The Art of After-Sales Service: How to Keep Existing Buyers Happy

A strong after-sales service strategy is essential to your B2B company's long-term success. Statistics show that it costs five to seven times more to acquire a new buyer than to retain an existing buyer. Existing buyers are already familiar with your B2B company, so they require less nurturing to convert. Turning a blind eye to after-sales service, however, may harm your B2B company's buyer retention rate. Some of your B2B company's buyers may leave in favor of a competitor. You can keep them happy by offering a strong after-sales service that addresses all of their needs.

What Is After-Sales Service?

After-sales service is the support and assistance provided to buyers after a sale has been made. Also known as post-sales service, it involves activities and processes that occur after a buyer has purchased a product or service.

After-sales service is aimed at ensuring buyer satisfaction, addressing any issues or concerns, and maintaining a long-term relationship with the buyer. After-sales service can vary depending on the nature of the product or service, as well as the buyer's needs, but generally includes a few key components.

Customer Support

Customer support is the foundation of after-sales service. As you may know, it involves assisting buyers by answering their questions and resolving any problems they encounter. You can't create a strong after-sales service strategy without customer support. Some buyers may not require any assistance, but others will require assistance. Providing them with a high level of customer support after they've made a purchase will result in happier buyers, thereby boosting your B2B company's buyer retention rate.

Existing buyers may reach out to your B2B company's customer support team for the following reasons:

• Installing or configuring a product
• Troubleshooting technical problems with a product
• Billing or payment issues
• Information about a product or service
• Delivery issues
• Provide feedback
• Contract renewals
• Upgrades

Warranties

After-sales service may include product and service warranties. If your B2B company offers warranties on its products or services, you'll need to honor them. Warranties may cover the cost of repairs or replacements. If a product or service fails during the warranty period, for instance, the buyer may file a claim. You'll need to honor these claims so that buyers remain happy. Whether it's for a product or service, warranty claims come after a buyer has made a purchase, making them part of after-service sales.

Maintenance

Maintenance is another element of after-sales service. While there are countless B2B products on the market, many of them require maintenance. Industrial construction equipment, fleet vehicles and even commercial office furniture, for example, may require maintenance. Regular maintenance helps to ensure that B2B products such as these continue to perform at their optimal level. This can help to prevent product failures, downtime and disruptions in the businesses that use them.

Maintenance includes inspections, cleaning, adjustments, updates and more. Activities such as these can help to identify and address potential issues before they escalate into major problems that render the product unusable. To seek maintenance for a product, buyers may reach out to your B2B company. Maintenance inquiries fall under the category of after-sales service because they occur after the buyer has made a purchase.

Training

Buyers may require training after making a purchase. B2B products are oftentimes more advanced and complicated than consumer products. After all, they are designed specifically for businesses. After purchasing a B2B product, buyers may require training so that they can implement and use the product in their business's operations.

You can provide training to buyers as part of your B2B company's after-sales service strategy. Training may include tutorials, product guides, knowledgebase, Q&As, explainer videos and one-on-one meetings. 

Follow Ups

After-sales service gives you the chance to follow up with existing buyers. Some sales reps make the mistake of cutting off all communications with buyers after closing the deal. Once they've converted a prospect into a buyer, they will move on to the next prospect. Failure to follow up with buyers, however, is a serious mistake. Buyers may feel unappreciated, which may compel them to choose a competitor, instead.

To keep existing buyers happy, you should follow up with them. Wait about one week after a buyer has made a purchase, at which point you can reach out to him or her. During this followup, ask the buyer about his or her recent purchase. If the buyer has any questions or concerns, you can address them during the followup. Followups such as this will build loyalty among your B2B company's audience. Buyers will experience a higher level of satisfaction with your B2B company, so they'll become more loyal.

Feedback

Want to acquire feedback from existing buyers? Feedback can provide invaluable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your B2B company and its products or services. You can use it to make the necessary adjustments for a higher level of service, enhance your B2B company's offerings and retain more buyers.

Acquiring feedback, of course, is an after-sales service process. You can't expect a buyer to provide useful feedback related to a product or service until he or she has purchased and used the product or service. Only after using the product or service will a buyer know how it works and whether there are ways to improve it. Regardless, you should include feedback in your B2B company's after-sales service strategy. Reaching out to existing buyers to solicit feedback will prove helpful in optimizing your B2B company's operations.

Account Management

Account management goes hand in hand with after-sales service. Many B2B companies assign sales professionals to their high-value accounts. Known as account managers, they are responsible for building and maintaining relationships with existing buyers. Account managers proactively engage with buyers, understand their needs and provide personalized support and guidance throughout the buyer's lifecycle. Some buyers may need assistance after purchasing a product or service, and account managers can provide this post-sales support.

In Conclusion

After-service sales includes many different processes. Customer support, warranties, maintenance, training, feedback, follow ups and account management are all classified as after-sales processes.