth communication with delivery companies and customer service, saving valuable time and reducing operational costs. Moreover, this proactive measure actively prevents passive returns, directly contributing to increased revenue retention.

A portal for seamless returns

Additionally, Hive provides a returns portal that allows for seamless customer returns, with customers able to select items they want to return, download the returns label, and send the delivery back hassle-free.

Moreover, the returns portal captures valuable data, such as the reasons for returns, which provides your brand actionable insights for delivery improvements or inventory management.

Easy integrations with third party apps

Lastly, enhance your post-purchase experience through easy integrations with third-party apps. As mentioned before, effective communication and streamlined processes is essential for your brand. Which is why we have developed integrations that allow for seamless connectivity with popular apps such as Klaviyo.

Through these integrations, you can effortlessly set up automated email campaigns triggered by specific events or actions, to keep your customers informed about order status, shipping updates, and more. This ensures that customers receive timely and relevant communication, enhancing their overall experience.

By integrating with trusted third-party apps, your brand can optimize your post-purchase communication and engagement strategies without the need for extensive technical expertise or coding.

Pioneer the post-purchase experience with Hive

By partnering with Hive your brand can efficiently streamline your post-purchase operations and deliver a superior experience to your customers. Our comprehensive post-purchase offering encompasses a range of powerful tools and features designed to optimize your business and drive sustainable growth.

Interested? Request a free quote today and unlock our Hive App. From a comprehensive post-purchase offering, Hive has everything you need to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Click here to learn more and get started on your path to success.