Today’s product brands are up against a lot. Between rising costs, supply chain challenges, and growing competition from both legacy and DTC brands, standing out is harder than ever. Add to that shifting consumer expectations — more convenience, more personalization and it’s clear: brands need smarter ways to connect with their current customers.

This is especially true for companies that sell durable goods, products that people don’t replace often. Whether it's an appliance, a tool, or a piece of outdoor gear, that one-time transaction could be your only touchpoint with the customer for years.

That’s why customer engagement is so important. And it’s why more product brands are investing in ownership experience management capabilities to stay connected long after the initial sale.

The Opportunity You Already Have: Existing Customers

Most brands focus on acquisition — finding new customers. But that comes at a high cost. On average, acquiring a new customer is 5 to 7 times more expensive than marketing to an existing one.

If someone has already bought from your brand, you have a built-in opportunity. With the right tools, you can turn that one-time buyer into a repeat customer, and even a brand advocate.

With an ownership experience platform, you can:

• Lower your marketing spend by focusing on known customers

• Drive more revenue with well-timed product offers

• Boost margins by reducing dependency on paid media

• Turn customers into organic referrers

Don’t Go Silent After the Sale

Too many brands lose touch after the point of purchase. But the moment someone becomes a product owner is actually the beginning of the relationship.

With the right capabilities, you can stay connected throughout the entire product lifecycle. You can automatically trigger timely, relevant touchpoints like:

• Setup instructions or usage tips

• Maintenance reminders and how-to content

• Exclusive access to upgrades, accessories, or new releases

These personalized interactions not only build trust, they increase the chances that customers will return when they’re ready for more.

Increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

Durable goods often have long purchase and ownership cycles. But that doesn’t mean the first sale is your last. When you have visibility into who owns your products and how they’re using them, you can drive ongoing value through:

• Cross-sell of accessories, parts, or service plans

• Subscriptions or extended warranties

• Timely promotions tied to product usage or age

Advanced ownership experience platforms make it easy to automate and personalize these offers at scale, boosting CLTV without burdening your team.

Your Best Marketers? Happy Customers

When customers feel seen and supported, they tend to become brand advocates themselves. In fact, engaged customers are far more likely to:

• Leave high ratings and reviews

• Refer your brand to friends and family

• Share their experiences on social media

These organic moments can be just as powerful as paid ads, if not more. The difference? They cost nothing and come with built-in trust.

Ownership experience capabilities make it easier to collect and activate this feedback, turning satisfied customers into your most effective growth channel.

Say Goodbye to Third-Party Guesswork

Rising digital ad costs and the end of third-party cookies are making customer acquisition more expensive and less predictable. If you rely too heavily on ads and don’t own your customer relationships, you’re at risk.

Ownership experience platforms solve this by helping you build direct, first-party relationships with product owners no matter where they buy. Once someone registers a product, signs up for support, or engages with your post-purchase flow, you can:

• Collect zero- and first-party data (with consent)

• Send personalized communications via email, SMS, or web

• Gather product feedback to improve your roadmap

This isn’t just smarter marketing, it’s more sustainable growth.

The Takeaway

If your brand sells durable goods, you know that building customer loyalty doesn’t stop at check out. The real opportunity lies in what happens after the sale.

With the right ownership experience strategy and the right platform to support it, you can:

• Stay top-of-mind with customers between purchases

• Increase customer lifetime value

• Turn buyers into advocates

• Reduce your reliance on costly acquisition channels

Every post-purchase touchpoint is a chance to deepen trust, deliver value, and drive growth. Ownership experience management tools help you do that at scale with less effort, more insight, and better results.

Stay tuned for future blog posts where we’ll explore the framework and strategies product brands can use to build exceptional customer engagement. From journey mapping to content personalization to measuring CLTV, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make engagement your competitive edge.

👉 Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with the latest posts from our Customer Engagement blog series and get insights from our OXM (Ownership Experience Management) experts delivered straight to your inbox.