Understanding the Importance of Customer Service in Your Delivery Operation

Want to improve service by prioritizing customer satisfaction? Offer a quick delivery experience with Circuit for Teams.

The saying “the customer is always right” is popular for a reason. 

Why?

Customer satisfaction equals a successful business. 

Research shows that 1 in 4 customers are willing to spend up to 10% more if they get better customer service in the bargain. 

And one of the ways to make customers happy is to focus on great customer service. 

Good customer service is intuitive, respectful, speedy, and personalized. 

It promotes customer loyalty, encourages word-of-mouth advertising, and allows you to collect feedback on how to improve your products or services. 

For delivery businesses, in particular, customer service is key. 

This is because online shopping has exploded in the last decade. In 2021, there were nearly 2.14 billion online shoppers worldwide. 

This means customers are shopping much more online and want to get their products as soon as possible.

And when they don’t get their products as soon as possible, they’re likely to go to another company that can deliver on that promise — leading to loss of sales. 

They also want to stay in the loop on package location pretty much all the time. 

Thankfully, you can tackle this challenge by investing in customer service. 

I’ll explain the importance of good customer service and how it can benefit your delivery business.

What does good customer service mean for delivery businesses?

There are several ways to make the delivery process more efficient — and prioritizing customer satisfaction is a good place to start

In short, your delivery company needs to focus on meeting and exceeding customers’ expectations. 

Here’s how to do that: 

• Automate delivery messaging. The latest delivery software apps can automate the process of sending notification emails or texts to customers. These apps can tell customers where their packages are in real time and when they can expect their delivery. This keeps customers updated at all times without manual emails or texts. What a headache that would be! 
• Exceed expectations. If a customer is expecting delivery in ten days, try to deliver at least a day ahead of schedule. Extend small discounts, deals, and freebies to customers whenever possible. Impressing customers with your willingness to offer excellent service can keep them coming back to you. In fact, 93% of consumers said they’d be repeat customers of companies with good customer service. 
• Offer multiple delivery options. Let customers choose from multiple delivery options. For example, someone might need their order delivered the next day, while someone else might not be in such a hurry. Customers will appreciate the option to choose between priority and standard deliveries. 
• Be prompt. Be prompt and proactive when responding to a customer’s needs, questions, and complaints. Who doesn’t hate waiting hours or days to sort customer issues? Delays can result in customers feeling their problems aren’t a priority for your business. 
• Collect feedback. The most helpful customer service tool at your disposal is to listen. Customers will tell you exactly where and how to improve your delivery service. Use telephone and email conversations with customers to ask about their experiences. You can even send them a link to a short feedback form.
• Never lose your cool. Handling difficult customers can be challenging. It’s not easy to remain calm when a customer is yelling at you or threatening to write a bad online review. But it’s important to always take criticism well and give a constructive response. Stay cool, listen attentively, be empathetic, and smile. Instead of trying to pass the buck, take responsibility for your mistakes and offer solutions. This can go a long way in having a good customer service experience. 

How good customer service impacts your delivery business

ECommerce sales have steadily risen over the last few years. 

In 2021, 20.8% of all sales were made online. And that figure is expected to cross 22% by the end of 2022. 

That means more deliveries than ever. 

With so many delivery services in the market, you need a competitive advantage to stand out from the crowd. 

One way to do this is by focusing on customer service. The rewards of putting customer satisfaction first can be huge. 

Companies offering great customer service benefit from a loyal customer base that’s unlikely to move to a different business. 

In fact, 56% of customers believe customer service determines brand loyalty. 

Quality customer service can also influence buying decisions — with 54% of customers making purchasing decisions based on customer service. 

Pro tip: Use your support team reps as an extension of the sales team. 

They can help push new products and services to customers who already have a relationship with you.

In fact, 84% of businesses trying to improve customer service report an increase in revenue.

This tells us that building customer relationships is directly related to increased revenue.

Let’s look at how customer service can positively impact other aspects of your delivery business. 

Increased customer retention 

A 2020 study found that customers who prefer to stay loyal to a company are often forced to switch because of poor customer service.

(We’ve also got a post on how bad customer service can impact online customer behavior.)

The study also found that companies lost over $35 billion in revenue due to inefficient customer management. 

That is a massive loss! 

This is an opportunity to improve customer service to keep and grow your customer base. 

It’s cheaper to keep current customers than to get new customers. 

So, it’s important to listen to them, understand their problems, and solve them quickly so they aren’t inconvenienced. 

If a customer receives damaged or otherwise unusable products, for example, you might offer to replace or refund the cost immediately. 

Delaying or trying to shrug responsibility off will likely drive your customers away. 

The good news is that ​​75% of people would choose to return to a company with excellent customer service. 

Building a loyal customer base that values quick, helpful, and hassle-free customer service can bring repeat business and help you reap long-term financial benefits.

More company referrals 

People love to talk. 

So, if you give a customer a positive experience, they will likely talk to others in their circle about it. 

Excellent customer support builds loyalty and trust. 

A happy customer will go out of their way to tell friends, colleagues, and family about a reliable and efficient service. 

In fact, 56% of customers said they’d recommend a business with good service to family and friends.

The bottom line is this: A satisfied customer tells people about your business, posts about it on social media, and leaves positive reviews. 

Increased customer lifetime value 

Customer lifetime value (CLV) represents a customer’s revenue generated throughout their relationship with your company. 

It’s the potential business customers are likely to give to your company in the long term. 

In other words, CLV is the total revenue you can expect from a single customer’s account.

Why is this metric important? 

Because it reflects how frequently a customer returns to your business — or if they are abandoning you in favor of your competition. 

CLV can help your company determine if your service is popular with customers. 

It can also help you make improvements so your service is more attractive to customers. 

For example, if you’ve noticed that customers are unhappy with your email delivery updates, look into it. 

Many people don’t get email alerts on their phones. Consider updating customers over text so they don’t miss your messages. 

Investing in exceptional customer service makes it easier for customers to engage with your business. 

And highly engaged customers buy 90% more frequently than others and spend 60% more per transaction.

Customers are willing to pay more 

Positive customer experience is related to increased revenue in more ways than one. 

While treating customers right can help you keep existing customers, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for better customer service. 

So, how do you know you have a customer satisfaction problem? One of the biggest indicators is a high rate of customers leaving your business for a competitor.
It might be cheeky, but consider asking your family and friends to sign up as customers and ask for assistance. This can help you understand where you stand with customer service.

Increased employee retention 

With a dedicated customer service team handling customer complaints and feedback, your drivers can focus on their jobs. 

The customer service team can send routine updates and solve problems quickly and efficiently. This saves your delivery agents from having to deal with angry or disgruntled customers. 

As your employees realize that your business values treating customers well, they will be more likely to advocate for your business. 

Shared values of decency and kindness will also attract long-term workers who are motivated to do their best work. 

Improve your delivery business customer experience with Circuit for Teams

Offering high-quality and proactive customer service is important.

A big part of prioritizing customer satisfaction begins with delivering orders on time and updating customers on when they can expect to receive their orders. 

You can do this and more for your delivery service using Circuit for Teams.

Our routing software allows you to optimize routes for multiple drivers, plan deliveries, and automatically update customers about their orders. 

Have multiple drivers who need to cover multiple stops? 

Circuit for Teams will work out the best routes in a matter of minutes.