An e-commerce business is like rhythmic gymnastics. In both cases, the basis is balance. If you put an equal sign between CX and your best offer, satisfied customers will bring repeat purchases to your online store. In this blog post, I’ll show you the benefits of implementing post purchase surveys, and how to measure your buyers’ checkout experience to increase conversion rates.
What Is a Post-purchase Survey?
Let’s start with a brief explanation of the post-purchase survey definition.
We send such a questionnaire to customers right after they purchase in our online store. Depending on the type of assortment (conditions of sale, delivery, price), we can display the survey on the website immediately after the purchase is finalized or send it by email after a specific time.
The most important thing is to choose a research that will ensure the highest possible response rate to collect qualitative data and improve customer satisfaction. The form of the survey, its distribution, and the type of questions asked (open-ended questions, matrix questions, multiple choice questions, etc.) are very individual. In a few minutes, I will show you sample questions from which you can create your questionnaire and ready-made templates.
In this approach, each valuable survey response matters.
Purchasing On The Internet Survey
The Online Shopping Survey is the perfect study for anyone looking to start selling online, expand their business or just see what customers expect from online stores.
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Post-purchase Survey or Pre-purchase Survey?
Before we get to the benefits post-purchase customer questionnaires can bring to the table, let’s explain how it differs from similar CX surveys.
Prior to measuring post-purchase experience, we can ask our current and potential customer base about customer feelings and expectations before choosing an assortment and making a transaction.
We conduct pre-purchase surveys to learn about market expectations and understand customers’ preferences. We do this before the buying process to improve the offer and overall satisfaction of website visitors, hoping that they will become our new customers.
However, when collecting post-purchase survey responses, we count on purchase feedback regarding specific customer experiences, such as:
- Fast loading and reliability of the order confirmation page
- Help of the online chat representative (only if it was needed)
- Is the checkout process fast or slow?
- Possibility to choose a preferred method of payment
- Did the promotional coupon (if applicable) work without a problem
Post-purchase surveys and pre-purchase surveys complement each other.
Other valuable customer surveys can help you define your marketing strategy, strengthen customer retention, transfer each loyal customer into a brand ambassador, and improve the entire experience of your buyers. You will find more areas worth asking about below.
Click one of the pictures to display template. Here you will find more examples of CX surveys.
Five Reasons to Run a Post-purchase Survey
It’s time to highlight why implementing post-purchase surveys in your online shop can be a game changer. Here are some of the benefits of an e-commerce post-purchase survey:
1. Purchase Survey Stops Problems Before Escalation
Imagine a customer having difficulty getting a payment confirmation for a placed order. Concerned, he tries to contact support. The team works 9-5, and it’s later. What do some percentage of clients do? I bet they leave alarming feedback on social media.
Don’t let it happen. Instead of losing clients, reduce churn to get higher profits!
Set automatic sending of surveys and collect feedback from the customer immediately after purchase. An adequately matched message in autoreply will soothe the client’s nerves, and a support specialist will deal with the reported problem first thing in the morning.
2. Asking Survey Questions Helps You Interact with Customers Better
Listening to the voice of the customer in ecommerce is crucial. Access to the Internet, social media, and the instant online presence of brands make customers appreciate those brands that instantly respond not only to their problems but also to their needs.
An essential component of building a positive customer experience is responding to their needs and an effective tool for obtaining detailed information about them – CX research, such as a post-purchase survey.
3. It’s a Proven Tool to Increase Returning Customers’ Rate
Did you know acquiring new customers is more expensive than keeping existing ones? Taking care of your buyers’ well-being and improving the experience is the easiest way to reduce customer churn. One Harvard Business School study found that a small 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a huge increase in profits (25%-95%).
Collect qualitative data with your customer feedback to optimize your offer and build long-term and fruitful relationships with the growing group of your most loyal clients.
E-Commerce Website Survey Questions
Are your customers abandoning their carts? Your online store has a lot of visitors, but orders are rarely or never placed? The key to finding the cause of these problems your e-commerce faces is to ask the right questions.
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4. Find Out What Customers Prefer and Identify Areas to Improve
Ecommerce post-purchase surveys may help you save time and money. Instead of guessing what they value in your offer (and wasting money on failed online ads) and what the buying client thinks about your purchasing process, you can ask them.
