Increasing Product Repurchase: Seize These 6 Key Moments to Give Users a Peak Experience

Do you know why customers buy your products? What really influences their decisions? And which moments make them feel “it’s worth it”? If you can’t answer these questions, it’s challenging to grow and succeed. Why? Because you haven’t captured the key moments.

Key moments, also known as the Moment Of Truth (MOT), refer to the moments when customers come into contact with various resources of a business. These moments determine the success or failure of a business in the future. Because for customers, what they remember are those key moments.

In today’s article, Wang Zhiqian, Visiting Associate Professor at the China Business School of Hong Kong University SPACE and a renowned brand consultant, will share with you insights into 6 key moments for consumer repurchases, creating peak experiences for consumers, and boosting repurchase rates.

Do you know why customers keep buying your product? Why do they make repeat purchases?

You might say it’s because they’re used to it and don’t want to switch, or because it’s really effective and they love it, or maybe just because they’re too lazy to change, so they stick with it.

But let me ask you further:

What exactly are they used to that they don’t want to change?
Which feature do they find effective and love?
Is their reluctance to change due to high switching costs? What makes those costs high? Is it the time or money required?
Many questions, right? However, if you think deeply, you’ll find that the root of all these questions lies in this statement:

“Do you really know how customers use your product?”

In the context of repurchases, consumers play a clear role as “users.” In the dimensions of entering the store and conversion, their clock ticks quickly, and you need to grab their attention rapidly to showcase your appeal.

However, in the dimension of repurchases, consumers’ clocks move slowly, and this dimension can be considered the most rational moment for consumers. Therefore, understanding how consumers use your product becomes crucial.

After conducting extensive research, we’ve discovered that the key to getting consumers to buy again is making them feel “it’s worth it.”

When consumers feel that “it’s worth it,” they not only repurchase but also become advocates, spreading the word to their friends and transitioning from users to promoters.

So, the core of repurchases is finding out when consumers using your product feel “it’s worth it.”

Three Common Mistakes Companies Make
However, companies often make three serious mistakes that lead to issues with insights. Consequently, when implementing their strategies, they may misdirect their experience design.

The first mistake is when companies believe they understand how consumers will use their product, but, in reality, they don’t.

For example, the property team of a luxury residential complex contacted me. They wanted to provide ultra-premium property services to their residents, with property fees more than ten times the original amount. They thought of various ways to make residents feel that paying these fees was “worth it.”

Everyone immediately thinks that safety is crucial for these high-net-worth residents. So, the property team invested heavily in security measures, including installing facial recognition systems, numerous cameras, and hiring a large number of security personnel.

Sounds reasonable, right? However, what do you think the residents complained about?

For these residents, safety was indeed crucial, but privacy was equally important. They didn’t want their faces stored in facial recognition systems. Consequently, the property had to remove these facial recognition systems, resulting in wasted resources.

You see, this property team believed they understood consumer needs but actually did not.

Consumers play different roles: they are “passersby” when entering the store, “explorers” during conversion, “users” during repurchases, and “communicators” when making recommendations.

We all hope that users of our products can become communicators, as this maximizes user acquisition and word-of-mouth.

But have you ever considered that consumers who buy luxury goods are, in fact, the brand’s “communicators”? For users of luxury products, every moment of use feels worth it.

So, logically, luxury goods should be more expensive because every moment of use feels worthwhile. Have you figured it out? Do you now understand why luxury goods are so expensive?

The second common mistake companies make is assuming that consumers are proficient in using all the features of their products when, in reality, consumers only use a few of the most frequently used features.

Take smartphones, for example. We all use them, but with so many features, are you truly proficient in using all of them? You mostly use just a few features. Many of the less frequently used features go unnoticed.

The third and most serious mistake companies make is assuming that some areas can be neglected as consumers wouldn’t care too much. However, consumers get really upset about these issues, causing them to stop buying and even share their negative experiences with others.

There are countless examples, especially in online shopping, food delivery platforms, and ride-sharing apps. Negative reviews stem from such experiences. Yet, you’ll find that many businesses continue to disregard these issues.

In fact, if a consumer stops buying after just one purchase, it’s likely due to two reasons:

During usage, the consumer didn’t experience a peak, or they felt your pricing was unreasonable, making them feel that the product wasn’t worth it.
During usage, the consumer encountered a low point, which led them to buy only once.
Six Key “Moments Of Truth”
Now, you might wonder, how do you gain insights into these key moments for repurchases? Next, I will share six crucial moments, or key moments of truth, that influence consumers to feel that it’s worth it.

When gaining insights, you must pay attention to these six moments. By excelling in these moments, you create peak experiences, making consumers feel that it’s worth it, ultimately leading to repeat purchases.

The first moment is the “initial unboxing.”

This moment is incredibly important because it’s one of the three golden moments. You need to create a peak during this moment because it’s the moment consumers are most likely to remember.

For example, many times, consumers purchase a product, open it, and haven’t even used it yet. If they see that the packaging doesn’t look good or smell right, they immediately feel that the product isn’t worth it.

If, upon opening, they perceive a high level of quality and good tactile feedback, they will carefully unwrap it, feeling that it’s a premium product. Therefore, the initial unboxing moment is highly significant.

The second moment is the “most genuine match.”

In this moment, consumers feel that “it’s worth it” because the experience of using your product aligns with what you promised them initially.

In your advertisements, you highlight many impressive features, and consumers buy your product based on these features. When they use it and find that it matches your promises, that’s the most genuine match.

This moment is particularly crucial for e-commerce businesses because consumers don’t physically inspect the product before purchasing. They rely on images and video ads.

If they discover that the actual product doesn’t match what you claimed, they’ll quickly fall into a low point, leave negative reviews, and never buy from you again.

The third moment is the “highest peak.”

Allow me to share a personal experience with you.

I often travel for work and stay in different hotels. Most hotels become forgettable, but one hotel left a lasting impression on me. What did they do that was so special? Let me share it with you.

When we stay in hotels, we often order takeout. Once, I ordered food, and while going downstairs to pick it up, an employee approached me and said, “Sir, are you waiting for food delivery? If so, please tell me your room number, and I’ll bring it up to you.”

I immediately thought, “Wow, that’s fantastic! Now, I don’t have to go downstairs to pick up my order.” This level of service made me feel great, as if I were at home, where someone delivers the food to my doorstep.

You see, in just a short moment, a seemingly simple act created a peak experience. Why? Because ordering food when staying in a hotel is a high-frequency occurrence. The hotel recognized this key moment and turned it into a peak, making