After-Marketing
This article covers meaning & overview of After-Marketing from marketing perspective.
What is After-Marketing?
After-marketing can be described as the steps which an organisation takes after a sale of a product/service is completed, to retain customer loyalty for repeat sales.
For products that need service support like automobiles or in the B2B marketing, after-sales service is important and forms a major component of After-Marketing.It is marked by continuous follow-up by the sales department.In traditional marketing, emphasis is on activities till the sale is done while after-marketing strategies start once the sales have been made. This is majorly a relationship building between the buyer and seller to retain the buyer in near future. It should be noted that a sale is not the end, but the beginning of a relationship. In case of consumer productslike TV or automobiles, which require service support, the after-marketing activities include service support given to the product by the company.
For products like soap or shampoo where there isn’t any scope for after-sales support, innovative ways can be thought of to increase brand loyalty by involving the customers more. For example- Sunsilk involves its consumers by inviting them to visit their websites and participate in interactive discussions. This helps the company gain consumer insights as well as promote word of mouth among consumes about the benefits of using the product.
After-Marketing activities can be of two types – Active and Passive.
Active after-marketing includes reaching out to the consumers and encouraging them to interact with the company. For example- promoting brands through social marketing sites like Twitter and Facebookand trying to connect with the existing and potential consumers. Passive activities require initiation by the customer. Having a toll free number on the back of the carton is a passive after-marketing activity while organizing a contestto contact the company and suggest ideas is an active effort.
After-Marketing does not mean trying to sell more. Even though we get irritated with the frequent messages from cellular companies telling us about schemes and plans, reminders like the timely delivery of bills, payment receiving acknowledgements etc, are considered as good after-marketing activities because the actual intention is to help the consumer which indirectly gains his loyalty and trust.
Today, instead of only products, consumers want solutions to their problems. For example- Dettol provides information about hygiene /skin care related problems on its website and the benefits of using Dettol to fight against them.
In today’s market scenario where competitors can copy every possible product/service features, after-marketing activities help in creating a meaningful differentiation for the company. Although these activities need an initial investment, but in the long run, after-marketing activities will build consumer loyalty for the brand.
Hence, this concludes the definition of After-Marketing along with its overview.
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