Crafting the shipping experience consumers want means planning ahead and putting yourself in their shoes
The speed at which customers want their goods is the biggest challenge facing retailers in 2020, and when you do something fast, you’d better do it well. The stats are in — most consumers (40%) are only willing to wait 48 hours for a package. Only 21% accept 3- to 4-day delivery windows while 18% are expecting to receive it by the next day.
What’s more, 13% of new customers won’t come back if their delivery wasn’t on time. The customer’s shipping experience, also known as the post-purchase experience, is where a business must really shine. It can be a lot of pressure for shippers, but with a few core practices — and some help from 71lbs — 2020 can be the best shipping experience you and your customers ever had.
Great shipping starts with tracking
When customers say they want a great delivery experience, they don’t mean a nice exchange with the courier while they sign. They mean being able to access their order every step of the way from the moment it leaves the shipper’s hands to the moment they’re holding it in theirs. Research shows that 73% of consumers want start-to-finish tracking but only 7% of retailers have stepped up to that challenge.
This means that your business will leapfrog 93% of the competition by providing tracking that satisfies. Premium Tracking from 71lbs gives your customers the step-by-step data they’re looking for and more besides.
It’s easy to read, simple to understand and can be personalized to suit both your business’ brand and each customer’s individual purchase profile — advantages which the “one size fits all” shipping updates from carriers like FedEx and UPS can’t provide. Our tracking can lift your business into the 7% of shippers who actually listen to customers, and it’s as simple as adding a single line of code.
This means we save you time so you can do the same for your customers. They don’t want to be calling/emailing your business looking for updates and making complaints that they’re effectively blind to their package’s journey, and your customer service department certainly doesn’t want to sink the time (and related productivity loss) into fielding all those calls.
Cross-selling and update messaging
Another important aspect of a personalized shipping experience is suggestion — letting your customers know that if they liked Item A, they’d love Item B. Cross-selling on your business’ delivery check-in page can expose shoppers to add-ons, complementary items and other deals which they may otherwise never have known you offered (or even knew they needed).
It’s a great way to potentially build a bridge and boost the chances of further purchases from a return customer. Cross-selling is far better received by consumers than a first-time hard sell because they’ve already chosen your business to buy from. Beyond your delivery check-in page, shipping update messages can further enhance the shipping experience and your sales opportunities.
When coupled with cross-sell opportunities, these email/text/IM updates sent to the customer are called transactional communications. They work on three levels:
- The customer sees you’re a proactive shipper who provides updates without them having to log in anywhere
- Your sales team gets another chance to cross-promote products
- Transactional communications have click and open rates 8 times higher than standard marketing emails and generate 6 times more revenue
After a customer has already shopped with you, you have someone who actively wants to hear from your business. Shipping updates at each point of the delivery journey are messages that buyers are happy to receive — and shoppers who are happy with you are more likely to buy again.
The importance of last-mile quality
We’ve already covered the perils of last-mile logistics in-depth in our previous article. Shoppers want to know when their order should arrive on delivery day. It doesn’t just satisfy their last-mile curiosity — it can literally make their lives easier.
Consider a customer who may have to leave work to be there for a package or notify a second party to be there to pick it up. Being told “Wednesday" as the arrival time isn’t much use. It could mean losing a whole day’s pay or inconveniencing a friend or neighbor for too long. If your customer is a business themselves, getting updates or checking in online reveals if their order may arrive before or after hours, providing the chance to plan accordingly.
Customers also feel more confident if they know you go that extra mile to protect their orders. Our 71lbs shipping insurance can help you create that confidence. Our quick and easy claims process lets you insure packages with any of the major carriers who just might turn that last mile into a letdown. You don’t even have to prove carrier negligence under our protection — you're covered, regardless.
The shipping experience can make or break a customer relationship. Let us help make yours the best it can be.
At 71lbs, we focus on two things: a) helping customers save money on shipping and b) helping customers understand their shipping costs. We provide you refunds and savings in shipping insurance, freight, and imports, among other expenses. Our automated dashboard displays easy-to-understand shipping costs and insights so you can make better business decisions. Drop by the contact page to get in touch!
