3.07 After the sale

The relationship between a business and a customer doesn’t come to an end when the sale has been made or the deal has been finalized. There are still many more touch points a company can use to reinforce its brand promise, such as:

  • Shipping/Delivery
  • Installation
  • Follow-up (e.g., a salesperson might contact a customer to thank her/him and make sure the product is satisfactory)
  • Customer loyalty programs
  • Customer satisfaction surveys
  • Warranties/Rebates
  • Dealing with problems or complaints

Post-sale touch points give a business the opportunity to truly deliver on its brand promise. Providing excellent customer service after a sale is one of the best ways to exceed customer expectations and strengthen brand loyalty. Even problems can be turned into positive touch points. For example, if a product breaks or a service is delayed, the company can go above and beyond to apologize for the inconvenience, fix the issue, and make sure the customer is completely happy with the results. These types of touch points leave lasting impressions in customers’ minds, and they will often tell others about their good experiences with the business, further increasing brand awareness. Find out more about the importance of post-sale touch points by reading Cynthia Boris’s article “The Sale Doesn’t End at Check Out Links to an external site..”

What additional touch points can you think of that weren’t listed here? As you might guess, there are so many potential touch points for each brand that it would be impossible—too costly and too time-consuming—for a business to focus on them all. So, businesses must prioritize, deciding which touch points are essential for their particular brand promises. For instance, a brand that is “all about image” may concentrate on advertising touch points. A brand that emphasizes cutting-edge technology, on the other hand, might focus on its website.

Touch points deliver a brand promise, but it doesn’t just happen on its own. It takes the dedication of each employee to bring the brand promise to life. In Objective B, you’ll learn how to identify your company’s brand promise so you can do your part.