Five ways to improve your delivery service

In our previous blog we looked at the various ways in which delivery can go bad and the consequences of this happening. On the flip side, there are some real benefits to providing an excellent delivery service – your customers are likely to use you again and recommend you to friends.

To get those benefits, here are five ways in which you can improve your delivery service:

1) Offer a sophisticated tracking system

Using, and promoting the use of, software such as the Podstar Electronic Proof of Delivery (EPOD) system reduces the risk of errors with regards to delivery and as such goes some way to ensure a great service to your customers. This is particularly important to customers buying large and expensive items - a system which tracks their product from warehouse to their house could be the difference between someone shopping with you or going elsewhere. The customer will have an assurance that on delivery a signature will be required, so they know that if there are any problems they will be rectified.  

2) Keep delivery costs down for customers

With so much choice as to where to buy for, customers nowadays look around to find the best price for what they want to purchase. When comparing costs, customers are now frequently not just considering the price of the product they are buying, but also the combined cost of the product and the delivery. Therefore, you cannot get away with having sky-high delivery charges. While it is not always financially possible to offer free shipping, keeping costs as low as possible is essential. Examine all your systems and processes with regards to delivery to see what you could do to ensure that costs are as low possible and then pass on those savings to the customer.

3) Give customers peace of mind and an assurance of accuracy

Using a system, such as the Podstar’s EPOD, provides a wide range of benefits to your business and your customers. The GPS tracking software allows customers to be able to track their delivery, giving them an accurate understanding of when their parcel will be with them. Furthermore, you can enable expected time of arrival text alerts to be sent to your customer to keep them updated. In today’s busy world, this can be a great advantage for your customers who no longer wish to have to stay in all day waiting for a parcel which may or may not arrive.

4) Train your drivers in customer service

This is particularly important if you are an online retailer and your customer has made their purchase via the website. Your delivery driver will be the only person from your company that they have face-to-face contact with and as such they need to be setting the right impression. While the time they will spend with the customer is likely to be short, a bad attitude can quickly come across. Train your delivery drivers in how you would like them to behave, giving examples of how you would like them to address customers and the type of conversations they can have. A couple of moments of small talk can make a big impression!

5) Get feedback and use it to better what you do

Sending a request for feedback to a customer following a delivery is a positive move. It says to your customer that you are keen to ensure they got the best service and that you value their opinion. It also will give you a lot of information to work with. Great feedback should be shared with your business and particularly with delivery drivers if they are named specifically. This can boost morale which, in turn, inspires your staff to keep working hard and deliver a great service.

If the feedback is not so great, then use what you are told to make some immediate changes, addressing what was wrong and working to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

The Podstar EPOD system is a great way of providing a better service to your customers, and will assist you with implementing several of these recommended actions. To find out how it can help your business, get in touch with us today.