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What does the ownership (post purchase) lifecycle look like for appliance owners? Does it differ for laundry, kitchen or counter top appliances e.g. KitchenAid?
Hello! Thanks for your question about how the appliance ownership life cycle (post purchase) look like for appliance owners, and whether any difference exists for laundry, kitchen or counter top appliances.
The short version is that the customer life cycle for appliance owners involves 9 stages with two possible outcomes. Also, the consumer post purchase stage includes several opportunities as well as activities that could turn into friction points if consumer expectations are not met. I found no significant difference in the post purchase consumer life cycle for laundry, kitchen, and counter top appliances.
Below you will find a deep dive of my findings and methodology.
METHODOLOGY
To answer your query, I searched for existing research, analyses, and surveys regarding the appliance owner post purchase consumer journey/life cycle. I found that most reports tend to focus on the consumer's pre-purchase journey or the appliance's life cycle itself. I also found no studies that reported significant differences in the post purchase life cycle for owners of laundry, kitchen, and counter top appliances. However, I found sources that give a detailed picture of what the post purchase journey looks like for a consumer, though this applies to all types of consumers in general and not exclusively for appliance owners. I also found sources specific to the US consumer though I did not find any specifically focusing on the Canadian appliance owner. Finally, based on existing sources, I identified opportunities and friction points within the post-purchase journey for both appliance owners as well as general consumers. Please read on below.
POST PURCHASE LIFE CYCLE
According to the 2014 report "The New Role for Documentation in the Era of Customer Experience Management" by New York-based Digital Clarity Group, the customer life cycle involves 9 stages with two possible outcomes:
Shop - Decide - Buy - Use - Maintain - Fix/Resolve - a) Advocate-Bond-Buy or b) Need-Research-Shop
The life cycle above shows that a customer or in this case, an appliance owner, typically goes through the stages of usage, maintenance, and repairing their appliance post purchase. However, appliance owners can take two routes when the product breaks down beyond repair. They can either a) advocate and bond with their original brand, leading to a decision to purchase once again from the company. Or, b) they can disengage from the current appliance brand and move on to researching products for their need, leading to a new consumer life cycle beginning.
OPPORTUNITIES
Further research shows the following opportunities within the appliance owner post purchase journey:
• First 48 hours post purchase is the best time for positive interaction
Registeria, a SaaS firm that helps appliance and lifestyle brands connect with their customers, reported this year that the first 48 hours post purchase is the best time for brands to start a positive interaction with their customers.
• 3rd and 4th years post purchase are most profitable
CoreCentric Solutions, a firm specializing in after market service solutions for some of the US' largest retailers and major appliance manufacturers, published an article about the importance of post sales service for home appliance manufacturers. According to CoreCentric Solutions, studies show that the third and fourth years post purchase is the most profitable period in the life cycle of a home appliance owner.
• Multi-stage technical documentation
The earlier report by Digital Clarity Group recognized that technical documentation (i.e. assembly instructions, user manuals, service documentation, etc.) are usually deployed post sale. The report encouraged brands to use technical documentation at several stages of the post purchase life cycle in response to changing customer expectations and consumption habits. This is a strategy termed as breaking out of 'post-sale jail'. One appliance retailer used this strategy to capture customers in their post sale journey. The Home Depot offered a smartphone app that enabled shoppers to scan QR codes on display shelves and packaging to receive product details, how-to videos, and even user reviews. By doing so, Home Depot was able to address customer questions both before and after purchase.
FRICTION POINTS
Gearmark, a customer experience solutions consultancy, describes the post purchase stage as the unsexiest period of the consumer life cycle due to its corresponding responsibilities and costs. Gearmark mapped out the post purchase stage with the following activities and how customers want to experience them. Failing to address customer concerns and not meeting expectations can transform these activities into friction points:
• Support - customers expect fast response and resolutions
• Replacement parts - customers expect parts to be low-cost and easy to access
• Repairs - customers expect repairs to be simple to do
• Content - home appliance customers prefer instructional videos to FAQs and support documents for easier content consumption
• Product delivery - customers expect product deliveries to be on time
• Payment options - customers expect a variety of convenient payment options
• Product guarantees and warranties - customers expect these to have reasonable clauses that can be used and acted upon
Gearmark adds that companies should be doing 3 things at the post purchase stage. First, they should be providing logical services (shipping, support, billing/payment) to help their clients. Second, they should not only be providing services but building relationship with their clients through these services. Finally, they should encourage clients to stay in the customer life cycle instead of researching new vendors - in short, encourage them to take the first route (advocate-bond-buy) outlined in the life cycle depicted above.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the customer life cycle for appliance owners involves 9 stages with two possible outcomes. The consumer post purchase stage includes several opportunities for brands to positively interact with clients and encourage them to stay in the customer life cycle. However, the post purchase stage also includes activities that could turn into friction points if consumer expectations are not met.
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