Saying thank you to customers falls under business etiquette, but you’ll be surprised how effective e-commerce thank you pages do a lot more than that. Thank you pages can help to build a strong brand image and a great relationship with customers. Plus, it allows you to interact with your customer beyond the transaction of the product or service. The ultimate goal is to gain loyal customers by thanking them for purchasing your product or availing a service provided by your business.
Nowadays, the majority of businesses have an e-commerce website as well. Therefore, creating effective thank you pages will not only portray common politeness, but they will also help to build brand loyalty.
Structure of a Thank You Page
Whether a thank you page is seen by a new customer or a returning one, three essential components make an excellent structure for a thank you page. To build customer loyalty, it’s crucial to include all three components.
- A Confirmation Message
To portray that the customer’s action was successful, you should place a confirmation message. This confirmation message has to be clear so that the user does not get confused about the purpose of the message. For example, the message could say “Thanks for subscribing!”, “Your order is complete” or “Thank you for subscribing! Please check your mail for further instructions”.
- A Transparent Call to Action
After thanking the customer, you should take them to the next level, which is Call to Action (CTA). This will lead to conversion and sales that just the confirmation message alone would not. The CTA page could either be simple such as asking the new customer to download the lead magnet. Or it could be of more depth, such as guiding the customer to read several blogs. Some e-commerce websites include both to gain maximum conversion.
Some examples of great CTAs are as follows:
- Ask the subscriber to create an account;
- Ask the subscriber to share on their social media platforms;
- Ask the subscriber to purchase a related product;
- Ask the subscriber to fill out a survey;
- Clear Instructions on the Steps To Be Followed
Just the CTA might not be enough for the majority of the new subscribers. Therefore, you should provide clear instructions on what to do next. For example, if you have asked the subscriber to create an account, there should be specific steps mentioned that need to be completed to create an account; or if you want the subscriber to fill out a survey, make sure that the CTA is followed by the survey page directly.
Critical Elements of a Thank You Page with a High Conversion Rate
- Offer a Discount
Many e-commerce websites offer discounts as a part of their promotional strategy, but it is essential to know when to offer a discount. If you offer it too often, your customers will always expect it. If you hardly ever do it, there are high chances of your customers jumping to your competitors. Therefore, the ideal way to offer discounts is by convincing the customers that they will earn it.
For example, you can provide them 25 percent off on their first order, promise a free sample of the most popular item if they subscribe, or provide a 50 percent discount if they purchase 3 instead of 2 of the same product.
- Motivate Engagement
Connecting with like-minded people is one of the perks of the internet. E-commerce websites can easily encourage engagement among its customers to build a positive attachment to the brand itself. To make it successful, just a link to join the corresponding business group on social media will not be enough. You must include a comment box, making it mandatory for a new customer to introduce themselves.
For example, the thank you page should lead to a link to the business group on Facebook, and the subscriber must join the group and introduce themselves in the provided link of the comment box.
- Provide the Link to Your Most Successful Content
If a customer has already ended up on your thank you page, they are most likely fond of the blogs or articles published on your site. That’s where you can provide the link to the most successful content. This will not only help the user to understand the type of content you create, but it might also influence your website’s position in the SERPs.
- Ask for Social Shares
Social shares or referrals (more on that below) should be chosen as an element based on the demographics of your customer base. For example, if the customer is a teenager who spends a lot of time on social media, asking them to like and share a vital page is an easy task which they will most likely do.
- Ask for Referrals
A referral, on the other hand, takes it up a notch. According to a survey, a key influencer of purchasing decisions is the good old word-of-mouth. Therefore, a lot of businesses ask you to refer the page to a friend or family member. It’s a simple way to attract more potential customers to your business. You can do so by providing a pre-written mail that the new customer has to refer to another person.
Examples of a Thank you Page
- Keep it Simple
A high-converting thank you page is simple with just one or two elements. It’s important to not overwhelm the customer with multiple features in the thank you page as it will lessen the effectiveness of the purpose of the thank you page. Too many offers or deals will confuse the customer to the point that it might drive them away from your site. Therefore, provide a simple message with clear instructions on what to do next.
- Promote Your Social Media Links
A customer who has purchased a product from you is more likely to visit your social media platforms. So you should place your social media buttons on the thank you page and encourage the customers to like your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter.
- Offer a VIP Reward
The customers who are on your thank you page have already purchased a product from you; therefore, they trust your brand. So why don’t you reward them with an incentive so that they come back for more? For example, you can offer them a 20 percent off on the next purchase or within a given time frame.
- Provide Incentives for Referrals
Another form of providing incentives through the thank you page is via referrals. You can ask the customer to refer your website to someone in exchange for a discount on a particular product or service. This will lead to an increase in brand awareness and also build trust between the brand and the customer.
- Utilize Videos to Display Your Brand
Providing video content on the thank you page is a great way to boost customer experience. As long as the video is in sync with what your brand stands for, it will create brand awareness like no other content.
Sales Funnel: Stages to Convert a Visitor to a Customer
Sales funnel is a marketing model that has stages specified towards turning a visitor into a loyal customer. The thank you page is the sales funnel leads to once a customer has purchased a product from the e-commerce site. Here’s is the most straightforward distinction of four different stages of a sales funnel.
Stage 1: Awareness
Awareness is created when you grab a customer’s attention either by Google search, a Facebook post, a business tweet, or something else. If your content is appealing to the customer, it will drive them to your website.
Stage 2: Interest
This is when the customer has an interest in your products or services. Your content needs to be incredible enough to help the customer make the right decision by choosing what you’re offering.
Stage 3: Decision
In this stage, the customer needs to decide as to which option to go for (between your product and your competitor’s product). Now would be the time to present your best offer to make it irresistible e.g. discount offer or bonus product.
Stage 4: Action
Finally, it’s time for the customer to purchase your product and become linked to your business. This is the right time to focus on customer retention through a thank you page.
Final Thoughts
A thank you page acts as a pivotal point for the customer’s journey. Based on your offer, the customer can either choose to go forward and fall into what your motive was the entire time, or they might choose to keep their wallet aside.
Either way, it makes the customer go on to the next step after a sale. Therefore, you should take advantage of the customer’s attention while thanking them for making a purchase.