Want to give a GREAT delivery experience to your customers? In this post, learn what makes a good delivery great, and take actionable steps to do it.
What makes a great delivery experience, well, GREAT?
In this post, we’ll break down what people want from their delivery.
And steps you can take to measure experience and see what’s preventing you from providing a better delivery service.
Plus, advanced strategies, tips, and techniques you can use RIGHT NOW to improve it, and provide the best delivery experience to customers.
Let’s get started.
A positive delivery experience has a HUGE impact on your business on so many levels.
In fact:
Shipping boosts customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, according to 98% of shoppers.
Most of all, it affects how customers view your delivery. And whether they use it.
On the other hand:
When consumers have a bad delivery experience, 89% want to provide feedback.
And 70% of all customer complaints have to do with the quality of the delivery experience.
So it’s very important.
To show you just how important it is, here’s how delivery affects your customers.
Acquiring customers is necessary for a company’s success, but it’s important not to overlook customer retention.
But return customers are valuable.
Customers are 27% more inclined to buy again after only one purchase.
If you can encourage them to come back for a second or third time, you can increase customer spending by 54%.
That is why you need to keep your customers satisfied and make them come back.
A 5-star delivery experience is important to your company’s success. A satisfied customer is more likely to become a loyal one who can help you increase profits.
A loyal customer promotes your business through word-of-mouth marketing, and advocates for your brand and product/service.
It is the best marketing that you can have for your brand.
Businesses that are focused on short-term growth commonly ignore the importance of loyal customers.
But it’s the only way to establish a brand image that provides sustainable growth and profits.
Providing a great delivery experience for customers is a critical component of distinction, customer loyalty and advocacy, and business growth.
More profit is generated by loyal clients who spend more, along with lower acquisition expenses.
These profits can be utilized to develop brand power, explore new markets, and innovate to go ahead of the competition.
Nowadays, without an exceptional delivery service, your business is not going to stay competitive in the market.
Speed. Trust. Consistency.
These are the things that ensure a good delivery experience and customer satisfaction.
To do so, you must meet the following requirements:
From the checkout to the doorstep, people want fast and easy delivery.
In fact, 80% of consumers cite convenience and speed as the most important part of their customer experience.
And when it comes to ordering online, people have high expectations of delivery speed.
So much so that Amazon has taken advantage of this with next-day and same-day delivery.
But fast delivery must remain dependable to work.
Your customers have to trust and rely on you to deliver their packages on time - every time.
If a delivery is late or delayed, or you fail to deliver an order, you risk losing customer trust and damaging your reputation.
To learn more, read our guide on how to prevent late deliveries from happening.
It may seem self-evident, but buyers expect their product to arrive in the same condition as if they had picked it up in the store.
However, this isn’t always the case.
And many big brands encounter the same problem.
In fact, 11% of UPS packages arrive with damage.
And in case a package arrives damaged, customers can request a refund or submit a negative review.
Custom packaging doesn’t just look pretty. It can also protect the items inside.
Customized packages reduce the amount of loose space inside the package.
Which means the items won’t move as much during transport.
So there is less of a chance the package will get damaged.
Transparency throughout the process is the final component of great delivery.
Proactive transparency should begin the moment an order is placed.
And it shouldn’t end until the order is delivered.
Sending email or text notifications at each stage of delivery is a good practice.
Customers will have a better experience if they know the delivery status.
They will be able to track where their package is and when it will arrive.
If they are aware of any delays in advance, they will be less frustrated if the delivery is late.
Customers are your biggest resource for increasing brand awareness.
That’s why it’s critical to provide them with the best possible delivery experience and make them want to do business with you again.
Now we’re going to show you how to measure your delivery experience to see what you’re doing right and where you can improve.
Regularly conducting customer satisfaction surveys provides insight into your customers’ perceptions of your brand, product, or service.
Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is an excellent approach to gauge customer satisfaction.
Based on their interactions with your business, this metric determines how likely your customers are to recommend you to others.
Analyzing NPS at several touchpoints throughout the customer experience will show you where you need to improve the delivery experience and where you’re currently offering a great experience.
You can also decide to follow up on positive or negative customer feedback to interact with customers, build your relationship with them, and improve customer retention and loyalty.
Always listen to your customers.
This is the cornerstone to creating a delivery experience customers want in any delivery operation, regardless of the business.
Customer feedback can also provide a lot of information about your business.
When you want to generate an offer based on genuine customer demand, feedback is crucial.
Understanding the complete route a customer takes is the most crucial component of providing a great delivery experience.
You may then concentrate on making each of those touchpoints a great experience for the customer.
If a consumer wishes to return a product, for example, make it simple for them to do so.
If you provide a return shipping label for your consumer during this touchpoint, you’ll provide a great customer experience.
After you’ve focused on providing the best delivery experiences, it’s time to assess your progress.
Ask your customers for feedback, and then you can easily identify reasons for returns.
Customers who can track the location of their delivery while it is being shipped are more likely to be at home to receive it, which reduces the chances of missed deliveries.
Driver tracking data and operational KPIs are critical for identifying bottlenecks and increasing efficiency.
