NEW YORK — A good post-purchase experience can be just as personalized, connected and seamless as any other customer experience. For men’s apparel brand True Classic, that means ensuring customers have all the information they need in a convenient package.
Customers should feel special and cared for after they make a purchase, not like they need to go looking for answers as they await a delivery to try to initiate a return, Jordan Gesky, associate director of customer experience at True Classic, said during a session at the National Retail Federation Big Show Sunday.
True Classic’s post-purchase experience vendor parcelLab views engagement during the last mile and beyond as a question of loyalty, according to Julian Krenge, co-founder and chief product officer at parcelLab.
“You cannot have dead ends in your post-purchase experience if you want true customer loyalty,” Krenge said during the session. “You cannot stop engaging with your customers ever.”
A key element of True Classic’s post-purchase experience is that it handles tasks like delivery tracking on its website rather than sending customers to a third party, according to Gesky. This not only makes it faster to check the status of an order, but also makes it easier for customers to start exploring their next purchase.
“The True Classic website is always there, regardless of if they're looking at tracking or if they're looking at post-purchase or any of that,” Gesky said during the session. “It's all directly on our web page, allowing customers to shop and get knowledge from their previous orders at the same time.”
While the website can be convenient, True Classic doesn’t take a passive approach to its last-mile experience.
The retailer sets aggressive delivery windows to keep up with consumers’ expectations for speed, and it acts proactively when a package will be delayed, according to Gesky. If a delivery will take more than 48 hours, True Classic sends the customer an email informing them about what is happening.
“I think having that communication helps to set you apart from an Amazon, who we know can get it to you in two days,” Gesky said. “But if they don't, they're not great at the communication part. They just update the tracking and your little portal page, and it just says your package is now arriving late.”
Research has shown customers appreciate being kept in the loop, with 93% of U.S. consumers saying that proactive updates help offset the negative experience of a late delivery, according to a Locus survey released last week.
Proactive communications have customer service benefits as well, according to Gesky. Not only do the messages reduce the number of inquiries, but when a call comes through agents can redirect them to the message they missed to help show True Classic is on top of the issue.
Delivery emails include contact information, too, according to Gesky. That way, if a customer is unhappy with the initial communication, they can still voice their concern.
“We’re making sure that we’re not automating emails that say, ‘do not reply,’ because first you told me there was a problem, and now you're telling me I can't reply,” Gesky said. “What kind of service is that?”
