Your big moment. After chasing after new customers, you finally convince them to make a purchase. Now comes your chance to win them over with a unique and memorable post-purchase experience. But instead they’re left with a post-purchase experience gap.

You might only get one chance to make new customers feel welcomed and connected to your business and your brand. To create an experience more than what they can get from Amazon. To get them excited. In short--if you don’t have a post-purchase experience strategy in place, you are missing out (and so are your customers).

Five national snack brands offer a sample pack for new customers on their websites. Brands you’d find at major retailers including Costco, Whole Foods, Walmart, Trader Joe's and the list goes on. Brands investing heavily in social media and digital marketing to build brand awareness and acquire new customers.

What do they do to get them excited about their purchase?

Four out of five don’t do anything. They just ship their product in a padded envelope. No packing slip. No thank you. Just a handful of samples.

Only one of the five took the time to create an experience that mirrored their online efforts. Their brand was immediately visible on the outside of their packaging—a custom-made box that fit their samples perfectly. Beyond their brand, they also took the time to focus on the little touches to get new customers excited about their purchase. They highlighted what makes their product unique (always a good reminder), they included a product promise, and they even went so far as to include fun messaging as you opened the box flaps—an experience fitting of an iPhone unboxing.

Your brand (and your customer experience) doesn’t begin and end on Facebook and Instagram. You can post all of the lifestyle photography and influencer content you want, but if the ultimate payoff for a new customer is to receive a generic package with absolutely no branding, brand voice, or brand personality—that’s a huge disconnect.

At a recent networking event for participants and alumni of Chatham University’s IncubateHER, a year-long business incubation program for early-stage women entrepreneurs, the very same topic came up. An entrepreneur mentioned how much she loved ordering loose leaf tea from this small business in Seattle. Although the tea was obviously what initially drew her to them, it was the random hand written notes they included when she ordered online that really made her light up with excitement. Something that takes less than a minute and doesn’t cost anything is one of the very things that keeps her coming back for more (and telling others).

Think about your brand and your customer experience holistically. From each and every touch point on social media as you’re trying to build brand awareness and attract new customers, to the user experience on your website, to the moment they open their first package. Amazon and big box retailers ship products in boxes. No frills. No personality. Nothing unique. That’s not you. Invest the same amount of effort into what happens after a customer makes their purchase as you do trying to convince them to buy from you.

As you work to win over new customers and create a unique and memorable experience, what are some ways you can successfully bridge the post-purchase experience gap?