You’ve done all the hard work – attracting netizens to take a look at your website, encouraging them to add products to their cart by providing value, getting them to take a step further to make a purchase decision, and hitting the checkout button.
This person who entered your eCommerce store as a stranger is now a valued customer who’s amped up to try your product.
Another day, another satisfied customer?
Well, it’s not that simple.
The customer journey consists of two major stages – namely, the pre-purchase stage that we just talked about and the all-important post-purchase stage.
The post-purchase stage begins when an order has been placed, all the way to when the order is delivered to your customer’s doorstep.
Once an order has been shipped, retailers like you tend to hand over the reins of their customers’ journey to a third-party shipping company that may not share the same level of commitment as you do – which could prove to be fatal to your customers’ overall experience.
This stage is crucial to boost customer loyalty by ensuring a hassle-free order delivery experience with your brand and rewarding you with more future sales. Customers love to stay in the know and receive updates on their delivery status and expect you to proactively do so.
When you fail to do so, your customer service teams are flooded with tickets from anxious customers, all with the same question: WISMO?
What is WISMO?
WISMO is an acronym that is all too familiar to those in customer service roles. It is an acronym for “Where IS My Order?”. When customers get anxious when the product they purchased hasn’t been delivered yet, or if they haven’t received a single update after the order was shipped, they reach out to customer service teams to find out what has happened. And when these customers reach out about the status of their order, it is called a WISMO query.
Why WISMO Inquiries Happen
The reason behind WISMO inquiries usually boils down to customers not knowing where their package is. Maybe the tracking info is spotty, or the estimated delivery window is so wide it’s practically useless.
Then there are the classic delivery hiccups like delays, lost packages, and, you know, the drill. Basically, if a customer feels like they’re in the dark about their order’s progress, they’re going to reach out.
Why WISMO Needs To Be Taken Seriously
Let’s talk about why those “Where Is My Order?” questions are a bigger deal than you might think. WISMO inquiries aren’t just a minor annoyance. They can impact your business in ways you might not expect.
Think of it this way: every time a customer asks about their order, it costs you time and money. Studies show that WISMO calls can make up a whopping 40% of your customer support inquiries! On average, a customer service agent spends 10 minutes resolving each one.
Now, imagine you get 1,000 WISMO calls a week. That’s roughly 160 hours of valuable customer support time gone! Multiply that by your agents’ hourly wage, and you’ll see the real cost of those inquiries adding up.
WISMO also impacts customer satisfaction, potentially leading to negative reviews and even lost customers. Research shows that a whopping 32% of customers will stop shopping with your brand after just one bad experience. So, tackling WISMO is about protecting your brand reputation and keeping loyal customers coming back for more.
Strategies to Reduce WISMO Inquiries
WISMO inquiries are inevitable. However, there are many ways you can reduce the number of inquiries you receive. This is so that your customer service team can spend their energy on other, more serious inquiries that require their attention.
1. Set Crystal-Clear Delivery Expectations
timelines right from the start. Include this information clearly during checkout and in your order confirmation emails. The more transparent you are, the fewer questions you’ll get down the road.
Expert Tip: Use historical shipping data and carrier performance insights to provide accurate delivery estimates. If you know a certain shipping carrier tends to experience delays during peak season, adjust your estimates accordingly.
2. Multi-Channel Communication
Your customers prefer different ways to communicate. Some love email, others prefer SMS, and some might even favor WhatsApp. Meet them where they are! Offer order updates through a variety of channels to ensure everyone stays in the loop.
Expert Tip: Give customers the option to choose their preferred communication channel during checkout. This empowers them and reduces the chance of missed notifications.
3. Offer Real-Time Tracking
Customers want to be able to track their orders in real time. Provide a user-friendly tracking portal or integrate with a tracking app that offers real-time updates. This gives customers visibility and control, reducing the urge to reach out for information.
Expert Tip: Consider using a branded tracking page to maintain a consistent customer experience and reinforce your brand identity.
