The Purchase Path – Part 2

One of the major problems I’ve found with that standard purchase path model I showed earlier is that it’s so linear. Seemingly as a result, post purchase behavior as something that’s traditionally the realm of simple marketing actions like warranties, help desks, call centres, or email Bacn’. As I mentioned before however, I think there is so much more potential in that one aspect of marketing that can be leveraged within online.

Anyway, I started thinking about this new model while developing an online rewards program for an instant coffee pitch. I originally looped post purchase behavior back in on the purchase process reflecting what we wanted to make happen with the website – specifically offline purchases leading to online interactions... eventually leading back to offline purchases.



I looked it again more recently from a different perspective, not focusing on purchases as much as general ‘actions’; defined as info searches, site visits, downloads, or online dialogues between brands and consumers or even between consumers themselves. All of these actions, before and after the purchase, create and make visible user interactions with the brand or product to new clients and encourage a need recognition among them. As well, post purchase interactions have the possibility of being most visible - I'm thinking in terms of the branded shareware downloads, RSS’d podcasts, or even contests I mentioned in my previous blog.

The trick for a brand in this case is creating spaces for those post purchase online interactions, and that requires thinking not about what to do to make a sale, but what to do with the customer after he or she makes a purchase.