Why it matters: Two days after their purchase, your customer is still in that post-shopping glow. They're excited about what they bought, and they're paying attention to your brand. This is your moment to make them feel seen and appreciated, not sold to.

A simple thank-you message does three things: 

• It reinforces that they made a good choice
• It opens the door for a conversation
• It starts building a relationship beyond the transaction
  

This isn't about pushing another sale. It's about showing you're a real person who genuinely appreciates their business.

By the Numbers: During last year's BFCM, brands using a 2-day thank you campaigns saw an average conversion rate of 6.6% and a 3.18% reply rate. That's an exceptional result considering that these messages aren’t even about making a sale. 

Why it matters: Around the two-week mark, your customer has had time to actually use what they bought. This is prime time to check in and see how they're liking it. 

A 2-week check in message does three things: 

• It shows that you care beyond the transaction
• It keeps your brand top of mind during the holidays
• It helps you catch potential returns and turn them into revenue
  

That last bullet point is huge. 

Holiday shoppers are especially prone to returns: they bought quickly, maybe didn't try things on, or grabbed something that wasn't quite right. But a return doesn't have to mean lost revenue. If you catch it early and help them find something that does work, you've just turned a return into a loyal customer who knows you actually care.

By the Numbers: 2-week follow-up campaigns typically see a 2.57% reply rate and 3.24% conversion rate. When you catch issues early and show you care, customers respond. 

Why it matters: By February, the holiday buzz is long gone. Traffic slows down, and all those customers you acquired in November and December? Many of them have disappeared. This is where the smart retailers separate themselves from everyone else.

The two-month mark is your window to bring them back before they forget about you entirely. With this follow up, you can: 

• Share new arrivals that fit their style 
• Offer them an exclusive discount
• Invite them to schedule a styling appointment 
  

This invitation back should feel natural and casual, like hearing from a friend, not a generic blast.

By the Numbers: Customers who receive personal outreach like the 2-2-2 flow with Endear make repeat purchases 24% faster than those who never hear from you. That means your BFCM customers could be back in your store by late January instead of March — exactly when you need them most.

This might seem obvious, but it's critical: you can't follow up if you don't have a way to reach them. Make sure you're collecting phone numbers and emails at checkout—both online and in-store. Phone numbers are especially valuable because SMS messages get opened way more than emails. 

Pro tip: Offer a digital receipt with an exclusive discount code to incentivize customers to share their email at checkout.

Let's be real: your team is going to be swamped during the holidays and exhausted afterward. Manually following up with every single customer? Not happening. That's where automation comes in.

With a CRM like Endear, you can set up automated messages that go out at the right time—2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months—without your team lifting a finger. The messages still come from individual team members (not a generic "noreply" email), so they feel personal and human. Your customers get the attention they deserve, and your team doesn't burn out trying to keep up.

Not ready to fully automate? You can still make life easier for your team by serving everything up on a platter — they just have to review and hit send. Set up your CRM to automatically create customer lists for follow-up (everyone who purchased 2 days ago, 2 weeks ago, etc.) and include suggested templates. Your team can personalize as needed and send with one click. It's the best of both worlds: efficiency without losing the human touch.

Pro tip: Set this up now, before the rush hits. That way, when orders start flooding in, your follow-up strategy is already running in the background.

Here's the catch with automating personal messages: it only works if your team actually monitors their messages and replies when customers write back. If you're sending automated texts or emails from individual team members, train your team to check their inbox regularly and respond to customer replies.

With a CRM like Endear, customer responses automatically route to the right team member for a quick reply. Plus, managers can monitor the team inbox to catch any messages that haven't been answered, so no customer gets left on read.

Why is this important? Because when a customer replies to what feels like a personal message, they expect a personal response. If they get crickets, you've just broken the trust you worked so hard to build. Make it clear to your team: these aren't "set it and forget it" messages. They're conversation starters.

You can't improve what you don't track. Set up a system to measure how your follow-up strategy is performing. Here are some key metrics to watch:

• Response rate: What percentage of customers are replying to your messages?
• Second purchase rate: How many customers who receive your follow-ups make a second purchase within 90 days?
• Average order value: How does average order value compare when a customer receives a follow up versus when they don’t receive one?
• Time to second purchase: How long does it take for customers to come back?
  

Benchmarks to aim for (based on Endear’s latest report):

• 54.63% email open rate
• 0.80% email reply rate
• 2.44% email conversion rate
• 6.77% SMS reply rate
• 5.41% SMS conversion rate
  

If you're hitting or exceeding these numbers, you're on the right track. If not, test different messaging, timing, or offers to see what resonates with your audience.

Pro tip: If you want to see tailored benchmarks for your specific industry, check out our 2025 Clienteling Benchmarks report.