If you thought you could forget about your customer after selling a product, you are very wrong. Whether you've sold a product or a service, after-sales support is something that no business can ever avoid. Usually, after-sales support consists of upgrade options, repairs, warranties, and guarantees. However, what is often ignored and missed is after-sales customer support. There are many ways to make a customer feel ignored and unwanted, and one of them is by not providing adequate after-sales support.
In this article, let us take a look at the 7 after-sales support mistakes companies make, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes yourself.
Most businesses are just too pleased that they were able to clinch a deal or sell a difficult product. They often forget to explain the product or service that they've just sold. This leads to a situation where the customer feels they need further assistance and end up calling customer care. This can be avoided by making product demonstration and service explanations a part of your sales protocol.
Make sure that you have a dedicated team to explain all the services and products you sell in detail, to your clients and customers.They shouldn't leave your office or store without complete information. If you sell online, follow up with a call.
Knowledge Networks PDI found that in-store product demonstrations helped a product sales to shoot up by 475%
A common mistake that businesses make is, they do not keep the conversation going. Just because a sale was closed doesn't mean your relationship with the customer has come to an end. On the contrary, it is the beginning of a wonderful relationship which will not only satisfy your customer but will also help you build potential business and sales opportunities. Keep the conversation going, and communicate consistently via email, social media, etc. You can invite your customers to a members-only blog or fanzine, and make sure that fresh and relevant premium content is delivered to them.
93% of leads that convert do so by the 6th call attempt.
Once a sale has been made, you need to make sure that your customer has all the information required regarding the product r service. However, most companies forget this crucial fact and rely upon brochures and websites to do that. Nothing replaces a one-to-one interaction between you and your customer regarding your products and services.
Make sure that your sales team provides complete information about the product and service, and that they are always available to answer questions at any point in time after-sales.
Previous clients and customers are wonderful opportunities for future sales. However, businesses simply forget their customers and try to look for new ones. Previous customers can be potential targets for cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. All you need to do is make sure that you inform your customers and clients of related or better products and services.
Most likely, they will opt for it because they already trust your brand enough. Up to 30% of sales could be attributed due to product recommendations and cross-selling, according to this Forrester report.
Source: Using Cross-sells and Upsells to Increase Revenue (Infographic)
This is a no-brainer but a number of companies ignore post-sales customer support. They often do not handle complaints well, and no actions are taken when there are issues with the products or services. Always welcome feedback and if your customer or client has a complaint to make, show courtesy and earnestly attempt to fix the issue at hand. Usually, you will be able to fix the issue right away. If you are unable to do that, you can either offer discounts and apologies or come up with alternative solutions.
Interacting with customers on a consistent basis as previously discussed is vastly different from communicating with customers on a regular basis. If you have new products or services to sell, it is your previous customer who should be informed first. Unfortunately, many businesses often forget this fact and tend to focus on newer ones. Make sure that you always keep all communication channels open, and inform your customer of every relevant development that might help you cement the relationship.
Leads that are nurtured regularly make purchases that are 47% larger than leads that are not nurtured.
Last but not the least, many companies forget that customers like to be treated with respect and dignity. They take post-sales communication a little too enthusiastically and end up spamming customers constantly. The opposite is true too, and many companies often simply ignore their previous customers or treat them unfavorably. This leads to losing business. To avoid this, treat every customer with respect and do not over-communicate with them.
Also, make sure that you always remain in touch and ensure that you maintain a healthy relationship with them.
As you can see, after-sales support is very crucial to building and growing a business. Make sure that you offer sales support and that your team understands the importance of sales management. If need be, you can outsource sales support customer service and IT sales support, especially if you are a small company and cannot handle or afford a sales support team of your own.
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