WhatsApp is D2C brand’s #1 customer retention tool. Here’s why

Your D2C brand success stems from your consumers. Every promotion, operation, and product aims to satisfy customer demands. But most D2C brands stop there. When building a D2C brand, the sale is not the end goal.

The post-purchase customer experience you offer makes or breaks your brand.?65% of a brand’s revenue comes from repeat customers. A solid customer base defines the brand value of your D2C start-up.

If your business lacks repeat customers, it’s more likely that the problem lies in your post-purchase process than in your product.?93% of buyers are likely to make repeat purchases with brands that offer excellent customer service.

Why is post-purchase flow vital for D2C brands?

A compelling post-purchase journey reinvents your brand’s reputation, value, and net income. Customer experience matters more for D2C brands compared to SAAS companies. Since D2C buyers are majorly people who like to try out new things for their experience, they are more likely to switch brands just to try them out.

60% of American customers said they would switch brands after an unsatisfactory customer experience.?Poor customer service creates the leaky bucket problem in D2C brands. A leaky bucket is a situation where a brand cannot retain customers, despite effective acquisition strategies.

D2C brands thus cannot achieve Product Market Fit (PMF) with a prevailing leaky bucket situation.?Also, acquiring new customers is comparatively much more expensive than customer retention.?The?probability of selling to an old customer is 70%, while that of a new customer is 5-20%?where you also save the acquisition cost which is on average around INR 300 per customer in the Indian market.

With a 98% open rate, WhatsApp pushes off every other platform to retain customers regardless of the industry. Let’s see its other benefits and a basic post-purchase flow for a brand.

Benefits of using WhatsApp as a customer retention tool

WhatsApp’s highest open rates make it convenient for brands to talk directly to their customers in their own personal chat application. It could psychologically have the advantage of making your brand a step closer to your customers’ hearts.?

Here are 4 actionable benefits WhatsApp offers:

• The highly convenient, seasonal broadcasting messages have a?3-5% conversion rate.?
• With the ability to send personalized offers, WhatsApp?promos are not considered spam.
• WhatsApp outreaches?promote engagement?in other social media and e-mail lists.
• The feedback process and direct communication?allow you to?validate Product Market Fit.

How WhatsApp improves post-purchase communication?

Being a widely used social media platform, WhatsApp offers a frictionless communication channel. It connects you with your customer at a personal level, boosting customer loyalty. It allows an effective mode of post-purchase conversation, improving the overall shopping and user experience.

It offers 4 types of messages:

1. Transactional messages: For purchase of products and order details.
2. Delivery message: For regular delivery updates on progress.
3. Feedback messages: To understand customers’ reception and product reviews.
4. Upsell/Cross-sell messages: To continue the sales process after their 1st order and initiate customer retention.

Breakdown of a WhatsApp Post-purchase Flow

Pre-purchase advertisements sell your product; the post-purchase experience sells your product to the same customer. Your customer retention steps begin at the moment of the purchase. From acknowledgment to feedback, WhatsApp creates an engaging post-purchase flow. Here’s how you can divide the process:

1. Acknowledgment?

After the customer purchases your product, WhatsApp allows you to acknowledge their trust in your product with a personalized message. A strong message can leave a lasting impact on the customer, making them more likely to order again.

2. Hook and engagement?

Entertain and engage your customer while they wait for their order to show up on their doorstep. Advice on how to use the product, exciting facts, or any other necessary information will hook the audience throughout the wait.

3. Feedback

D2C brands have the edge over other marketplace-first companies. They have the option to connect with their customers at a personal level and collect direct feedback and reviews from your buyers to achieve PMF.

Verdict

D2C brands are supposed to be people-centric where they solve a difficulty faced by a group of people. Hence, the human element matters for every D2C brand at every level.?93% of consumers will likely stick with a brand?if they offer an engaging post-purchase experience.

Keeping in touch with consumers is essential for every D2C brand. Besides customer retention, the process eliminates CAC and increases Average Order Value.?Return customers are known to spend more than new acquisitions.?So, why spend on CACs rather than grab a high ROAS through retention?