
How does your business view its relationships with customers? It’s very easy, and common, to withdraw commitment to helping a customer once they make the purchase…but the relationship should be more than a sale.
Sometimes there’s a formal arrangement. Sometimes the customer has to pay for any help after a purchase.
If a business is really there to help, however, they should view every purchase as a long term commitment to making that customer’s experience amazing.
Even if the customer has no intention of buying more products, you should provide them with as much help as possible (within reason, of course).
If I buy a camera from an electronics store and I have a question, I should feel confident in asking an employee for advice long after I bought the camera. Because I bought that camera from them, the store should make sure that my overall experience with that camera, and their brand, is a great one.
Hell, even if I didn’t buy it from them, helping me out provides them with the opportunity to build trust and loyalty with a new customer.
Take it further and straight up ask your customers to come back for help. Apple is a great example with their genius bar. They want their customers to be happy with the product they bought, even if there’s no guarantee of future purchases.
Your relationship with a customer shouldn’t stop at the sale…the relationship shouldn’t stop at all.