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Delighting Your Customers
Many businesses focus on customer satisfaction. And there is no doubt
that retaining customers is key to long term success in your business, both
online and brick and mortar. And watching your costs is important as well.
But how can shipping help with your business besides just keeping costs in line
and getting the products to the customer on time?
In particular if you are an online seller, there are some key things that you
can do besides just getting the product there on time. Let's take at look
at delighting the customer in other ways.
First, communicate often with the customer. Let them know that the product is
in stock, that their order is confirmed and that it will be shipping out soon.
Then let them know promptly when it is shipped. If there is going to be a
delay, don't hesitate; let them know quickly and commit to make it right.
And generate a follow up after the customer receives the product to thank them
one more time. This can be an email, a phone call, maybe even a post card.
But it will make you stand out from the crowd.
Second, make sure that your employees know that, above all, getting the
the right product out and on time is the top priority. It seems that many
times, small avoidable errors cause huge customer satisfaction issues. One
example is the wrong color product is shipped. It might be a shirt or a hat, but
the customer wanted blue and a red shirt was pulled because of not looking at
the picking slip closely or getting in too big a hurry. This is an example
of where taking 3 or 4 extra seconds to double check could make the difference
in repeat orders.
Third, there are some packing and shipping tips that will just thrill your
customer. Include a thank you note and clear, simple directions. The
thank you note sets you apart and simple directions.....well, enough said.
Also including a free bonus or gift that is unexpected usually gets a great
response. Overdeliver is the keyword here. And you can do these for
little to no cost.
Remember, it's not the customers that call and complain that you have to
really worry about. You can help them and turn them around. It's the ones
who don't come back and tell 10 others how bad your service was that can kill
your company.
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