How to Improve the Post-Purchase Customer Experience

Share your shipping policy

The name of the game in relationship building is transparency. Being upfront from the getgo will have a big payoff down the road.

Building a thorough shipping policy and sharing it with your customers will allow them to trust in your business and, in turn, will encourage them to return to your business time and time again. Your shipping policy should include guidance on the following to be certain that you’re really covering your bases: delivery lead time (more on that later), handling expectations, tracking protocols (also  more on that later), tax costs, insurance coverage and return policies.

Returns are perhaps of equal importance to customers and retailers. Customers often don’t want to be locked into a purchase they can’t get out of and retailers want to cover their bases to avoid the expensive and time-consuming chargeback process. Here are some important tenants you’ll want to include in your return policy to keep your customers happy:

• How many days after the delivery the buyer must raise a request for return?  
• What is the correct way to escalate a request for return?
• Does the customer have to pack the item to be returned?
• How should an item be packed to be returned?
• Who will bear the cost of return?
• In the event that the product turns out to be faulty, will the customer get an exchange or refund?
• Which courier service is used for returns?

Share accurate delivery lead times

Delivery lead time is the period between when an order is placed and delivered. In some cases, this time is needed to actually produce the product. In others, it’s needed for sourcing. Regardless, it’s essential to let the customer know how long the production and packing will take in addition to how long an item will take to ship. It’s also wise for sellers to add an additional day or two to the tentative delivery date provided to customers, allowing for wiggle room should anything problematic come up like a stock outage, issues with the weather that delay shipping, or disruption in the supply chain.

The ideal post-purchase experience is when a package arrives on or before the tentative delivery date. The worst kind of experience being when a package’s delivery is severely delayed — after all, no one wants to be left in the dark about something they’re likely eagerly anticipating, especially if they paid for expedited shipping.

Allow for package tracking

No one likes a surprise — not even a presumably good one, like a package at their doorstep. But if you already have established a thorough shipping policy, there should be no surprises when it comes to delivery timeframes. Indeed, package tracking is the expectation and easiest way to keep buyers happy.

Tracking has become such an integral part of fulfilling eCommerce orders in 2012, eBay’s policy actually that retailers offer tracking information on 90% of shipments in order to be considered a top-rated seller. Whether the shipment is being sent by FedEx, USPS, UPS, or Easyship, setting up tracking is pivotal for delivering superior service for your customers.

Whether you are shipping internationally or domestically, here are some of the benefits in the retailer-customer relationship that come with offering package tracking services:

1. Peace of Mind for Customers
2. Open Lines of Communication
3. Increased Accountability
4. Fewer Packages Lost in the Mail
5. Decreased Shipment  Delays
6. Increased Trust Between Customers and Merchants
7. Better Overall Customer Service

Typically, retailers offer customers the option to choose between standard and express shipping. As the name suggests, the latter will arrive quickly, but it does come with a higher cost to compensate for the speed. The higher cost of shipping usually comes with insurance, extra communication, and four additional delivery attempts. Customers should be aware of the perks come with the services they’re paying for from the get-go.

Dedicated Tracking Page & Emails

Now that you’re offering tracking, make sure customers can access the tracking updates seamlessly. After all, it’s all about keeping the customer happy and in the know.  As we previously mentioned, sending customers a branded email directing them to a dedicated tracking page on your website gives them a certain peace of mind.

You’ll notice our emphasis on the opportunity for branding. While couriers offer their own tracking pages, keeping it in-house allows you to control the visuals and messaging. Keeping customers on your own website increases the likelihood of them clicking around and making additional purchases.

Plus, as any marketer or business owner is well-aware, your email database is an important part of your sales strategy. Tracking emails may just be the start of your email marketing life cycle, encouraging customers to make purchases in the future — maybe even incentivizing them with discounts or raffles in the future.

No hidden fees, seriously

This is a big one to keep in mind if you’re shipping internationally. For international shipping, there are two categories of hidden shipping fees you’re likely to encounter. Here, we’ll describe them in digestible terms and offer a solution for how to transparently list them.

