The logistics industry is one of the most lucrative and fast-growing industries in the United States. With an estimated worth of $1.6 trillion in 2020, it is poised to grow at a steady pace. As a major supply chain facilitator, delivery businesses play a vital role in ensuring the movement of goods around the country. There are two common business models in the industry.
The asset-based model involves eCommerce businesses and companies owning and operating their fleet of delivery vehicles and trucks. In contrast, the independent model involves sole owners of a delivery business consisting of several fleets and drivers partnering with businesses requiring delivery services. Due to the competitive nature of the industry, both logistics and delivery management models require effective communication to succeed.
Detrack, a leader in delivery management solutions, understands this need and offers a robust delivery notification system to overcome customers’ daily requirements for better operation. In this blog, we’ll delve into the elements that constitute Detrack’s delivery notifications and explore the customizable features that empower businesses to tailor their communication for enhanced customer experiences.
So whether you’re a business owner with your delivery fleet or an independent delivery business for hire, keep reading to learn new ways to gain a competitive edge with Detrack’s comprehensive delivery notification feature.
The Essential Elements of Detrack’s Delivery Notifications
After carefully studying the trends, needs, and demands of customers in the delivery business and the challenges they face, Detrack’s delivery notification feature contains essential elements vital to achieving a streamlined delivery process that prioritizes customer satisfaction.
Core Components
Detrack’s delivery notification focuses on ensuring that businesses can stay in front of their delivery operation with an increased level of transparency. With core features including real-time updates, a live tracking widget, ETAs, and electronic proof of delivery, eCommerce businesses can offer their customers stress-free ways to keep tabs on their packages and also make the driver’s and customer service personal’s job much easier.
- Real-time updates: Lack of visibility and tracking information is a major challenge couriers face. Detrack’s notification system has a real-time notification and updates feature that helps businesses improve customer service and increase return business. Real-time updates allow businesses and their customers to get real-time email and text updates on their delivery status. It also allows businesses to customize their text and email notifications to suit specific needs and include their logo.
- Order tracking: Keeping customers in the loop about their order status is essential. Detrack’s live tracking uses a mobile app to alert customers when their package and the expected delivery date have been shipped. It then allows customers to click on the notification and keep tabs on their package with a tracking widget constantly updated on a live map.
- ETAs: When orders are shipped out, customers want to know the exact arrival time of their package. They can plan their activities and schedule, preventing missed deliveries. Detrack’s mobile app features a notification system that gives customers an estimated package arrival time.
- Proof of delivery confirmation: When a package has been delivered, customers receive an instant notification alerting them with proof of delivery information that shows the package has been signed and received by a recipient and can include up to 10 images. This feature helps to prevent any delivery discrepancy between both parties.
Timely Information
In the delivery business, timely information delivery to customers is vital for repeat business. When customers receive regular and real-time notification of their package’s location during delivery, it leaves a good impression that can lead to repeat business in the future.
Detrack understands the value of timely information and ensures that customers receive accurate and regular updates about their deliveries, setting clear expectations. From the moment a package leaves the distribution center or warehouse, customers are updated constantly about their shipment status using SMS and email message notifications, giving the business more time to focus on other operations.
The Power of Personalization
Without a doubt, using a one-size-fits-all approach to customer notifications doesn’t get the job done anymore. Research has shown that customers now appreciate a more personalized communication pattern as personalized notifications increase the open rate up to four times. More importantly, this type of notification often leads to repeat businesses. Therefore, understanding and utilizing the power of personalized notifications is essential for eCommerce and delivery businesses.
Customizable Templates
Customizing your notification message template is essential in aligning with your brand’s identity while also delivering valuable information. Detrack understands this importance and provides its users with customizable templates that can be consistently used to create messages with a branded and professional image. The templates allow users to include their company’s logo, name, hotline, tailored messages, and even legend descriptions.
Tailored Messaging
Crafting tailored messages is about understanding your customers and customizing messages to their needs and interests. To personalize the content of notifications to convey specific information, promotions, or special instructions, businesses need first to get the timing right. The timing of notifications determines whether or not customers will be receptive to them.
Once that is out, the next step is to ensure each message carries value. Customers are more likely to engage and interact with a push notification if they deem it valuable. So whether it contains specific information, discounts or promotions, instructions, or exclusive content, ensure your messages are short, attention-grabbing, and provide clear value.
Lastly, to effectively personalize notification content for information purposes, it’s vital to segment your customers based on interests, demographics, and purchasing behavior. In doing so, each message will be highly engaging and relevant for each customer.
