Customer Service in Logistics: Importance, Challenges, Strategies

Or better yet, if she had SMS customer support, she could send you a text regarding the update, similar to the example below. Transparency helps your business establish trust with customers and leads. The more they know about your business, the more comfortable they’ll be when working with your company. Since the logistics process contains information that’s valuable to both the customer and the business, this presents an opportunity to engage more with your customer base.

Going further to help the customer can also assist in developing positive word-of-mouth for the company. In fact, 77% of consumers choose a brand over its competitors after having a positive experience. It’s not just about moving goods from point A to point B; it’s about creating a seamless and satisfying experience for your customers. Furthermore, they do not need to see or hear about your team’s discussion and setbacks while you work towards a solution. At the end of the day, your customers simply want to feel confident and secure knowing that you can cater to their problems.

Improve supply chain visibility

After all, your customers are entrusting you with their shipments, and they expect to receive excellent service. You can do a few key things to enhance customer service in your logistics business. Customer service is a term used to describe how businesses interact with their customers. Good customer service is often seen as a way to create repeat customers and keep them returning for more. Technology is everywhere, and every company uses it in one way or another.

Ultimately, investing in training and development cultivates a skilled and customer-centric workforce, improving service quality in the long run. The modern supply chain is a vast customer service and logistics and intricate network of stakeholders, from manufacturers and carriers to distributors and retailers. People may relocate, move from the area or decide on a new job or career.

Minimizing Customer Touch Points With Customer Care Team

Typical order cycle time may change significantly for the goods delivered in their destinations as damaged or unusable. In that situation order cycle time significantly increase as reorder, replacement, or repair has to happen. Depending on the factors for setting standards for the packaged goods including design, returning and replacing processes if needed for the incorrect, damaged goods, the cycle of order time may vary.

However, if you’re lacking in this area, you may end up losing valuable income as your customer’s shop for a better experience. How many times have you used a company only to get terrible service that makes you regret your decision? But great customer service can be the determining factor in whether someone is a customer for life or not. People’s challenges in logistics customer service can be just as difficult to overcome as operational challenges. For example, if customer service representatives are not properly trained, they might not be able to provide good service.

Naturally, an unhappy customer care representative will not provide a good customer service. No employee appreciates feeling overlooked or contrasted with representatives on different groups and same holds true for client assistance groups. A mere increase of 5% in customer retention equates to an increase of almost 25% in profits. As per research, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is way more for a company than the customer retention cost. For a company that does not invest a small percentage of its budget in customer service, CAC can be a hefty cost. In every vertical market, customer service has an essential role to play.

The recent pandemic, geopolitical unrest, and logistics issues have impacted most of the world but left some countries more devastated than others. He strongly believes that businesses will be able to understand their customers better and ultimately create more meaningful relationships with them. Many companies have started using a chat-based platform, which enables customers to reach out to brands through live chat and social media. That is why it is important to increase information visibility to ensure transparency for both the clients and the logistics. 84% of consumers that have an issue with a brand will never complain directly to the brand itself, they’ll go straight to social media. So keep in mind, that customers who have an issue with your business have no loyalty to you as an individual or to your brand as a whole.

Reevaluate the transportation routes

Ensuring customer satisfaction throughout the logistics process is crucial. Customers expect their goods to be delivered on time and in perfectly good condition. Any delays or damages during the logistics process can lead to customer dissatisfaction, which can harm the logistics company’s reputation. With the advancements in logistics app development, companies can further enhance supply chain visibility and streamline their operations.

If you are not seeing the results you want in your logistics business, it is good practice to reconsider your customer service methods. With the help of self customer service solutions and a skilled customer service team, you can, with minimal effort, retain as well as gain new customers. If you are a relatively small logistics company, staying afloat with all the big competitors can be challenging.

The customer service department will provide support for the customers on all the queries about their orders. It is a department that plays a vital role in logistics and helps in building long-term relationships with customers. Operational challenges in logistics customer service can be difficult to overcome because they often require changes to how the company does business. For example, if orders are frequently being shipped late, the company might need to invest in new software to help track orders and monitor shipping times. Or, if products are commonly damaged in transit, the company might need to invest in better packaging materials. These changes can be costly and time-consuming and might not always be successful.