Timing Is Everything

I’ve been reading a number of reports lately on the “problem of waiting” and more specifically what it costs us. Before I go “all internet geek” on this let me say that there are some very real world practical examples of where businesses are built around “not waiting”. It’s called the convenience industry. Indeed when we buy online it’s no mistake that we like the ease of purchase, the thrill of buying, the anticipation of knowing that it will actually be here with us, delivered tomorrow morning. Buying is thus also “a delivery experience”.

For some products like books and entertainment products that are “letter box deliverable”, the “Free Delivery” offer is compelling. It has the benefit of not requiring the recipient to be on-premises to receive and sign for the delivery. Free delivery also removes one of the obstacles to purchase in that a “fixed price” in your shopping cart is more comfortable than an “Additional Shipping and Currency Exchange Charges May Apply” type message. Great marketers know that what we are talking about here is “the customer experience” and sometimes just knowing for sure what you are paying, and when you will get it, “are the experience”.

It thus surprises me that companies (people) don’t look to micro-manage delivery to a greater extent, especially smaller retail companies.

So What Are The Costs of Waiting Times?

A recent report by TOA Technologies Cost of Waiting Survey points to some pretty dramatic “costs of waiting”:

• 41% of Britons who wait switched or canceled a service because of long wait times, resulting in an average loss of £377.90 per customer per annum.

• 53% of customers complained to friends about the company, and 16% posted their complaint online. 75% claimed they would recommend a company for an on-time arrival.

• 17% of Britons have refused to accept or canceled a product because the delivery/service was late.

• Britons wait on average 4.05 hours for each appointment. They are most dissatisfied with communications and utility companies.

• 39% have taken a day’s holiday to wait in for a delivery or service appointment.

• Customers estimated it costs them £457.20 annually in lost time and wages.

I really love that final point: what does this mean to the customer, what are the costs to them, and what are the hidden or “pushed out” costs of waiting?  This is what Umair Haque call’s the potential for “Constructive Advantage“.

Why Are We Waiting and How Do We Feel About That?

Well many of us clearly feel that the people we are buying from just don’t “give a damn about our time”, they make us wait, because they can. Just one hour late and 24% of customers would feel angry, and 27% would phone in (which by the way means that only 3% are phoning in ‘not angry’, yikes). It’s not any different in the call center or in the retail store; just ask yourself how long you would wait on the phone while it rings and no-one answers, would you wait 65 seconds for instance? how many calls are abandoned by the caller before they were picked up by your customer care agent or store assistant (would 13-15% surprise you? Report Here.)

Many reports for the Retailing sector (Snow Valley Retail Delivery Experience Report, 2011) point out that the customer expectation is shifting: Now is the new Norm. Yet many companies are still taking a reactive stance to customer communications. According to the Report:

• Over 60% of email inquiries are taking more than one day to answer. Nearly 80% of retailers send a dispatch email but surely that should now be 100%? (note: how many customers can pick up their email via mobile?)

• Use of SMS for pro-active management is still below 5% or 1 in 20 retailers. That is the way of the future: more customer updates, more reassurance, more advice if there is a problem, more visibility.

Availability and Delivery are of course key to “having it now” and this is enabled through supply chain infrastructure. In our experience of working with retailers they “mostly know” when customers are likely to initiate an inbound call, it’s nothing that should surprise you. Customers want to know that their order has been received, that it has been shipped, that’s it’s on its way, that it’s on time, etc. Yet many retailers seem to take the view that “fire and forget” is a good experience? Of course the great retailers are using automated outbound calling to deliver personalised, time sensitive, and dynamically capable updates to their customers.

Not using outbound notification (along with other factors) creates the need whereby customers need to pick up the phone and initiate contact themselves. This leads to higher inbound call volumes because a certain number of these customers are always going to ring in to find out “where their stuff is”.

Give The Customer A Menu of Delivery Options

Most products are available through different suppliers. The question for the customer is often where can I get it with the highest degree of convenience; which way can I literally “get my hands on it” the fastest?

• Same Day Delivery

• Next Day Delivery, Guaranteed

• Delivery To Multiple Addresses

• Free Delivery

• Free Delivery When Order Is Above A Certain value

• Did The Retailer Offer Ability To Add “Specific Instructions”

• Did The Retailer Offer Gift Wrapping?

So the question I have for you is when was the last time you stood back and thought about the different potential delivery options your current, or future potential customer might value? Are there ways you could create differentiation from competing services that are meaningful to certain customer types?

Looking At Delivery As An Online Offline Experience

One part of this delivery mix is the instore pick up option where you make your choice online but pick up locally instore, yet only 19% of UK retailers offer this option. For those with bricks and mortar presence surely this option is common sense, and an integrated online offline approach is desirable if difficult to implement in reality.

Instore experiences and face to face relationships still matter that’s why your high street retailer (should be) taking such care in this area. Face to face communications with customers and how well they are delivered is a key customer satisfaction driver. If you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to have hired a “rude customer service” person, you know all about the damage that this person has done to your reputation. I wonder what more could be done to create “great experiences” for parcel pick up? I’m pretty sure that by looking at this in detail you would be surprised at the amount of areas where there is room for improvement, like “where is my nearest store“? and “where’s the pick up counter“? etc.

One of the reason’s I like Apple is the Apple stores. They know their products, they have the information I need to get things done, they are friendly. It hardly seems like service at all.

Some Conclusions

Customers value ease of use and convenience. Yet there does not seem to be very much innovation going on in terms of delivering a great delivery experience from the customers perspective. Great retailers know that a delivery promise is a compelling differentiator. Amazon Prime give you a fixed cost ‘all you can eat’ delivery price point, which is fantastic for the Heavy User. Some leading retailers are now offering “1 Hour Delivery Windows’ where they promise you delivery within that time slot. That enables the customer to make some plans around this window, and “save the rest of the day”.

So here are some questions for you with regards making great delivery, a delivery point:

• What would a one hour delivery window promise mean to your customers? How could it change their “total experience”?

• Would a certain sub set of your customers be totally wowed by this? i.e. does it mean more to some than to others?

• Would these subset of customers become more “evangelical” or “vocal” in their support of you by speaking of you to others?

Was this post useful to you at all, did it stimulate any thinking? Why not let me know? You can email me at paul.sweeney@voicesage.com or follow me on twitter at @paulsweeney