How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction?

How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction is the one thing you simply can’t compromise on as a business. A drop in customer satisfaction would mean compromised revenue, increased acquisition costs, and more or less a dent on your KPIs. Yes, it really is as serious as it sounds. 

This is precisely why businesses like yours cannot afford to let their customer satisfaction drop in any way. However, in the era where customers want nothing but the perfect fulfilment experience, it can be hard to ensure this. 

For many businesses, this is where third party logistics can come in and save the day. 

Want to find out how exactly they can do this? Then keep reading! 

Contents

  • Why is Customer Satisfaction Important?
  • Why is Customer Satisfaction Hard to Achieve?
  • How Can Third Party Logistics Help?
  • Conclusion

Why is Customer Satisfaction Important?

Before we zoom in on the relationship between customer satisfaction and third party logistics, let’s get an in-depth understanding of why exactly customer satisfaction is important for a business, and why it deserves your complete focus. 

In a recent study, PwC found that 59% of customers would leave a company after a couple of bad experiences, whereas a whopping 17% would leave after just one bad experience. Just imagine; a single mistake could lead to you losing a major chunk of your customer base. Needless to say, it can be understood that customers today have a no-tolerance policy when it comes to their shopping experience. 

As high-maintenance as this whole ordeal sounds, it is your job as a business to accommodate the needs, expectations, and demands of your customer as far as you can. This is because you are aiming to secure your business in the long-run, it needs to be based on a customer-centric model. After all, you can only go so far without taking care of the one element that fool-proofs your success: the customers. And in order for you to opt for a customer-centric model, you need to make customer success the top-most important metric in terms of judging the growth of your business. 

But that’s not where it ends – there are many other reasons why your business should start prioritising customer success as soon as possible. For starters, keeping your current customers happy will cost you a lot less than acquiring new customers. In fact, it has been found that only as little as 5% increase in customer retention can lead to getting almost 25% increase in profit

Retaining customers through focusing on customer satisfaction becomes even more important when you realise that losing customers is not just losing customers, it is also presenting business to your competitors on a silver platter. Because the hard truth is that once a customer is done with you, they will instantly turn to your competitor – which is something no business wants. 

In short, working on your customer experience and making sure that it actually correlates to the needs of your consumer is no longer an option; it is a necessity on which your prospects of success depend. 

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - Why is Customer Satisfaction Important

Why is Customer Satisfaction Hard to Achieve?

Any business that has had the opportunity to operate in today’s day and age will tell you that one of the hardest things to achieve is customer satisfaction. There are plenty of reasons behind this, such as:

Diverse preferences, especially across generations 

Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennial’s, Gen Z; these are just a few terms used to describe different generations that make up the market today. Each of these groups of people have vastly different preferences, as well as needs. For example, where Generation X values efficiency more than anything else, Millennial’s are more defined by intolerance for unethical business practices. For a business that is aiming to serve different generations, it is hard to take all these preferences into account and cater to them.

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - Diverse preferences, especially across generations

Social media and online reviews

Although social media and online reviews can greatly help businesses, they can also cause problems. Think of it this way: a certain lag or delay in your fulfilment processes leads to an unsatisfactory experience for one particular customer. This customer turns out to have a huge social media following, and decides to share their experience with their audience. For you, this would not only mean a loss of prospective customers, but even a few from your existing customer base could decide to walk out on you. So, news travels fast in the 21st century and because of this, businesses have immense pressure on them to be careful with the customer experience they offer. 

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - Social media and online reviews

Increased business competition

If you think you are the only business out there who is in it to win it, then you’re wrong. Today, all businesses have the mindset, tools, and technology required to move forward and get what they want. For you, it means that it will not be easy to leave behind competition and win the hearts of your customers. After all, no matter what you offer, no matter how unique you think it is, there is always something better that the competitor can offer. Therefore, the one thing you can focus on to make sure you are not succumbing to increasing competition is customer satisfaction. 

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - Increased business competition

Higher customer expectations

This one seems a little obvious, but do you know exactly how high customer expectations are today? Thanks to giants like Amazon and eBay offering unparalleled convenience by means of same day delivery and free shipping, customers now consider that to be the standard. Of course, this means that in order to get in their good books and actually impress them with whatever it is that you have to offer, you will have to provide a similar level of customer service. To put it simply; customer expectations are sky-high today, and beating them is no joke.

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - Higher customer expectations

How Can Third Party Logistics Help?

Third party logistics refers to the outsourcing of logistical processes to third parties. These logistical processes include inventory management, warehouse management, order management, and other fulfilment and shipping related procedures. 

And would you believe us if we told you that engaging 3PL services can actually help you increase customer satisfaction? It’s true! Here’s how it can do that:

1) 3PL allows you to focus on your customers 

One of the best ways to improve customer satisfaction is, well, to focus on your customers. But when businesses are caught between organising their warehouse and managing their inventories and fulfilling their orders, it can be hard to focus on the thing that actually matters; the customers. When third party logistics become a part of the scenario, they can take care of all the time-consuming logistical processes, which will leave you with the space to create quality products and optimise your customer experience. 

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - 3PL allows you to focus on your customers

2) 3PL can help you be more efficient

Efficiency is a huge factor when it comes to establishing your reputation as a customer-centric brand. If you are not getting your deliveries out to the customers on time, are you really doing enough to satisfy and impress your customers properly? The answer is: no. Therefore, it is important to be efficient. If you rely on 3PLs, you have a considerably better chance at being efficient enough in terms of fulfilment, because 3PLs have the necessary mechanisms needed to speed up the delivery process and impress customers with unparalleled efficiency.

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - 3PL can help you be more efficient

3) 3PLs make you more adaptable

The key to meeting fluctuating customer demands and preferences is to be more adaptable, as this will help you respond more promptly. However, if you take care of your logistics yourself it can be hard to achieve this. On the other hand, with 3PLs, it is easier because they have the resources available that enable you to evaluate the needs of the customer and mould your services in accordance with those needs. A logistics provider will bring much needed flexibility to your supply chain, which can ultimately help you implement a more customer-centric approach. 

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - 3PLs make you more adaptable

4) 3PLs provide you with the right information technology

Trying to get your hands on the right data can be hard, especially when you are handling your logistics on your own. However, it is also important to acquire this data because it is only with the help of this that you can build a customer experience that aligns with the needs of your customer. With 3PLs, it becomes easier to gain technical information that will help you. Instead of investing in advanced, expensive systems on your own, you can just employ 3PLs that will do the job at much more affordable rates.

Canary7 - How can third party logistics help you improve customer satisfaction - 3PLs provide you with the right information technology

The Bottom Line

Customer satisfaction is an important element when it comes to the long-term success of your business. However, it is not easy to achieve. Due to a range of different factors, it is becoming increasingly difficult to impress customers, satisfy their needs, and win over their loyalty. When businesses are left to deal with their logistics without the advanced help they need, it becomes even more difficult to satisfy customers. 

However, 3PLs can help. They bring efficiency and productivity to your fulfilment, and allow you to focus entirely on optimising your customer success strategy. With the help of 3PLs, you can evolve your customer satisfaction mechanisms for good!

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