You may have everything in place to deliver a seamless customer purchase experience, from an engaging, informative website to brilliant customer service standards. But if a delivery mishap occurs with your carrier, none of this will matter. It's you – and your brand – that will feel the brunt of customer dissatisfaction. And when those ‘where is my order’ (WISMO) requests hit your customer service (CS) teams, customers will expect you to have answers.
Carrier and delivery performance is often a blind spot for retailers. This is because teams must manage several systems simply to stay in the loop about a specific delivery’s progress. It’s typically the customer who lets them know there’s an issue via a WISMO request. If this is the case, it comes at a cost and should be cause for concern.
To tackle WISMO difficulties, retail leaders should establish a dedicated post-purchase tracking strategy, and adopt the required tools to manage the process and see it through.
The Cost of WISMO and Why Proactivity is Key
People like to be informed. If quality communication is lacking and customers have no means to self-serve tracking, there’s only one option for them to get delivery updates, and that’s through your CS team. The more tied down your team gets with managing incoming WISMO contacts, the more draining, inefficient and costly the process becomes.
That’s not all. Failing to provide customers with sufficient delivery tracking and comms may damage the balance sheet and CS resources, but it impacts your brand too. When Royal Mail and IMRG asked a selection of their customers for their thoughts on delivery tracking, over 80% said this important, and that they expected updates to come from the seller. From the moment a customer completes their payment, they want certainty on their parcel’s whereabouts from the brand.
This is why a proactive approach is vital. Being proactive enables you to manage customer expectations and mitigate being overwhelmed by incoming contact. If you keep customers up to date on delivery status and informed of changes or delays, there’s no need for them to reach out. You can oversee the situation. Yet, proactive communications require real-time visibility of delivery and carrier performance, so let’s look at a solution.
It’s All About Data
Trying to track deliveries via multiple carriers and systems can mean key issues are missed and CS teams are left in the dark on a delivery’s status. It’s a chore finding the answers needed to serve customers getting in touch and ultimately results in slower ‘contact to resolution’ times.
Without access to a central source of carrier data, retailers can be tempted to transfer ownership of performance insight from their internal CS team to the external carrier. But this disconnects the customer from the brand and leaves communication out of your hands.
The far more efficient method is to use post-purchase tracking software. This can substantially improve the experience for both your CS team and the customer. By providing your teams with an interactive delivery management dashboard, agents can access a whole range of multi-parcel tracking insights in real time and from one location. This enables them to spot any delivery issues, proactively resolve escalations and access delivery updates at the click of a button.
The dashboard also offers a range of filters meaning retailers can analyse trends on a granular level, such as individual carrier performance or assessing the number of packages delivered on time over a longer timeframe. This capability, coupled with your customers receiving delivery updates on a branded tracking page, gives you the power to significantly reduce WISMO contacts. It’s good for keeping a lid on costs and it eases contact resolution times.
Why Addressing WISMO Can Make You Stand Out
Tackling WISMO simultaneously supports a variety of other business performance improvements. If you can use post-purchase tracking software that gives you access to a wealth of customer insight, you can use this data to improve customer service programmes, branding and content. These insights can also be harnessed by other departments to develop business growth and customer retention strategies.
By keeping your shipping in house, you can use this data to create your own branded communication. This gives you control of the delivery experience and allows you to create any upsell opportunities, deliver tailored marketing communication and encourage deeper customer engagement with your brand. And, perhaps most importantly, by keeping your post-purchase communications branded, you are keeping your customers within your brand.
When it comes to the impact of using post-purchase technology and partners, the numbers speak for themselves – data shows companies reduce their WISMO contacts by 63%. And as these WISMO contacts decrease, you can expect a rise in customer loyalty, satisfaction and experience metrics.
The Bottom Line
The post-purchase experience is where customers can be won or lost. WISMO is a fundamental part of this experience, and the cost of an inefficient WISMO strategy can impact both your bottom line and your brand.
Customers expect delivery tracking and communication to come from the seller. But dealing with a range of carriers and touchpoints can make this a tricky task to carry out.
A proactive communication strategy combined with post-purchase tracking software puts delivery control in your hands. Armed with real-time data via live dashboard, your CS agents have all the information they need for any WISMO contacts. A branded tracking page can proactively inform customers of delivery updates. And for your business, you can monitor delivery issues, multi-carrier performance and the customer experience all from one tool.
In a market of fine margins, forming a dedicated WISMO strategy is a no brainer.