Multichannel Communication
Detrack allows its users to enjoy multiple channels for sharing notifications and communicating with their customers, depending on their preferences. With SMS and email notifications available, customers have a reduced chance of missing delivery notifications and other valuable information.
To avoid disturbing your customers, Detrack has a feature that permits the sending of SMS/text notifications during a specified time range, making it easier to ensure that customers are not disturbed during their downtime.
Streamlined Exception Handling
Exception in delivery occurs when a customer’s package is delayed temporarily along the delivery chain or process, often due to unavoidable circumstances like natural disasters, inclement weather conditions, traffic jams, or vehicle issues like a flat tire, ignition failure, and broken shaft.
In such circumstances, while delivery companies often work hard to ensure the package resumes transit as soon as possible, customers aren’t always lenient. So, handling such instances using a streamlined notification system is necessary.
Efficient Delay Notifications
Delays in delivery are often normal. A consumer study by Oracle Retail showed that 13% of customers say they won’t patronize a brand again if their delivery is delayed. However, such instances can be efficiently handled through a proactive approach that involves communicating promptly with customers using notifications to maintain their trust and ensure transparency.
Detrack’s system facilitates timely communication with customers, proactively informing them of potential delays before they lead to customer dissatisfaction.
Missed Delivery Alerts
Unsuccessful deliveries can lead to dissatisfied customers, potentially threatening a business’s success. Thus, it is crucial to communicate missed delivery alerts whenever a delivery fails promptly. This allows for swift rescheduling or consideration of alternative arrangements. Fortunately, Detrack automates the rescheduling process for missed deliveries, instantly notifying customers of the updated arrangement for the following day.
Customer Feedback
After every successful delivery, it’s necessary to seek customer feedback regarding their experience. It enables businesses to understand areas in the delivery process that require improvement. Additionally, it also allows for a proper and smooth conflict resolution process.
Detrack’s delivery notifications empower eCommerce and retail businesses to get customer feedback and reports regarding any delivery received, failed, or re-attempted, bolstering communication and increasing brand trust.
Optimizing Operations with Data Insights
The value of data insights in optimizing delivery operations cannot be overstated. With the data gotten from customers, businesses can use delivery notifications to enhance efficiency, reduce customer queries and inquiries, and make data-driven decisions.
Reduced Customer Queries
Inquiries and support issues concerning package delivery are some of the major reasons why online shoppers contact customer support. Customers are often forced to dial the customer support number when unaware of what’s happening with their package.
When this happens, there’s often an increased number of queries and workload for the customer support agents. However, with a delivery notification system offering transparency and tracking, businesses can handle fewer calls and queries.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Information obtained from data can be used to optimize delivery routes and improve delivery time to satisfy customers better. If customers open and interact with delivery notifications regularly, businesses can use the data to calculate the time customers expect their delivery and enhance their entire operation.
The Future of Customizable Delivery Notifications
As the world continues to advance in technologies, it presents more solutions to the problems faced by several industries. In the delivery industry, the future is heading towards more automated solutions like artificial intelligence. It also increases the need for a more customer-centric approach and adoption of sustainability practices.
Technological Advancements
The rise of artificial intelligence is changing how businesses communicate with customers by enabling more personalized and efficient ways of interaction. It empowers businesses to automate delivery notifications, analyze notification data, and gain valuable insights. Some examples include AI chatbots, natural language processing (NLP), and virtual reality (VR).
Customer-Centric Approach
A customer-centric approach demands that businesses make customers their focal point when making important decisions relating to product delivery, services, and any experience aimed at improving customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Detrack utilizes this approach in its delivery notifications. Our customizable notification allows businesses to notify their customers in ways and manners that solely reflect their brand and vision. For instance, our email notifications can be customized by adding your brand’s signature at the bottom of each email, showcasing your brand value and vital contact details to your customers.
Sustainability
With the delivery industry as one of the leading industries contributing to environmental pollution through the release of carbon into the atmosphere, Detrack plays a huge role in cushioning and reducing the environmental footprint of delivery notifications.
Since emails often contribute to the environment’s carbon footprint, Detrack offers its users to choose other notification options like SMS, thereby aligning with evolving eco-conscious values.
Customizable Notifications With Detrack
Detrack’s delivery notifications encompass an array of essential elements that contribute to efficient communication and customer satisfaction. With a keen focus on customization, businesses can tailor their delivery notifications to reflect their brand identity and meet the specific needs of their customers.
As Detrack continues to innovate and adapt to changing industry dynamics, it remains at the forefront of revolutionizing the way businesses engage with their customers through delivery notifications. Try Detrack Today and unlock the power of customized delivery notifications to enhance your delivery operation, increase revenue, build brand trust, and improve customer satisfaction.