Shipping Fees

Shipping charges are calculated based on the pickup location, the delivery destination, and the delivery hours.  There are four categories of shipping fees to be aware of:

1. Fuel surcharge: When working with an express courier (UPS, Aramex, SF Express), you’ll be charged a percentage of the total shipping costs. This is the biggest fee, and the percentage changes on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the country the parcel is being delivered in.
2. Remote area surcharge: This fee is applied when the pickup location is deemed difficult to reach. Also sometimes called the extended area surcharge, it can be applied when the courier must travel to a residential building to pick up the parcel.
3. Address correction fee, delivery reattempt and return fees: These charges are to be filed under self-explanatory accidents.
4. Optional add-ons: Some couriers give retailers the option to choose additional services that come with a fee, such as extra insurance or deliveries on Sunday, public holidays or within a short time frame.

Handling Fees

Handling fees are applied depending on the contents of a package and its dimensions. Couriers don’t want to handle cumbersome packages that contain hazardous materials.

1. Dangerous goods: Dangerous goods include items like guns, needles, chemicals and other goods that could be damaged in transit (a laptop containing a lithium-ion battery is a pretty standard example). Many couriers will ask you to identify and label any potentially hazardous goods. You’ll subsequently be charged for the shipment, typically a percentage of the shipping costs or the value of the item itself.
2. Materials and shape: Certain materials, like wood and metal, can cost extra to ship. Additionally, fees can apply for atypically-shaped packages, like a spherical or cylindrical parcel.
3. Package dimensions: In the realm of international shipping, rates are partially determined by a package’s shape. Therefore, if your package is oversized in terms of length or weight additional fees will apply.

Taxes and Duties

When shipping internationally, either the sender or the recipient will have to pay for taxes and duties. The amount and payer varies depending on the destination. This can be a complex aspect of international shipping, and mistakes in terms of invoice declaration may cause your shipment to get stuck in customs. Below, we briefly describe the international import duties you can choose between:

• Delivery duty unpaid (DDU): In this case, the buyer is responsible for covering the import duties. If not paid, items are likely to be stuck in customs.
• Delivery duty paid (DDP): In this case, the seller is responsible for paying for the import duties, taxes, and clearances.

Possible Solutions

To recap: All of this should be outlined in your company’s shipping policy, so nothing comes as a surprise to the customer. As far as shipping and handling goes, using flat rate options is a great way to standardize package sizes and materials.

If you choose to go with DDU, it may seem like a surprise fee down the line — and can be even more confusing if a package is held up at customs. It’s best to be communicative about what DDU is, why it is being charged, and how much it will cost as early as possible. That said, working with DDP allows for a more seamless shipping process. There are fewer hidden costs and it inherently lends itself to a slimmer chance of a parcel being stuck in customs due to unpaid fees. Easyship’s easy-to-use rules feature allows you to set a condition that automatically pre-selects DDP or DDU (it’s your choice!) for international shipping.

Transactional Emails

Communication is key. The worst thing you can do is go radio silent on your customers after they’ve spent their hard-earned money at your store.

Transactional emails, like tracking emails, have an average open rate of 48% — which is pretty high compared to non-transactional emails. Though that may be attributed to the 88% of online shoppers who say they track their orders, according to a 2015 report on the state of eCommerce. Your emails should alert the customer at the following touchpoints:

1. When the order has been received
2. When the order has been picked and packed
3. When the shipping labels are printed
4. When the order is shipped
5. With the tracking number and information

It’s a win-win to serve customers with the information they’re seeking while also keeping your business top of mind with branded emails that feature your logo and social media links. Easyship allows you to create beautiful, branded transactional communications.  

Ask for Customer Feedback

Everyone wants their voice to be heard. And, luckily, in our digital world there are ample opportunities to elevate customer voices and validate their experiences, both in one-on-one settings and publicly.

Introducing a live chat option on your eCommerce website will help you directly communicate with your customers, whether potential or after they’ve completed a transaction. This is an effective way to boost sales or clear up any issues. Recent studies show that real-time communication on chats can lead to an increase in conversions by 38%.

Asking for customer product reviews is another way to nurture the post-purchase relationship. You can also ask for customer reviews via surveys and offer incentives, like generous discounts and gift cards. Hey, no one’s judging you for it!

Conclusion

If you’ve been searching for ways to offer a more transparent delivery service to your customers, communication is the foundation. The above strategies — package tracking, customer validation and transactional emails — stand tall on a sturdy foundation of transparency.

Easyship partners with the leading couriers to offer over 250+ shipping solutions. Easyship also allows you to create custom branded tracking pages and emails, providing your customers with a holistic, branded experience.