The Last-Mile Experience Delivering on Customer Expectations
Although last-mile delivery is just the final step of the delivery process, the role it plays in building customer satisfaction is hard to overestimate. Unlike all other delivery stages, which are hidden from the client’s eye, last-mile delivery implies direct communication with your customers, who provide their own expectations of your service. By comparing these expectations with what they receive, customers make a decision on whether to buy from your company again in the future. If your last-mile delivery service meets all the bullet points in the customer’s checklist, you can expect positive feedback and new potential orders.
What do customers expect from your last-mile delivery service?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a small local store or an international e-commerce business; customers provide identical requirements for your last-mile delivery. They want:
- to receive orders on time
- to be able to track their packages in real-time
- to get excellent service at a low or even zero cost
- to have packages delivered safely
- to be able to choose a shipping method
Customers will not stick with your company if it doesn’t conform to these expectations. You need to be ahead of delays, lost packages, and uncompetitive services to keep your business growing.
Ways to improve your last-mile delivery
Implementing innovative technologies and customer-focused corporative strategy based on flexibility, transparency, and timely delivery is crucial to fulfilling customers’ needs. By analyzing your customers’ experience and optimizing your last-mile delivery system, you can gain your client base and reach your business goals. In practice, this means following several basic principles, including the following:
On-time delivery
A philosopher once said: “by being late, you give the person who is waiting for you the time to think of your imperfections.” If applying this to last-mile delivery, we can say that every delay causes the customer to reconsider their decision to do business with your company and may lead to a lost order. To prevent this from happening, you may improve your route planning and delivery with automated route planning software.
Flexibility
Today’s competitive world of retail business calls for quick and practical solutions to address new challenges and demands. You also ought to be flexible in your solutions by offering your customers services that meet their current needs. For example, they may request you to expedite the delivery or change the pickup location. You should always have a backup plan in mind to address such challenges on the fly. One of the solutions can be a same-day or next-day delivery service, real-time tracking, and 24/7 communication with drivers.
Transparency
Customers do not forgive bad service and mistakes. It can take just one delay or act of poor communication with the customer to break your reputation. Providing your customers with package shipment time, ETA, and other notifications is critical to driving an excellent driving experience.
Proof of delivery is especially crucial when it comes to last-mile delivery. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has caused carriers to play by its rules, providing contactless delivery, proof of delivery remains vital for any business because it allows for resolving lost-package issues. Instead of paper proof, you can go with a digital signature or photo capture. The first requires the customer to sign over their smartphones, while the latter involves the driver taking a picture of the package left in the safe place as previously agreed with the customer.
Communication
Proper customer communication can drive your last-mile delivery service to the next level. Don’t limit the customers to only one communication channel. Instead, offer them a range of channels to choose from, so every customer can feel comfortable and cared for. These can be an online chat, a special app, or a toll-free phone line that customers can contact you through and share their current experiences. By staying in touch with your customers 24/7, you can get most of the last-mile delivery issues resolved before they become a real headache.
Keeping up with the times
Last-mile delivery technology continues to evolve to adapt to new demands and ever-growing customer expectations. The use of artificial intelligence allows for real-time tracking, automating route planning, dynamic routing, etc. Modern last-mile delivery systems can optimize delivery routes on the fly by adapting them to weather conditions and road traffic. They can also automatically notify customers when their packages arrive and provide real-time visibility to the owner to keep the finger on the pulse of the business.
Conclusion
The secret of an enjoyable last-mile delivery experience is a non-stop commitment to excellence in everything you do, from communication with your customers to updating your services. Only paying attention to customers’ needs and timely addressing them with flexible solutions and high-quality services can drive you to success and help you build an unbeatable reputation.