When it comes to last mile delivery, there can often be a lot of pressure to keep up with the newest trends, chase the latest innovation or offer more choice than the competition. While a range of convenient delivery options, helpful added-value services and faster fulfilment are no doubt important to your customers, it will all be for nothing if you cannot consistently provide the service you promise at the point of purchase.
Not only does this mean guaranteeing each delivery experience is consistent with the previous encounter, it also means ensuring the level of service provided in the last mile is in line with the purchasing experience. Ensuring consistency is the foundation of your customer service will increase trust in your brand, help you avoid negative reviews and protect lifetime customer value.
While we know that consistent delivery experience is the foundation for building lasting customer relationships, it can often be difficult to achieve when you are running an operation under pressure. Implementing proof of delivery software automates and streamlines your delivery processes enabling you to provide a consistent service without creating additional tasks for office-based staff and delivery drivers.
Here are three ways that proof of delivery software can help you achieve customer service consistency without the hassle:
Using electronic proof of delivery software, you can automate pre-delivery SMS notifications and post-delivery report emails guaranteeing that each customer receives consistent and timely updates. With advanced systems, you can even give your customer access to a real-time delivery tracking portal. Providing consistent delivery communication re-enforces the fact that you are fulfilling the service promises you made during the ordering process.
Equipping your drivers with an electronic proof of delivery application presents a more modern and professional on-site image and ensures service consistency by guiding drivers through the appropriate process for each customer delivery. The application can even be used to prompt drivers to complete actions that are important to your brand’s customer service proposition, such as removing packaging or collecting customer feedback.
Many proof of delivery systems provide reporting dashboards for you to monitor KPIs and quickly identify any inconsistencies within your delivery operation. For example, if discrepancies in delivery success rates between depots are flagged this can be addressed to ensure your customer service remains reliable across your entire delivery operation. Alternatively, the ability to gather information such as site surveys or damage reports can provide further insight, such as identifying products that are often damaged in transit and may require different packaging.
As consumers, we are all expecting a better delivery service with more choices tailored to our convenience; however, we do not expect this to come at the expense of reliability. Ensuring you provide the promised service to every customer, every time should be the foundation of your last mile service offering. Getting it right will allow your delivery operation to retain those hard-won new customers and put you ahead of the competition.
To find out how Paragon could help your delivery service stand out – for all the right reasons – get in touch with one of our experienced team today.
