How Shipping Software Cultivates a Positive Customer Experience
Are you struggling with customer acquisition and retention? Maybe your supply chain needs a facelift with multi-carrier shipping software.
Trust takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to repair.
Dhar Mann
After a customer has a negative shopping experience, it is likely they will be reluctant to buy again. If that negative Customer Experience (CX) is not fixed or at least addressed, it could be the end of the relationship and the customer will never purchase again.
The repeat (or lack thereof) business has a direct correlation to your overall profits. In fact, acquiring a new customer costs 5x more than retaining an existing customer. Preserving the business of a current customer can lead to a stronger bottom line, driven by repeat purchases. The most important thing to remember: ensure that your customers’ shipping experience is positive from start to finish.
How does shipping software enhance the CX?
Your shipping software should meet 4 basic needs that will help deliver a positive CX. The basic needs are affordability, accuracy, agility, and visibility. If you can deliver on these needs, you will be much better suited for providing a great customer experience.
Low-Cost Shipping
Shipping costs are top of mind for customers as well as the shippers themselves. If the shipper can secure a shipping software solution that can optimize transportation spend, they can extend those benefits to customers in the form of discounted or free shipping. After all, 73% of online shoppers say free shipping is the most important factor at checkout. [Keep reading: What Do Customers Prefer: Free or Fast Shipping?]
Multi-carrier shipping software utilizes advanced functionality to manage your transportation spend. By comparing the costs of multiple shipping methods across various carriers and services, shippers can guarantee that they are selecting the lowest cost shipping option that will still meet your delivery date promise. This innovative rate shopping capability has the agility to scale as shipping volumes increase and has the stamp of approval from some of the world’s largest retailers. [Learn more about Rate Shopping in this short video]
Accuracy
Most consumers consider their shipping delivery dates a promise made by your brand. Breaking that promise can lead to lost revenue in the future. Not to mention, it can also leave a damaging blemish on your brand.
Social media is just one avenue that many consumers have taken to share a poor CX. A premier multi-carrier shipping solution ensures that you meet delivery dates with a wide variety of carrier and shipping service options. With a simple onboarding process, brands can add carriers as their needs change as well as when the e-commerce landscape shifts.
Another facet of accuracy is the order itself. If you have more than one inventory source, an Order Management System (OMS) will ensure that no matter where your shipment is coming from, Distribution Center (DC), retail store, 3PL, or manufacturer, it will end up on the customer’s doorstep accurately.
An additional level of complication is added to your supply chain with orders coming from multiple sources. Some examples include Point-Of-Sale, e-commerce platforms, and mobile applications, among others. An OMS will manage orders from these systems and guide them through fulfillment to shipping. [Learn more about OMS: Top 2 Most In-Demand Parcel Shipping Technologies] When combined with multi-carrier shipping software, shippers know that their supply chain is compliant and utilizing accurate shipping labels, not to mention up-to-date rates and regulations.
Speed
With Amazon setting the 2-day shipping standard in the past, many shippers are wondering what they can do to play on this same level. Expedited, overnight, same-day, and next-day delivery are shipping expectations that many customers have. If brands don’t have a couple of these options, they may be leaving money on the table. And these expectations aren’t going anywhere - fast shipping options will continue to drive purchasing decisions as younger generations increase their spending power.
A multi-carrier shipping solution can streamline the shipping process with automated decision-making processes using business rule technology, ensuring that your system is executing shipments at lightning speeds. [Think millisecond transaction times – see how ProShip passed the test with flying colors!]
Omnichannel fulfillment strategies are no longer just an option for those wishing to compete in the e-commerce industry – they are a necessity. Utilizing every inventory source to bring the product closer to the customer shortens delivery times and puts the product in the hands of the customer faster. Omnichannel initiatives are only possible with a true multi-carrier approach using technology that makes it easy to optimize the entire process – from adding or deleting a retail store’s shipping capabilities to enabling shipping from within your POS software.
Transparency
Now more than ever, effective communication regarding orders and delivery is crucial for customer satisfaction, building loyal customer relationships, and converting more sales.
The pandemic and recent supply chain disruptions impacted many retailers last year, particularly during peak season. While many consumers had empathy for brands during the crisis, some were criticized for a lack of communication. A Narvar report explained that while 36% of consumers say they experienced substantial delays, only 19% received communication about those delays.
Status updates throughout the life cycle of an order should be a standard across brands to communicate any issues and how they are attempting to resolve them. A comprehensive OMS and tightly integrated shipping system will utilize the software’s connectivity to provide customers the updates and delivery information they want. It can also give both team members and customers visibility into every step of the process.
For internal purposes and actionable reporting/analytics, to better understand and gather the transportation Business Intelligence (BI) available within your shipping data, ProShip has partnered with enVista to offer a true BI solution. MyShipINFO optimizes systems across the organizations, offering real-time insights and end-to-end visibility on all shipments.
With this system fully integrated into ProShip shipping software, the audit process can include personalizations for your specific business to upgrade processes throughout the rest of your ESS, revitalizing departments across the organization [Transportation Business Intelligence Optimization: A Welcome Sight].
Are you ready to start improving your CX with ProShip Multi-Carrier Shipping Software?
ProShip has shipping experts who are ready to dive into your business to solve your complex parcel shipping problems. Reach out to schedule a demo or connect with us at one of our upcoming events to speak with us in-person and hear why top brands who ship parcel, trust ProShip.