It’s crucial to choose a solution that allows you to see success rates, on-time rates, service times, feedback scores, distance traveled, and other metrics.
This information can then be segmented further by teams, drivers, days, weeks, and even hours of the day.
That is how you will identify reasons for failed and missed deliveries.
Churn is unavoidable in the business world.
However, it’s critical to learn from churn when it occurs so that it doesn’t happen again.
Make sure you’re tracking your churned clients regularly so you can see if:
To provide a transparent and on-time delivery every time might seem unrealistic, but all you need to make it happen are the right tools and processes.
Real-time order tracking provides your consumers with real-time updates on your delivery process, allowing them to track their product and prepare ahead as it approaches.
Customers benefit from delivery tracking since they know exactly when their shipment will arrive, down to the minute.
They don’t have to worry about missing their package or wasting time waiting for a delivery.
Here’s a full guide on how to track orders. (Regardless of whether you’re a customer or you’re a business looking to add it to your service offer)
Proof of delivery is a record that verifies that a package has been delivered successfully.
Proof of delivery can take two forms:
Deliveries become easier for customers when proof of delivery is provided.
PODs can also be used to ensure order accuracy.
You’ll have proof that the delivery was made, which can save you money on refunds or replacements.
If a preferred payment method isn’t accessible, up to 7% of shoppers abandon their cart.
Customers who are presented with the correct mix of payment alternatives have a higher likelihood of completing a purchase.
You should also make your checkout process easy and fast.
Try not to include any additional costs, since that is another big reason for cart abandonment.
Customers nowadays expect to have real-time access to information regarding their orders, such as the option to track their drivers and receive expected delivery dates and times.
Customers can also see where their driver is in real-time and communicate with the driver if there is a need.
However, many businesses lack the necessary technology to facilitate these customer communications.
This entails becoming a part of the end-to-end solution for getting products to clients without having to rely on third-party delivery services.
They want to be kept informed about the status of their order throughout the route.
They’ll go to a competitor who offers a more personalized experience if you don’t.
Free or low-cost delivery is one of the most essential considerations in determining where to buy, according to 53% of shoppers.
You may better manage your costs or integrate delivery costs into your standard product pricing and offer free delivery to your customers when you handle delivery in-house.
Offering a contactless delivery option is a significant approach to gain customer trust, as many people want to minimize their physical encounters with others.
Based on one survey, 82% of people want contactless delivery to continue when the pandemic is over.
Contactless delivery can save your drivers time and speed up your delivery routes, which is good for your business.
To ensure that items arrive in good condition, keep an eye out for two things: good packaging and careful handling during the delivery procedure.
Make sure to utilize cushioning material and boxes that are the proper size for your products when packaging them.
With food delivery, the most common customer complaint is that the food is not warm or fresh enough.
Instead, restaurant owners may control their delivery timeframes and deliver food at the perfect temperature every time by adopting in-house delivery.
Make it as simple as possible for a customer to return a product.
Include a shipping label for return.
Then, a consumer is given a return package with a pre-printed label.
All they have to do now is drop the thing off at the post office.
That is a fantastic customer delivery experience because it made returning a product simple.
Here’s how e-commerce returns work and how to set up reverse logistics to support them.
Now that you know what makes a great delivery experience, we’ll show you how to use our tools to take full control of the delivery experience.
If you want to eliminate the most waste from your route planning, delivery management software is the way to go.
Rather than planning a single route with a few stops for a single driver, the program allows you to plan as many routes as your fleet has vehicles.
And each of those routes will include as many stops as are required to complete the task.
You may plan all of your routes at once with delivery management software. It also takes seconds to complete rather than hours.
To build the most optimal routes, the software collects more data.
It can take into account a variety of factors, including road types, traffic patterns, and weather conditions, in addition to distance and drive time.
Customer service is regularly updated on when each delivery will arrive thanks to live delivery tracking.
They can utilize the dashboard to check real-time delivery ETAs and notify customers if this isn’t being done automatically through the system via automated email and/or SMS messages.
Our technology also allows you to learn what your clients think of your service.
Each consumer can rate the driver’s quality and the overall service provided.
This provides you with vital insight into your operations and can assist you in continuously optimizing and improving your client service.
We’ve got everything you’ll need to get started on enhancing your delivery.
Data collection is the only way to find out what your customers desire.
Consumer data can assist you in improving the average delivery experience.
It allows you to learn not only what customers think of the service, but also what they would like to see in the future.
Data collection does enable you to get a broad picture of the delivery experience.
You may then tap into it and utilize it as a roadmap for aligning your offer and operations with your customers’ desires.
You can use the information to determine critical delivery logistics metrics such as on-time delivery and cost per delivery.
Tell us what you think.
How will you improve the delivery experience for your customers?
Which strategy would work best for your business?
And if you need more help, we’ve got you covered:
Local delivery is a great business opportunity. In this guide, you’ll see how to use local delivery to drive more sales from local customers.
Learn about the benefits of planning delivery slots using software, and how effective delivery slotting can help to optimize your last-mile delivery.
Learn how to track and measure on time delivery rates. Use this metric to prevent delays and late deliveries and ensure a great delivery experience
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