When there is a substantial period of time between someone placing an order and receiving the product or service, it is key to have a series of communications with the buyer to keep them interested.
Buyer remorse can lead to cancellations following an order unless they remain convinced that they have made the right decision.
Here are 2 examples of how businesses do this:
First, my local Audi dealer:
When I ordered a brand new car, I was told it was a 6-month wait until I could get the car, that I would pay a deposit and the balance on delivery. This obviously gave me time to change my mind – especially as I have been known to be impatient!
The dealer gave me material about the car, how it performed against competitors etc. Then I started to get a chain of emails… almost like a set of diary notes.
It has been ordered… It is now scheduled on the production line, here is your car on the production line… here is your car being finished at the factory, it is now at the docks, it is in the UK, it is here – just needs final preparation but here is a video…
These made sure I kept my interest and purchase!
Second, a firm of independent financial advisers:
They had a problem losing customers between the first and second appointment due to the length of time between the appointments. We started to put some process improvements in place to speed up the process but created a brochure which was sent to the customer immediately after the first appointment.
It thanked them for their time, explained how long it would typically be before the second appointment and explained why it took that long – all the research, checking and double-checking that the firm did on their behalf to make sure they got the best possible advice.
Then we set up weekly calls to explain to the customer what part of the process we had now reached. The number of customers cancelling the second appointment dropped by 80%.
What could you do to keep customers informed and interested if they have to wait to receive your product or service after ordering?
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