Many freelancers struggle to land their first clients. But what do you do once you’ve gotten those sales? What can you do beyond delivering exceptional service to ensure that new customers become repeat customers?
That’s where post purchase marketing comes in.
And in this post, we’ll reveal the secrets behind this often-overlooked sales strategy and offer 7 techniques that you can start implementing today.
What Is Post Purchase Marketing?
Post purchase marketing is anything you do to increase customer loyalty and sales volume after an initial sale has already been made. It can include actions you take immediately following the sale, or something you do months down the line.
A good example can be seen in the restaurant industry. You sit down to dinner at a nice place to eat. The server takes your order (the initial sale). You eat and enjoy the ambiance. As the meal is winding down, before bringing the check, the server drops off the dessert menu and starts describing the mouth watering confections the chef has baked up today.
This upsell of the dessert menu is classic post purchase marketing. The restaurant has already earned some profit from you, and this is their chance to earn more.
Why Use Post Purchase Marketing?
Even if only 1 in 10 people succumb to the server’s dessert pitch, that adds up to a lot of extra revenue over the course of the night, the week, the month, and the year.
In other words, the more you try to sell, the more you will sell.
You should be using post purchase marketing techniques because, over time, they will make you more money. And if you’re doing it the right way, it will make your customers much more satisfied with your service and loyal to your brand.
7 Post Purchase Marketing Techniques For Freelancers
Let’s look at 7 actionable post purchase marketing strategies that pretty much any freelancer can add to their repertoire today.
#1 Send a Confirmation Message
Okay. This one seems obvious.
But you wouldn’t believe how many support tickets we get at Legiit from customers who aren’t sure if their freelancer has received their order or not.
Imagine their state of mind. They just dropped a bunch of money on a service that they assume is coming from a professional who knows what they’re doing. They should be feeling excited—bubbling with anticipation at seeing the results.
Instead, they are filled with anxiety. It’s been 48 hours and they still have no idea if the freelancer received their order. They are starting to worry if they might have been scammed. Even if the work turns out to be amazing, the customer is likely to have a sour taste left in their mouth over the whole experience.
So, after you receive an order—especially from a new client—take thirty seconds out of your day to send them a message to confirm that you’ve begun work.
#2 Pitch a Limited Time Offer
Your order confirmation message isn’t really about making more sales in the future. It’s more about not losing them.
But it also provides an opportunity for you to capitalize on FOMO (or fear of missing out) and turn one sale into two.
Imagine you’re a freelance writer who just landed an order from a brand new client. You review the order, make sure everything is clear, and send a message like this back to the customer:
Hi, and thanks for the order. Everything looks good, and I’ll get started on it today. By the way, if you happen to be in need of any other content, I’m running a deal this week. You can get 15% off with coupon code: BARGAIN
Remember the dessert menu. Even if this pitch only works on 10% of your customers, that will add up a lot over the course of the year.
#3 Ask For a Review
When you deliver an order, include a friendly message to say how much of a pleasure it was working with the client. But also remember to ask them to leave a review. This is important for several reasons:
- The act of asking makes the customer feel valued—like their input matters (because it does!).
- Writing a review will force the customer to recall specific positive aspects of working with you, thus cementing your value in their mind.
- Positive reviews are social proof for you, increasing your chance of landing future clients.
#4 Offer a Discount on Future Orders
At the time of delivery, Legiit freelancers have the option to give the client a discount on their next purchase of the same service. Using this drastically increases the chances that they will order again.
Especially with brand new clients, whose loyalty may still be developing, consider providing incredibly generous discounts. Even if you have to lose money on the next sale, you will likely have earned a repeat customer for months to come.
#5 Share Personalized Service Recommendations
In addition to re-selling the same service, your delivery message is also a great time to cross sell related services. Your chance of landing the sale will increase the more personalized you can make the offer.
For example, imagine you are an SEO freelancer who just delivered a guest post backlink to a client. You can assume that they are trying to rank their website, so you include a short sales pitch for your social media package as well.
#6 Include a Bonus
People love freebies.
Including some sort of bonus with every sale doesn’t just psychologically “trick” customers into valuing you more, it also offers you an opportunity to market to them.
A good example of a bonus offer is an e-book that solves your customer’s pain points. For instance, if you’re a graphic designer, you might offer a free guide on “10 Ways to Grow Your Business with Better Design” to every customer.
Now, when they order a logo design from you, you are also positioning yourself as an authority on infographics, social media banners, blog images, and whatever other sort of graphic design elements are covered in your guide.
#7 Invite Customers to Your Mastermind, Blog, or Email List
If you aren’t running some sort of content marketing campaign, such as a blog, email list, or mastermind group, now is the perfect time to start.
All you have to do is provide consistent value to people who are interested in the types of services you offer. Over time, more people will follow you and come to see you as an authority in the field. When they need help, they’ll turn to you, and pay top dollar for your assistance.
Whenever a new customer enters the fold and places an order, invite them to join your following. You can sweeten the deal by offering something in return, such as a coupon code or the bonus offer we just discussed.
Either way, you’ll slowly grow a list that becomes a regular source of repeat business.
Don’t Neglect Your Post Purchase Marketing
You’re equipped with 7 after sales strategies that you really can start implementing today. Make it a goal to add a new one to your standard operating procedures every week. In less than two months, you’ll have opened up so many new opportunities to transform a single sale into many.
Download