After Sale

Once an online sale has been successfully completed there are some key steps that retailers can take to make sure the customer feels both confi dent about their decision to purchase, and valued as a customer.

Staying in touch throughout the fulfilment process is important, so the customer knows when to expect delivery and is alerted if any delays occur.

Once the item is delivered, it’s time to start consolidating and nurturing the customer relationship by using carefully targeted email marketing messages.

7.1 Email confirmation

Making sure customers receive a detailed email confirmation immediately after an online purchase is a very important step.

The email should state clearly the details of the transaction – the products bought, price paid and the method of payment used.

It is also important to set out the delivery details and set expectations in terms of delivery times.

This will help reassure the customer and can pre-empt calls into your customer services team.

It’s also a good idea to include details about how the customer can get further information or help if they have any post-transaction queries or questions.

The next step is to send an email to the customer to let them know when the item has been despatched.

Again, it’s important to set expectations and let them know when the product will arrive.

Average score: 29 out of 35 = 82%

High flyers: Tesco, John Lewis, Currys, Dixons

Every one of the retailers we looked at sent an order confirmation email following the sale.

Most also managed to send a confirmation of despatch, with only 25% failing to follow this latter step.

Best practice guidelines

* Keep emails short and to the point whilst including all the relevant details that customers need

* Always include customer service details in the email in case your shopper wants to get in touch

* Make sure that delivery estimates are as accurate as possible

* Include returns information to increase customer confidence

Top Tip

* Keeping customers updated with the progress of their order is vital.

Send updates post-sale and post-despatch to ensure customers know exactly when their item is due to arrive.

7.2 Online order tracking

Online order tracking is a great way of inspiring customer confidence by letting customers track for themselves exactly how their order is progressing.

Rather than contacting a customer service representative, customers can check their order status themselves, saving a retail business valuable time and resource.

Order tracking functionality should be connected to the order processing system so that customers can track the order from payment completion and allocation, through to packing and shipping. Make sure when you are look at different ecommerce solutions that they either have this functionality, or the the system has the flexability to include it.

Average score: 23 out of 25 = 92%

Poor performers: Argos and Avon

Best practice guidelines

* Provide clear login options for customers to ensure they can access up-to-date order tracking information from anywhere on the site

* Include an estimated despatch date so that visitors know when to expect their purchase

7.3 Post-sale email marketing activity

Succeeding in converting a website visitor into a purchaser is just the first step on a long road of building and developing your customer relations.
 
The goals from here on are likely to be 4-fold:

* Increase income per customer

* Build online brand affinity

* Drive traffic

* Build your customer base through referral

To achieve these goals, a regular and compelling dialogue needs to be established between retailer and customer.

In particular for online purchasers there is no better channel for building this dialogue than email.

To keep the relationship warm following our online purchases, we looked for follow-up email messages within 10 days of the order date.
 
This is the window of opportunity when the relationship is still warm. Don’t leave it any longer.

Average score: 5 out of 30 = 17%

High flyers: Tesco

With an average score of 17%, this proved to be the lowest scoring section of the report.

The shock news of this report is that only 40% of the retailers surveyed sent a follow-up email marketing message to (or was received by) our mystery online shoppers within 10 days of the online purchase.

Of those that did send a marketing email, only one – Tesco – sent a personalised email.

Retaining and up-selling existing customers costs less than acquiring new ones.

An ongoing customer relationship building strategy is essential for all the retailers we surveyed.

Too many of these leading retailers are neglecting the email channel – despite its clear advantages:

Cost – email campaigns are low cost to build and send compared to print and other traditional channels

ROI – expect email to deliver considerably higher ROI than offl ine marketing channels

Trackability – email responses can be tracked in detail and right down to contact level, for pin-point targeting

1-2-1 messaging – email can be tightly customised and personalised for maximum relevance to the recipient, and maximum response

Best practice guidelines

* Personalise follow-up email content based on key data you have collected on your new customers

* Use follow-up emails to collect further data on your customers – with mini online surveys and competitions

* Harness your email’s viral potential by including a ‘forward to friend’ link

* Include added value content with links back to your site to drive traffic and engage the recipient

* Encourage user generated content, e.g. invite recipient to upload diary dates, gallery images, forum comments

* Track email opens and click-throughs at contact level and follow-up key groups with targeted messages, integrated with both online and offline channels

For detailed, practical advice and guidance on email marketing best practice, see dotMailer’s report: Hitting the Mark – An annual benchmark study of retail email marketing performance.

Top Tip

* Online surveys can be a great way to follow-up an online purchase and get feedback on how the process is working as well as for data capture and enrichment purposes.

Go to next page

Go to previous page