Thanks to regularly conducted post-purchase research; you can, on the one hand, learn about buyers’ expectations and, on the other hand, learn about their biggest problems and eliminate the shortcomings that stop potential customers from making purchases.
You will admit that this is invaluable knowledge in e-commerce, right?
5. Personalization & Customer Experience Improvement
Repeat purchases require much more than a reasonable price and a wide range of products. Customer loyalty is built by maintaining the highest CX standards, constant care for their well-being, and an individual approach to needs. A personal approach to communication and customer service is one step to achieving these goals.
“In Hollywood, they say there’s no business like show business”. In the CX industry, we say there’s no feedback like negative feedback.
Examples of Post-purchase Survey Questions
It’s time to put the theory into practice.
We have prepared a set of questions that may be useful to you in designing your e-commerce customer survey. Remember that each store has slightly different specifics. When creating your survey, choose the optimal questions to ensure valuable feedback and a high response rate.
Questions to Ask in Your Post-purchase Surveys:
Why Did You Choose to Shop in Our Store?
Find out what sets your offer apart from the competition. Affordable prices? A wide range of products? User-friendly website?
Another interesting question about the motives behind the customer’s choice is what made them come to your store? Advertisement? Referral from friends? Good online reviews? Ask and optimize spending on advertising, content marketing, or other customer acquisition methods.
How Do You Rate Your Overall Shopping Experience?
Such a post-purchase survey response may be an answer on a scale (from I am satisfied to I am disappointed), a sad or happy face, or the correct number of thumbs up that accurately reflects the customer experience.
We can also break this question into several issues that make up the overall buying experience, such as pricing, delivery, product availability, or quality. A matrix question will work well here.
For a more specific answer, consider adding a follow-up survey question to understand the reasons behind each rate.
Did You Encounter Any Problems When Shopping?
Let me paraphrase 50 Cent:
“In Hollywood, they say there’s no business like show business”. In the CX industry, we say there’s no feedback like negative feedback.
If customers need help with the purchasing process, something makes it difficult for them to finalize the order; you need to know this to eliminate errors and (as a result) increase income.
Monitoring of Customer Expectations
Online surveys allow you to collect honest feedback quickly and turn it into specific guidelines for further product development, customer service, or the marketing team’s work.
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What Can We Do to Improve Your Shopping Experience?
Remember to give the respondent space for free reflection in the post-purchase survey. Don’t suggest anything; ask them to tell you in their own words what they think you can improve running your e-commerce business. Such feedback may be the most significant value of the research and translate into an increase in conversion rate in the future.
How Fast Was Shipping Time?
How customers perceive you are more than just up to you and your employees. If you don’t deliver orders yourself, you can’t be sure that the courier company does it as you wish.
When deciding on questions about the timeliness of delivery, remember to ask them after some time. Do not ask the customer who has just paid for the order how he assesses the delivery time because it makes no sense.
Collect feedback, and analyze survey responses to change the partner responsible for delivering your orders in the event of repeated complaints.
How to Create a Survey – List of Good Practices
Whether you decide to run a post-purchase or another type of questionnaire, you must ensure that the survey is adequately prepared and planned. Here are some golden rules for an excellent survey to help you collect impactful feedback.
- Choose one specific goal (post-purchase experience)
- Remember that a short survey is a good survey
- Create questions with easy-to-measure answers
- Avoid asking about two issues in one question
- Don’t suggest answers to your respondents
- Limit the number of mandatory questions
- Don’t ask about something you already know
You can learn more about creating your very first new survey here: How to do a survey in 12 practical steps.
Post-purchase Experience: Key Takeaways
According to the Salesforce study, two out of three customers expect companies to understand their unique expectations and needs. Higher revenues; that’s the reward for being customer-centric and shifting the organization’s mindset to customer experience.
While changing the attitude of the entire company is a process, in e-commerce listening to the voice of the customer can start overnight.
Survey tools like Startquestion allows you to prepare and send a post-purchase survey, then collect results and analyze trends to quickly and effectively improve the overall customer experience. Nevertheless, we have also prepared many ready-to-use CX surveys templates to help you get started with the tool.
Post-purchase is a survey that can benefit both the recipient and the sender. Craft an optimal questionnaire and start shipping it to your clients to get valuable insights and make their CX great again. Becasue repeat customers build brand loyalty.
