How delivery notifications improve the customer experience?

Published on 23 June 2021 • Reading time: 6 min read

There is one thing that all marketing surveys agree about: a successful delivery experience is the most powerful lever to keep consumers satisfied and loyal.
Automated email and SMS notifications are one of the solutions available to retailers to improve the post-purchase customer experience. Easy to set up and efficient, they have become essential for a successful delivery. Here are 7 reasons to use notifications to make home delivery a valuable experience.

Table of contents

1. The consumers like to receive relevant and custom information
2. The post-purchase notifications reassure customers
3. The buyers can organize themselves more easily to receive their order
4. Customers confirm or reschedule the delivery by themselves
5. Respect the safety measures by scheduling the time slot of delivery
6. Automated notifications enable more authentic communication
7. You show customers that their satisfaction matters

The notifications turn home delivery into a positive experience. These automated messages reassure consumers. For logistics professionals, it’s a guarantee of customer loyalty.

The consumers like to receive relevant and custom information

With over 95% of the French owning a smartphone, it is becoming the preferred digital device. If consumers are so well-equipped, it is because they are very attached to this type of communication. A survey conducted by Deloitte shows that the French are even totally addicted to their digital toys! They use their smartphones between 25 and 50 times a day, including at work or with their family. They are very sensitive to SMS; they read 97% of messages within 3 minutes after receiving them.

What about SMS notifications sent by businesses? Instead of being bored, consumers react very positively to them. Transactional SMS messages, which are sent after a purchase, are becoming the standard for quality delivery. Buyers are keen to receive information about the shipment of the package, the day and even the estimated time of arrival of the delivery driver.

The post-purchase notifications reassure customers

The need of consumers to be reassured is one of the reasons for the success of automated notifications.
Online retailers sometimes forget that e-commerce has transformed the payment process. In the majority of cases, the e-buyer pays for the product <em>before</em> having it in his hands. Therefore, an online purchase always leads to a certain anxiety, especially if it is the first order on a website.
Will my package be delivered? Will the announced delivery time be respected? And will the product arrive in good condition?
By sending your customer notifications by email or SMS between the time of payment and delivery, you reassure him. You prove the reliability of your company, and you show him the importance of this delivery for you.

In addition to the standard confirmations, AntsRoute will offer within a few weeks the possibility of sending by email or SMS a tracking link to follow the shipment in real time. With this track and trace feature, the customer will be able to:

• View on a map the area where the driver is located in real-time.
• View the number of remaining people to be delivered before it.
• Give additional instructions.
• Add photos.
• Trigger the call to the driver, etc.

AntsRoute link showing the area where the delivery driver is located on a map.

The buyers can organize themselves more easily to receive their order

The failed deliveries are as annoying for the deliverers as they are for the customers. To avoid them, most of the route management software provides a reminder to the customer, with the day and time of the delivery. This is obviously the case with AntsRoute with the sending of notifications like:

• The reminder the day before the delivery with the estimated time of arrival (ETA).
• A message on the day of delivery to indicate that the driver is on his way. When the dispatch riders confirm the completion of a delivery from the mobile app, the next customer to be delivered receives an automated notification with the estimated waiting time.
• The driver can also manually trigger notifications from the mobile application.

By doing so, you avoid your customers getting stuck at home, while increasing the chances of a successful home delivery!

Notifications allow buyers to organise for receiving their order.

Customers confirm or reschedule the delivery by themselves

In order to reduce the risk of a missed delivery, our route optimization software also includes notifications with a link to confirm the time slot, or reschedule the appointment to a later date.
The customers can confirm or reschedule their appointment at any time of the day or night, taking into account the availability and working hours of your drivers. In addition, you reduce the number of calls made to customer service.
Another advantage of these delivery tracking notifications is that our clients can customize them by adding their logo. Thus, you improve the recognition of your brand by consumers at the time when they are most aware!

Link to reschedule a delivery sent via AntsRoute.

Respect the safety measures by scheduling the time slot of delivery

The user testimonials show that these notification and automated delivery scheduling features improve the customer experience in some surprising ways. For example, since the COVID-19 pandemic, some professionals have seen an opportunity to encourage safety measures and contactless delivery.
Tom Paolini, customer specialist for the online grocery store Marmelade, explained to us how using AntsRoute makes deliveries safer for both the drivers and the customers. As the customer is informed in advance of the driver’s time of arrival, it gives him time to come down and pick up his package. This way, the delivery of the basket is done outside, at a good distance, without the driver even having to ring the bell or enter!

Automated notifications enable more authentic communication

Even if preconceived ideas die hard, automated tracking notifications do not automate the relationship with the customer. Actually, the time you spend on low-value administrative or logistics tasks can be efficiently reinvested to improve the customer experience.
The feedbacks from several users, such as Tom Paolini and Anne Rialland-Bouchara, co-founder of Paniers Mixtes, support the same idea. By facilitating the delivery process, tracking notifications save drivers precious minutes to exchange with the customer and create loyalty.

You show customers that their satisfaction matters

To monitor the customer satisfaction, two other types of transactional emails, or SMS, have proven their efficiency.
The first one is a service message, including the proof of delivery, or an explanation of the delivery failure. In this way, the end customer automatically receives an email or SMS with an attached photo of the delivered goods, or of the absence message displayed on the door, for example.

A second interesting method to improve customer acquisition and loyalty is to send a message including a link to collect the customer’s feedback after the delivery. Dans L’R du Temps, which offers a delivery service for bulky products, chose to send customers an SMS including a link to a satisfaction survey 30 minutes after delivery. The carrier then gathers and analyzes this data to improve its quality of service… and retain even more customers.

Have these examples of using email or SMS notifications to improve the customer experience piqued your curiosity? Take advantage of our free 7-day trial to discover all the benefits of our route optimization software!