3 Thank You Page Optimizations That Boost Retention And Referrals

Your Thank You page (aka order confirmation page) is your buyer’s first step into the world beyond the paywall. Use these tips to ensure it’s an experience that makes them want to buy from you again!

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Most business owners don’t think about their post-sale pages, because the norm for over a decade has been:

“You’re in! Now go check your inbox and join the Facebook group here!”

Or: “Great, we’ll email you when it’s ready to ship.”

Can you imagine tolerating that experience in your regular everyday life?

Of course not!

But companies have been getting away with this for years because online sales used to be ridiculously cheap and easy.

At Hubspot’s “Inbound” conference this week, one of those big name brands admitted on stage that the things that worked before do NOT work today.

(We talk about this topic more on our socials, so follow us @ferncxandcrm on your favorite channel to discuss what’s working and what isn’t.)

It was a seller’s market and they could do whatever they wanted and still get the sale because there was very little competition.

That is sooooo not the world we live in now.

Thank You Pages Can Make Or Break Whether That Person Ever Buys From You Again

If you want people to keep buying from you and tell all their friends about you, you need a better experience after the sale. IMMEDIATELY after the sale.

So if you’re ready for a competitive advantage that will help your business stand out and become the brand everyone 💖 loves 💖 to buy from, this episode is for you.

I’m going to describe a handful of different examples for different types of business models. 

You can tweak any of these examples to fit your exact offer and post-sale experience.

How To Optimize The Thank You Page For An Online Course

Let’s start with an easy one ~ the page people see after buying an online course:

The page might say something like:

“Thanks, check your inbox for login details and join the private Facebook group!”

This one bothers me the most because online courses are the EASIEST to deliver right there on the thank you page! Why do we need to go away to access content that’s already pre-recorded and on-demand?

Sure, the email with the login details still goes out. But you can do so much with the page they’re on now.

For example, you could put the first lesson right there on the Thank You page. But not just any lesson… Something quick and easy that helps them get a small win before leaving the page.

No matter what your online course teaches, there’s always SOMETHING you can help them achieve in the first 5 minutes.

It might be a mindset shift, a different perspective, or getting them up out of their chair to do a quick and easy exercise. It doesn’t have to be huge. It just has to prove to them that they can do this.

Seeing themselves step out of their old habits and actually start using your course is a major win in the first 5 minutes!

Now the thank you page has closed one of the loops they had running through their head of “what if I can’t do this?”

Well guess what? You just did it. And it’s only been 5 minutes since you completed your purchase. So guess how amazing the rest of the course must be!

This format of giving them a quick win in the first few minutes works no matter what you’re selling.

But I know some of you will get stuck here, so let’s look at more examples.

How To Optimize The Thank You Page For A Coaching Program

Let’s do coaching next because I know most coaches are thinking, “Well there’s absolutely no way I can deliver part of the coaching experience in the first 5 minutes.”

Oh, but you can!

You just have to let go of the idea that this is about YOU instead of your client’s transformation.

Let’s say your client just finished signing the contract and paying the first invoice for your coaching package. It’s 6pm where they are, 9pm where you are.

A typical client onboarding experience would be something like:

“Thanks, check your inbox because I’m sending you the welcome packet, and a link to book your first call.” Maybe they also get the link to your client portal with copies of their contract, invoices, and video tutorials for how to use the client portal.

None of that feels like a coaching experience. None of this feels like what they paid for.

If anything, it’s busy work to tide them over until the first session.

Instead, let’s give them a taste of your coaching process.

Something like VideoAsk or Tolstoy videos that show your face asking one question at a time and waiting for them to answer before moving onto the next question.

They can respond with video, audio, or text, whatever they’re comfortable with.

You’re a powerful coach who’s AMAZING at what you do, so I bet you know some deep questions that will start the transformative process in the first 5 minutes.

All they need is a small win and a taste of your coaching experience.

Think about how delighted your new client will be when they get something right away after putting down a big investment.

You can boost referrals and social media shoutouts before you even get to the first real coaching session!

How To Optimize The Order Confirmation Page For Physical Products

Ok, let’s look at one more “I can’t deliver anything in the first 5 minutes” business model: physical products.

Most order confirmation pages go something like this:

“Thanks, here’s your receipt, we’ll email you when it ships (and nothing between now and then.)”

Of course they have to wait for the product to arrive at their mailbox. (There’s no helping that.)

But in a world of same-day delivery and instant gratification, you can still deliver a RESULT in the first 5 minutes.

Something related to the reasons they bought THIS product from YOUR brand.

Let’s replace it with something like this:

“Thanks, here’s your receipt and shipping details. AND my top 2 favorite ways to get healthier hair at home while you wait for your all-natural styling gel to ship. One of them you can do right now while sitting at your computer that will leave your hair looking fuller and shinier without adding any product.” 💆

Every Thank You / Order Confirmation Page Should Boost Your KPI’s

Are you starting to see how powerful this page can be to overcome buyer’s remorse and get people EXCITED to share your offers with others?

Because they know the people they refer will also enjoy this kind of experience after paying.

Let me know if this has been helpful!

I could literally talk all day about this and share a zillion more examples, but they all follow pretty much the same pattern:

Action Steps

Go ~ now ~ and revamp your pages while this is still fresh in your mind.

But first ~ subscribe to our YouTube channel or join our email list real quick so you’re notified when we post the next episode:

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If you want us to craft your page right away and have it ready for Black Friday and the holiday sales season, click here to get in touch.

What’s Next

We have everything you need to turn buyers into brand champions who help you grow your business:

For a deeper discussion of this same topic, pop over to our blog post:
Is Your Sales Funnel Breaking Your Customers’ Trust After The Sale?

If you need better tools to make this process smooth ~ check out Fern CRM for all your automated, personalization, marketing, sales, and buyer experiences technology in one affordable subscription.

In next week’s 4-minute episode, we’re going to look at how ethical businesses can bond with buyers by highlighting the impact their purchases make, using simple CRM features most businesses have access to.