The PAYTECH Book

Reinventing the Customer Experience by Focusing on the After-Payment Emotional Experience

By Dr Christine Bailey

Chief Marketing Officer, Valitor

The customer experience is vital to success in the retail sector and represents a continuous battleground for retailers. Omni-channel retailers have the added challenge of delivering a great customer experience across all of their channels. By rethinking the customer experience to focus on the after-sales experience, retailers can stand out, increase customer retention and even gain new customers.

The After-Payment Emotional Experience

At the heart of this new approach is the concept that retailers need to view the customer experience as a virtuous circle, containing three core elements: pre-, during and post-payment. Currently, retailers have focused on and seen success in the pre-payment element. However, for the modern customer this is only part of the journey. Following an independent research report into customer experience, it is clear that consumers have an after-payment emotional experience (APEX) that is being overlooked. This should worry every business leader, as APEX is the key to unlocking customer experience success.

APEX is the emotional feeling that customers have, both immediately after making a purchase and throughout their post-payment interactions with a retailer. It particularly affects areas such as returns, refunds, target marketing and promotions. The cyclical nature of the customer experience means that ...