Delivering a great experience: Tips for transport & logistics

According to recent research by PwC, companies that prioritise customer experience see up to a 25% reduction in costs compared to those that don’t. These companies use self-service options and have a higher first-contact resolution rate when customers raise issues. The best performers can even enhance their top line and grow revenue by 5-10% due to a higher customer retention and loyalty rate, plus the ability to charge higher premiums. 

So, how can transport and logistics companies offer great customer experience?

How to improve customer experience in transport & logistics

In the transport and logistics space, a great customer experience typically starts with prospective customers reaching out to a business and promptly receiving a quote which is then followed up with an efficient onboarding process. 

When they’re working together, a great customer experience can be defined by quick responses to queries, fast case resolutions, excellent support when required and an efficient billing process.

To achieve these outcomes, this is what transport and logistics companies need to focus on.

1. Speed: Be easily accessible and solve problems quickly

Customers expect convenience. The more convenient an experience is, the better the overall customer experience. So, ensure that your business is accessible. This includes:

• A user-friendly website.
• An easy-to-navigate and searchable knowledge base.
• Allowing customers to easily track shipment, refund, complaint or claims status.
• Allowing customers to easily reach out to you for assistance.

Another key factor is being able to resolve problems quickly. Customers become frustrated if issues aren’t resolved, they go round in circles or it takes too long for a response. Ensure that problems are resolved quickly by empowering customers to easily reach out and provide all the information your customer service team needs. 

And for your team, enable them to deliver the most seamless experience by allowing easy access to centralised customer data and the support required to close a case.

2. Self-serve options: Allow customers to solve their own problems wherever possible

Letting customers take control of their own queries ranks as the sixth most important must-have when it comes to great customer experience, according to our recent customer engagement survey. Perhaps this is fuelled by the pandemic forcing customers to rely on and become accustomed to self-service options, or the fact that modern-day consumers are becoming increasingly impatient. 

Some examples of self-service options include:

• A product knowledge base – fill it with blogs written by your subject matter experts, how-to videos and handy guides.
• FAQs – an area to house all of your frequently asked questions and relevant answers.
• Chatbots – a bot can easily handle the more repetitive queries and even service customers who enquire out of business hours.
• A community forum – a place where your customers can come together to share insights.
• Dedicated technology – e.g. if many customers are calling to make a payment, consider implementing a mobile payment solution to streamline the process.

3. Multichannel: Give customers the chance to choose their preferred channel(s) 

Customers appreciate a range of ways to contact customer support and yet, 18% of businesses globally still only offer one contact channel. Give the power back to your customers when you offer a variety of communication channels and allow them to choose their preferred channel.

Some customers may even move between channels. A multichannel communication strategy will help you ensure your brand experience stays consistent as your customers switch from channel to channel, digital to analogue.

Become a customer experience leader using mobile messaging

Despite the way changing market conditions might impact their business, it’s crucial for transport and logistics companies to provide the right product to the right recipient at the right quality and price at the right time. And now there’s an additional factor to consider: the right experience.

To deliver exceptional customer experience in transport and logistics, it starts with knowing your customers. What do they expect from you? For the majority of customers, being kept in the loop and being able to easily connect with businesses goes a long way.

Using mobile messaging channels, such as SMS, RCS and WhatsApp, you can take advantage of the high engagement rates (up to 99% open rate and 45% response rate, for instance). Here are some top ways you can use mobile messaging to keep customers, staff and suppliers informed:

• Booking confirmations
• Delivery reminders
• Delivery status updates
• Updates to customer queries/cases

To learn more about how mobile messaging can be applied to the transport and logistics industry, download our guide below or reach out to us today.