Retain your customers? Give a smile!

Delivery as a marketing tool

Over the past two years, the number of deliveries has increased rapidly due to the large increase in online purchases. According to the CBS In the first quarter of 2021, the turnover of Dutch online stores increased by 85% compared to the same quarter a year earlier. At the same time, the number of complaints about deliveries rose, according to the Consumers' Association by 44%. In 2022, the recipient is more demanding and less likely to be satisfied.

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Kindness at the door, transparency in delivery times and punctual delivery; that's what customers expect from you. According to recent research The most common delivery irritations are late delivery (27%), a different delivery time (23%) and too wide a window of time (21%). In addition, 22% of the more than 1,000 respondents said they no longer trust the delivery service and 19% of recipients never ordered anything from the same retailer again after a purchase.

Is there something wrong with that very last mile, so you will lose customers. If you want to keep those customers, you look beyond the mere logistical part of your delivery process. After all, delivery is also... marketing!

Retain your customers

Every year, you spend a lot of money on marketing. If you do that correctly, you will have insight into the purchasing behavior of your customers. You know exactly what drives them to make a purchase and when they make that purchase. You know which customers

at what time to return and what moves them. But then something remarkable happens: in the last part — where physical delivery takes place — you lose that insight. And what does it turn out? While you use your marketing activities to attract new customers, those same customers drop out at the end of their customer journey. A shame! Out research shows that 93% of Dutch consumers would like to have insight into the progress of delivery. And that's exactly what you should invest in! By investing in communication about expected delivery times, good communication with the customer and a smile at your door, you can retain those customers. All of that is nothing but marketing.

Investing in the latest mile

Or you decide to invest in next level delivery, depends on whether you see your delivery process as a cost or an item that adds value. Nevertheless, the sum that leads to investment has been made quickly. Just calculate how much it costs to hook up with a new customer. Or how much it costs you if 10% of your customers switch to the competition. And what does a negative review from a dissatisfied customer actually cost you?

It is also important that you have insight into the satisfaction of your customers. You can specifically measure that satisfaction with a Net Promoter Score (NPS), a management tool that provides insight into customer loyalty. How much does that score change due to poor delivery? What does that cost you? And vice versa, what will it bring you if you can prevent this? If you have a tool that enables real-time communication with the customer? What does the delivery person say he had to unexpectedly deviate from the delivery time? Which customer time windows are halved? Such a tool leads to relaxed delivery drivers and satisfied customers. Isn't that what it's all about in the end?

Invest in smiles too

If you decide to invest, realize that you are not there with a tool alone. That tool won't cost you a million pieces of gold in investment. What is worth a million pieces of gold is the smile and dedication of your delivery drivers. After all, they ensure that your customers are really satisfied. So make sure you train your delivery drivers to be aware of this, that they know the impact of customer friendliness. For example, make use of that very last minute of delivery, the only moment that is not digital. That human factor, that smile. Because in this way, you ultimately have control over your customers and control over your own delivery service!

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