Getting your brand in front of your customers isn’t limited to when they visit your website. In fact, there are plenty of other opportunities to get your brand out there long after they’ve submitted their credit card details.
Why does this matter, though? If a customer has made a purchase, hasn’t the hard work already been done?
Well, no. You might have done the hard work to get your customer to make one purchase, but if they haven’t had a memorable experience – or if they can’t even remember your brand – you’ll have to do all the hard work all over again to encourage them to return.
Every step of the delivery process is a prime opportunity to engage with your customer and capitalise on their emotional openness to your brand. They’ve already opened their wallet for you once, so how can you encourage them to keep you front of mind the next time they want to make a purchase? The answer lies in branding their delivery experience.
Ordering online isn’t as instantly gratifying as purchasing in-store, so customers like to know exactly where their parcel is. Most online retailers send tracking emails to their customers so the can see exactly where their order is.
Many of these emails simply include a link that redirects your customer to the courier’s website. But the moment your customer arrives at your courier’s website is the exact same moment their order becomes about the product, not your brand.
While this touchpoint might be perceived as being merely shipping information, it’s actually a great way to keep your customer engaged. If you use a Starshipit branded tracking page instead of a standard courier tracking link, you can include content that redirects customers back to your website, not the courier’s.
Include your logo, engaging imagery, your brand’s colours, a quick message from the business, links to your social pages, and prompts to sign up to your email database to upsell to your customers and keep your brand front of mind.
Of course, don’t forget about the actual tracking! Starshipit’s branded tracking pages include visual progress indicators that tell your customers where on the delivery journey their parcels are, along with automatic time-stamped updates supplied by the courier.
Sending notifications to customers throughout the delivery process not only keeps them in the loop, it also reduces the number of “Where’s my parcel”? enquiries your support team has to manage.
The more transparent you are about delivery times, the more engaged they’ll be. And if you’re open and honest about any failings or delays on your part, they’ll be more likely to understand too.
With Starshipit’s customisable shipping notifications, you can choose to send automated emails or texts at all five stages of the delivery process: on label print, at pick-up, when in transit, when out for delivery, and when delivered.
You can customise the look of the notifications you send by updating templates for every stage of the delivery journey. You can choose to send them all or only a couple too: whatever you think works best for your business and for your customers.
When the parcel has been delivered, the most important thing in there is the product. A very close second is the packing slip which includes information like what should be inside, how to contact your company, and how to return the product if they’re not happy with it.Adding your logo and business name to the top is a simple but effective way to keep the customer zeroed in on your brand. You could also include recommended products based on your customers’ purchases and include short URLs that are easy to type straight into their online browser.
To really add to the branded delivery experience, you could consider investing in branded packaging too. The likes of ASOS and Allbirds do this very well to create a memorable branding experience from browsing and purchasing, through the fulfilment process, until the package arrives on their customer’s doorstep. While you’re there, you could consider eco-friendly packaging with a company like The Better Packaging Co so you give both your customer and the environment exceptional service.
Making the switch to branded tracking, notifications and delivery might sound daunting, but with Starshipit it couldn’t be easier. Everything you need to get started is available to every Starshipit user – even if you’re on a free 30-day trial – plus we offer world-class support and onboarding to hold your hand through the process.
Sign up for a free 30-day trial today and find out how to streamline your entire fulfilment process, engage with your customers, and keep them coming back for more.
Automate your entire shipping process while delivering better experiences for your customers.
Save 8 hours a week: Game-changing fulfilment tips and tricks
6 strategies to optimise your 3PL fulfilment workflows
How-to guide: Print orders in Starshipit