Dating mistakes in your post-purchase flow

Hi there 👋,

I’ll be honest, I have seen some terrible post-purchase emails land in my inbox over all my years of online shopping.

We focus so much on our welcome flows and leading a customer to a purchase, that we completely neglect the post-purchase flow.

And this is a big mistake.

You’re missing vital opportunities to build a relationship with your customer, get a 5* review and ensure they keep coming back for more!

Here are your biggest mistakes in dating, oops sorry, post-purchase flows.

1. Neglecting your first impression

When it comes to dating, you know how important that first impression is. That’s why you’ll make sure to be on time and work on your opening conversation.

“So I saw you work in growth, how interesting…”

Apply this same amount of effort to your first confirmation email!

That is your most read email. That is your biggest chance to make a lasting impression with your customer.

Your email should be absolutely dripping with your brand tone. It should build upon that relationship with your customer.

Tell them what to expect from your product or service, or any tips they need for using it.

Ensure that they feel comfortable in the decision they just made.

2. Jumping the gun with the review email

A friend once told me that after they had got home from a first date, they received a message from that person asking them how they felt the date had gone and what they would ‘rate’ it.

Out of ten, please.

I think most of us can agree it’s a little strange to review a person right after meeting them, yet we make this mistake all the time in business.

We ask for a review before the customer knows if they’re happy with the product.

Your customer either won’t leave a review, or will leave 3 or 4 stars as they don’t feel ready to grant it a 5 just yet.

Don’t waste an email as vital as the review request by jumping the gun on it.

Wait until your customer has all the information they need to leave you a shining 5* review.

Would you like 6 more tips for your post-purchase email flow? Check out the complete article.

So how can you get the most out of your post-purchase flow?

1. Consider what your customer journey looks like. 

• What is important to them directly post-purchase?

• When would the product actually arrive?

• What questions will they have and when?

• How can they get more out of your product?

• How often will they use your products and when?

• When are they likely to purchase again?

2. If you already have a flow, you don’t need to scrap it and start from scratch. But you do need to know exactly what you’re sending out and when.

Map out all of the emails from a one-time purchase as well as subscriptions (if applicable).

For this, I use a Miro board. I also recommend testing this email flow yourself a few times.

3. Focus on creating a positive experience for your customer. 

You should aim to support and educate them so they can get the full value out of their purchase.

I like to add a personal check-in during those first few weeks. Here’s why I do it, and how I carry out these check-ins.

4. Once this has all been achieved, and only then, you can:

1. Ask for a review

2. Upsell, cross-sell or promote referrals

But even then, ensure you’re still adding value and making them confident in their decision.

For example, let’s say you’re a brand offering sustainable coffee beans.

Tell them what their environmental impact is after a month of choosing your beans.

Convey this in terms that will make sense to them, rather than saying something like “a reduction in CO2 equals X”.

Recommendation

In every edition of Growth Waves, I also share a related book, individual or newsletter to check out related to the week's topic.

This time, I’m not giving you a suggestion. Instead, I’m challenging you to go and find one yourself.

Go and find out what your competitors and other brands you love are doing for their email flows.

Don’t just copy them, as what works for them might not work for you. But get inspired!

MailCharts allows to have a sneak preview of what others are doing and when they send their emails. Just like the Meta Ad Library, it can be very insightful.

You could even set up your own Miro with some of your favourite examples as you work on your own flows.

I hope you enjoyed this surprising crossover of dating fails and mistakes in your post-purchase email flows.

You might say that I’ve been watching too many dating reality shows, and it’s affecting my work…

Daphne