Post-Purchase Experience: The End of the Journey, the Beginning of a Relationship
Post-Purchase Experience: The End of the Journey, the Beginning of a Relationship
Not so long ago, every businessperson knew that there were three keys to success: a high quality product, great customer service, and the best bang for your buck. For today’s businesses, a fourth and vital key has been added to this set: the customer experience. But what exactly is customer experience and, perhaps more importantly, how do we measure it?
We can define the customer experience as the summation of every customer touchpoint from beginning to end. It is their overall experience with the brand or, as stated in the Harvard Business Review, “the customer’s end-to-end journey” with the company. Effective management of the customer experience has become the aspiration of numerous companies within the scientific supplies market, and it’s easy to see why. Its fulfillment conjures up the image of a seamless enterprise where every touchpoint, carefully managed by the company, strengthens the customer’s loyalty and ensures their continued business. Unfortunately, such a system, while wonderful to fantasize of, has little basis in reality. With the 21st century came a tidal wave of technological innovation and a multitude of potential customer interactions. In such an environment it has become impossible to manage every aspect of the customer experience.
While social media, product reviews and word of mouth are beyond your control, the majority of customer touchpoints do occur within the domain of the company, not the least of which being the post-purchase experience. From the moment the customer clicks “buy” to when the product arrives, a singular opportunity is presented to the supplier. Providing a positive experience during this time of anticipation can strengthen customer loyalty and foster greater Brand confidence. Backed by a wealth of customer data, the determining factors of this and other pivotal phases in the customer experience are explored in our new report, Enhancing the Customer Experience: Insights and Life Science Supplier Rankings.
