Table of Contents

How Shipment Tracking Improves Customer Experience?

Introduction

Brands try their best to fulfill the buyers’ demands and offer the utmost customer satisfaction. Whether it's an online website design or in-store order pickup, merchants always are on their toes to offer excellent customer experiences. Enterprises compete for faster and more accurate shipping and supply chain management to fulfil customer needs. They rely on software support to gain control over delivery processes and provide real-time tracking updates.

By sending timely updates to buyers, they build strong rapport and leave no room for customer complaints. Automated shipment tracking has been vital in the shipping management mix due to its technological capabilities and standout delivery experiences. Here is more about it!

 

Role of Shipment Tracking in eCommerce

With shipment tracking, businesses convey real-time and milestone-specific information to customers awaiting their orders. It is a game changer in ecommerce and the logistics industry as it reduces anxiety and enhances customer satisfaction. Automated shipment tracking also replaces traditional shipping methods and minimizes the manual flow of information between internal and external teams. 

Shipment tracking software ensures that brands keep their customers informed and plan their days to receive their orders more conveniently. It encourages more ecommerce businesses to depend on capable shipment trackers to minimize the need for customers to contact customer support and improve overall customer satisfaction.

 

Best Practices to Enhance Customer Experience Through Shipment Tracking

The best shipment tracking practices can improve customer retention rates for businesses of all sizes. These efforts can quickly garner customer satisfaction, help you make informed decisions, and offer next-level shipping experiences.

1. Provide a Centralized Dashboard

A centralized dashboard provides 360 visibility of numerous orders across multiple carriers. It projects the metrics and key information like carrier performance, order status, and progress for analyzing tracking data. With a centralized platform, brands can communicate crucial insights to delivery personnel, stakeholders, and drivers. It can help businesses meet deadlines, align teams, and collaborate with other platforms to attain maximum operational efficiency. By accessing streamlined data, it gets easier to monitor bulk shipments, successfully ship on time, and offer outstanding customer experiences. 

2. Send Real-time Notifications

For transparency and unquestionable delivery management in the customer journey, real-time visibility is the key to excellent customer experiences. Real-time updates reduce WISMO (where is my order?) inquiries, customer complaints, keeping customers informed about their orders. These updates are well-timed and milestone-specific to help the buyer prepare for its arrival. Real-time updates are valuable insights that can convert one-time shoppers to long-term loyal customers as most individuals may never look back after getting their hands on their package just when they had expected it.

3. Send Milestone-specific Information

Milestone-specific updates are beneficial for both merchants and customers equally. Merchants can keep track of orders out for delivery and allow shoppers to adjust their timings according to the arrival of the expected item. The information may specify hubs, timings of departure from warehouses, possible delays, and estimated delivery time. With accurate shipment status, customers can take a back seat and relax and businesses can offer the ultimate customer experiences.

4. Provide Tracking Number

A tracking number is one of the most crucial pieces of data customers are obsessed with. In the delivery journey, a tracking number holds value to confirm deliveries and garner customer trust through delivery statuses. According to research by Onfleet, 61% of businesses face issues when the order is out for delivery. In such scenarios, a tracking number can be a beacon of light for a good customer experience and ensuring customer satisfaction.

5. Provide an Estimated Date of Delivery

The estimated delivery date is the tentative delivery date that allows customers to gauge the arrival of the package. Brands display estimated delivery dates (EDD) on branded tracking pages and during checkout to eliminate customer anxiety and confusion. EDDs empower buyers to make accurate buying decisions based on their availability, holidays, and delivery expectations. This promotes long-term customer loyalty and trust from valued customers.

6. Communicate Delay Situations with Customers

By communicating delay situations and timely delivery statutes, brands offer clarity about unusual situations that restrict on-time deliveries. It enables them to be proactive about escalations in the delivery process to help recipients plan their time accordingly. For example, customer service teams can inform customers about delayed shipments to customers beforehand and suggest an alternative day and time for its arrival.

It enhances customer satisfaction and transparency, allowing brands to set customer expectations from the beginning. Also, repeat purchases can go up because of smart communication, leading to lasting relationships and top-notch customer experiences. Real-time communication is a key part of last mile delivery.

7. Strengthen Team Interactions

Shipment tracking consolidates teamwork and coordination among internal and external teams, promoting a strong infrastructure in the business. The receiving and sending of real-time tracking information between the teams empower them as a unit and help them ship successfully to worldwide locations.

Team interactions are crucial for teams handling returns and exchanges and to maintain client relationships for repeat business. Brands can communicate real-time tracking data, provide positive experiences, and ease the shipping process.

8. Proactively Handle Unusual Delivery Situations

Stuck shipments and missed deliveries are letdowns for brands. Customers are relieved when they receive detailed tracking information about their in-transit orders. It can confuse the customers, make them anxious, and lead to cancellations. To look on the brighter side of this and offer memorable customer experiences, brands use shipment tracking technology and send real-time notifications at every milestone to inform the order status. It lets them avoid customer escalation, handle unnecessary WISMO inquiries and unusual situations in the customer journey.

Empower Your Customers with ClickPost Shipping Automation

ClickPost is a SaaS logistics solution provider for domestic and international e-commerce companies. It comes pre-integrated with more than 450 carriers and a centralized dashboard to manage orders across delivery partners. The software solutions offer powerful APIs to send and receive data between teams and internal processes. ClickPost can help you simplify shipping and rule out manual shipping methods in the logistics process with its automation capabilities.

It has the Returns Pro and Returns Plus platforms for businesses to handle sort reverse logistics operations. One can get in touch with the ClickPost team to gather more about its offerings and align their business efforts with it. It is a single API solution for all your last mile logistics needs.

Final Word

Shipment tracking is an essential tool and a requisite for brands handling shipments within the country and worldwide. It enables them to track the exact location of the package and ensures it reaches customers safely. Brands handling thousands of shipments use shipment tracking technology to monitor the physical movement of bulk orders and combat situations where the order goes missing. You can explore the best practices for shipment tracking in this article and make the best decision before choosing a shipment tracking software that offers positive customer experiences.

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