Businesses all over the world are using social media to attract customers and build loyalty, thereby increasing their brand equity and revenue. TikTok is one platform that has proven to have tremendous value, particularly for companies in the fashion, beauty, electronics, household products, and consumer-based goods (CPG) space. With over 1 billion daily users, TikTok has disrupted the marketplace and paved the way to a new customer journey, known as the infinite loop. Users discover products, do their own research, make a purchase, engage with the brand, and then recommend the product to others, thus beginning the cycle again and again. While having a TikTok account for business-to-consumer (B2C) companies is an important way to engage with target audiences, its role in shaping the customer post-purchase experience is critical to brands seeking to increase retention and loyalty.

The post-purchase experience accounts for all brand-customer interactions that occur after the time of purchase. An article written by Forbes asserted that brands who focused on CX saw an 80% increase in profits, with 73% of customers making purchasing decisions based on the brand experience. While there are various elements of the post-purchase experience, behavior-based elements such as posting images on social media, sharing reviews, or referring friends have been linked to enhancing a brand’s bottom line.

Material, a marketing insights and services company, conducted a study on TikTok’s global retail path-to-purchase in 2021. Along with finding important information about customers’ purchasing habits when using TikTok, they found that TikTok continues to play a significant part after a purchase has been made. Following a purchase, one in four users made a post about the product, tagged the brand in their content, showed off the product, or commented on a post by a brand. These interactions have a direct influence on other users. Material also found that “TikTok users are twice as likely as users of traditional social platforms to recommend a product or service they've discovered on TikTok, and 1.5x more likely to successfully convince others to try that product or service. Ultimately, 58% of the TikTok audience convinces someone else to use a product.”

Companies have an opportunity to leverage the power of TikTok in their CX initiatives. Encouraging customers to share their experience with a particular product or service and reposting user-generated content are two easy ways to enhance the post-purchase experience on TikTok. Not only will this increase customer happiness, but it will continue the infinite loop of boosting sales and customer engagement.

 
 
  • Kate Becker

  • Kate Becker Designer