Luxury brands desperately need to step up their marketing efforts during the post-purchase components of the purchase journey, since they may be missing out on a chance to turn brand loyalists into brand advocates, according to research from Condé Nast Ideactive in partnership with Ipsos Mendelsohn. Most brands focus entirely on the path leading up to the purchase, but many neglect getting in touch with a customer post-purchase. This means that they are not only missing out on customer retention, but a chance to turn that same customer into a brand advocate for others in the purchase journey. “Brands shouldn’t over-deliver post-purchase, but manage content that says, ‘If I invest in you and make sure that I have a relationship with you as a brand, you will become a brand advocate,’” said Pat Connolly, head of strategy for Condé Nast Ideactive, New York. “Brands need to invest in emotion, and these gaps where people are very emotional [explore and post-purchase] is an opportunity for brands to invest in things like content and experience,” he said. “Doing this post-purchase will create advocates and content-creators that deliver on the first gap [the explore stage].” Condé Nast Ideactive examined the emotions at each stage of the purchase journey and what marketing devices consumers use to satisfy their needs at each point of the journey. The research examined customer behavior through the decision-making process of luxury fashion and automotive brands. Smart marketing The purchase journey goes thus: inspiration, explore, research, purchase and post-purchase. Many components can contribute to the inspiration stage, whether it is through personal experience with a family member who owns that brand or through print or Web site ads. The consumer's state of mind is more emotional than rational at this point. In the explore and research part of the journey, the consumer has already decided to purchase but is moving toward a more rational point of view. It is in this stage that consumers turn to a variety of digital channels including bloggers, search engines and social media sites. This is one area where consumers must make sure that they are using social media to their advantage. “One thing that brands do not succeed at well today is that they take social and try to get a lot of followers for some kind of random promotion like a free car,” Mr. Connolly said. “But just because they like your page doesn’t mean that they care about the brand – they just want a free car. During the buying process, interestingly, consumers spend a lot of time on their mobile devices. This could be a cue for luxury brands to at least optimize content so that consumers can do last-minute research. This is also a rational stage for consumers. Finally, post-purchase, emotions are running quite high. Consumers, especially younger ones, need almost immediate validation from friends and family post-purchase. This is often done through mobile or social media. Brands should see this as an opportunity to reach out to consumers themselves and make them brand loyalists for the next batch of consumers in the explore stage. Shining stars Some brands may already be starting to take notice of these marketing gaps since there are a few marketers that are excelling in the purchase journey where others are lagging. For example, department store chain Nordstrom reaches out to consumers post-purchase to see whether or not they are enjoying their new merchandise. Consumers are likely to remember this gesture in the future and recommend Nordstrom if a friend or family member asks about it. They also may take it a step further and write a review on the brand’s Web site. Meanwhile, New York-based retailer Harrods openly interacts with consumers via Twitter and Facebook, asking them what they like about new arrivals or certain designers. Consumers in the explore stage could see the positive reviews from brand advocates. It is important to rearrange a brand strategy to accommodate consumers, but marketers need to be careful to keep in line with the personality and voice of the label. “Don’t do it for sake of innovation,” Mr. Connolly said. “The simplest things that deliver on an existing need in a simple way are the most successful. “However, reengineering the process that people think about things are not successful,” he said. Final Take Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York