4. Automate Wherever You Can
Free up your customer support team by automating simple, repetitive WISMO inquiries. Use chatbots, automated email responses, and other tools to provide instant answers to common questions about order status and delivery times.
Expert Tip: Ensure your automated responses are friendly and helpful and offer the option to escalate to a human agent if needed.
5. Optimize Delivery
Optimize your fulfillment process for timely and accurate deliveries. Use shipping software, inventory management tools, and carrier performance data to identify bottlenecks and streamline your operations. The smoother your deliveries, the fewer WISMO inquiries you’ll receive.
Expert Tip: Proactively monitor shipments for potential delays or exceptions. If you spot a problem, reach out to the customer before they have a chance to contact you. Proactively reaching out shows you care and builds trust.
Tools and Technologies for WISMO Management
Let’s explore the tools and technologies available for WISMO management. Businesses often use several of these tools and technologies in tandem to tackle WISMO inquiries effectively.
1. Automated Notifications
Proactive updates about order status, delivery exceptions, and estimated arrival times are crucial for keeping customers informed. This reduces the need for them to reach out.
LateShipment.com provides automated shipping notifications via email, SMS, and WhatsApp triggered by specific events in the shipping process. You can also customize notification flows to suit your brand and customer preferences.
2. Branded Customer Experience Platforms
The post-purchase experience is a crucial touchpoint for building customer loyalty. These platforms allow businesses to create a seamless and on-brand experience even after the sale is complete. They often include customized tracking pages, personalized product recommendations, and targeted promotions.
LateShipment.com provides branded order tracking pages that can be curated and customized to match your unique brand identity. This extends the brand experience beyond the initial purchase and creates opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Read More: Branded Return and Exchange Portal: What Makes One And How It Works
3. Predictive Analytics and Exception Management
Sometimes, things go wrong in the shipping process. These tools use data and algorithms to predict potential delays, identify at-risk shipments, and alert businesses to potential problems before they impact the customer. This allows for proactive intervention and prevents WISMO inquiries from escalating.
LateShipment.com excels in this area, offering predictive incident alerts for issues like delays, lost packages, and failed delivery attempts. This allows businesses to address problems proactively, often before the customer is even aware of them.
4. Customer Support and Communication Integrations
Even with the best proactive tools, some customers will still have questions. Integrating shipping data with customer support platforms allows agents to quickly access order information and provide accurate, up-to-date answers to WISMO inquiries. This improves the support process and customer satisfaction.
5. Analytics and Reporting Dashboards
Understanding the root causes of WISMO inquiries is essential for long-term improvement. These tools provide insights into shipping performance, on-time delivery rates, and customer feedback, helping businesses identify areas for optimization and reduce future WISMO volume.
LateShipment.com offers fulfillment analytics and feedback tools that provide data-driven insights into your shipping operations and customer satisfaction. This data can be used to identify bottlenecks, improve delivery performance, and ultimately reduce WISMO inquiries.
LateShipment.com: The Perfect Solution to Your WISMO Woes
The best way to tackle a WISMO inquiry is to ensure that one doesn’t arise in the first place. For this, you need to proactively identify what’s causing WISMO calls and address those at the root. A Delivery Experience Management platform like LateShipment.com can help you with just that.
LateShipment.com provides a comprehensive suite of tools to proactively manage and minimize WISMO inquiries. It is an all-in-one platform for a smooth and transparent post-purchase experience.
With LateShipment.com, you can set accurate delivery expectations, provide real-time tracking updates through a branded tracking page, and automate customer communications through various channels like email, SMS, and even WhatsApp. This way, your customers are informed every step of the way, reducing the need for them to reach out in the first place.
At LateShipment.com, we’ve built the world’s only logistics cloud tool that helps businesses of all sizes reduce shipping costs by up to 20% and provide stellar post-purchase experiences to customers at scale, focusing steadfastly on the last mile, typically the most opaque part of the logistics chain.
And the best part? It takes less than 2 minutes to see LateShipment.com in action.
