Latest / Customer Journey with Fexingo: Touchpoints, Mapping, and Multi-Channel Marketing / Why 90 Percent of Customer Journey Maps Ignore This Stage
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this stat I can't stop thinking about. A 2025 study from the Customer Experience Professionals Association found that roughly 70 percent of brands have no formal strategy for post-purchase touchpoints — nothing after the thank-you page. Luna: Seventy percent? That's wild. Most companies pour all their energy into getting the click and just assume the rest takes care of itself. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not like they're lazy — they just map the journey as a straight line from awareness to purchase, then stop. But the real money is in what happens after. I'm talking about advocacy, repurchase, referral — that whole back half of the loop. Luna: So the classic customer journey map is missing a whole act? It's like writing a three-act play and only producing the first two. Lucas: That's exactly it. Let me give you a concrete example. There's a mid-sized pet supplies company — I'll call them Pet Provisions — they did a journey audit and found that 40 percent of their first-time buyers never came back. Not because the product was bad, but because the post-purchase experience was silent. You bought a bag of dog food, got a receipt, and then nothing for weeks. Luna: Right, no follow-up, no check-in, no 'how's your pup liking it?' That's a huge gap. Lucas: So they added one single touchpoint: an SMS with a photo of the product being packed, sent one day after delivery. Just a simple 'We made sure Fluffy's bag is fresh — let us know if you need anything.' And they saw a 22 percent reduction in churn over six months. One text. Luna: That's a massive return on a tiny investment. And it's not just about retention — it builds advocacy. I feel like that's the stage most maps ignore entirely. Lucas: Yeah, the advocacy stage. Most companies treat it like magic: if you build a good product, people will tell their friends. But the data shows that intentional post-purchase touchpoints can double referral rates. There's a behavioral economics principle at play here too — the endowment effect. Luna: The endowment effect — where people value something more once they own it. So if you overdeliver after they own it, you're riding that psychological wave. Lucas: Exactly. If you surprise a customer with a useful tip or a small unexpected gesture after they've already bought, their perceived value of your brand goes way up. It's not a discount before purchase — it's a bonus after. And that bonus makes them feel smart for choosing you. Luna: I've seen this in B2B too. When I worked at a SaaS company, we had a 'customer success' team, but they only called when the contract was up for renewal. That's not a touchpoint — that's a fire drill. Lucas: Right. A real post-purchase touchpoint is proactive, not reactive. It doesn't ask for anything — it provides value. So let's talk about how you actually map this. The first step is to extend your journey map past the purchase. Draw a line after 'buy' and label it 'post-purchase loop.' Then split that loop into three phases. Luna: What are the three phases? Lucas: Delivery and onboarding, then usage and success, then renewal and advocacy. For each phase, you ask: what is the customer trying to accomplish? What are they feeling? What touchpoints can we add that reduce friction or create delight? Luna: So for the pet supplies company, the delivery phase touchpoint was that SMS. What about usage and success? They could send a 'how-to' video on transitioning dog food, or a reminder to check the expiration date. Lucas: Exactly. And in the renewal and advocacy phase, they could offer a referral discount — but only after the customer has had a great usage experience. If you send a referral link the day after delivery, it feels pushy. But three weeks later, when the dog is thriving? That's earned. Luna: So timing is everything. And it's specific to each product. A meal kit company might check in after the first recipe, while a software company might wait until the user hits a certain milestone. Lucas: Right. That's why generic post-purchase emails like 'we hope you enjoy your purchase' are nearly useless. They're not tailored to the phase. I'd rather see a brand send nothing than send something that feels automated and empty. Luna: Speaking of the show — we keep these conversations going because listeners like you find them useful. If these marketing deep dives have sparked something you've actually applied, a small handful of listeners chip in monthly at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's literally what lets us keep this ad-free and focused on real cases. Lucas: Yeah, no sponsors, no pressure. Just people who care about the craft. And it makes a real difference — keeps the lights on and lets us dig into stories like this one. Luna: Alright, back to mapping. So you've got your three phases. What's the most common mistake brands make when they actually start adding touchpoints? Lucas: They add too many at once. They blast the customer with emails, texts, in-app messages — and suddenly the post-purchase experience feels like noise. The key is to pick one or two high-impact touchpoints per phase, test them, and then iterate. For Pet Provisions, it was literally one text. That's it. Luna: So less is more. But how do you know which touchpoint will have the highest impact? Do you just guess? Lucas: You look at the friction points. Survey recent customers: what was confusing after you bought? What did you wish someone had told you? One company I know, a furniture retailer, found that customers were frustrated because assembly instructions were unclear. So they added a short video link in the delivery confirmation. Simple, cheap, and it cut return rates by 15 percent. Luna: That's brilliant. They didn't need a fancy loyalty program or a VIP tier. They just solved a real post-purchase problem. Lucas: And that's the core insight. The post-purchase loop isn't about selling more — at least not directly. It's about ensuring the customer gets the full value of what they already bought. When that happens, repurchase and advocacy follow naturally. Luna: So if I'm a marketer listening, what's the one action to take today? Lucas: Pull your current customer journey map. If it ends at 'purchase,' add a rectangle labeled 'post-purchase loop' with those three phases. Then list every current touchpoint after the sale. If that list has fewer than three items, you have your starting point. Luna: And if the list is empty, you're in the 70 percent. But that's actually good news — because a single well-timed text can be your first step. Lucas: Exactly. One touchpoint can change the whole trajectory. And the best part? Most competitors aren't doing it. So there's a real window of advantage here. Luna: I think that's a great note to end on. Next time we'll look at a case where a company overcorrected — added too many post-purchase touchpoints and actually drove customers away. Lucas: Yeah, there's a cautionary tale there. For now, go check your map. And if you find it's missing the back half, you know what to do.