{"id":24041,"date":"2021-03-09T13:40:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T13:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localhost:10003\/?post_type=scaleup&p=24041"},"modified":"2024-07-30T09:42:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T08:42:46","slug":"3-ways-to-keep-cx-intact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/resources\/scale-up\/3-ways-to-keep-cx-intact\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Keep the CX Intact While Scaling Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Online demand is soaring but too many retailers are missing out on great opportunities due to one simple reason: fulfilment. In an eCommerce retail model, the quality of the fulfilment process<\/a> \u2013 from the timeliness of delivery to the look and feel of the packaging \u2013 defines a customer\u2019s experience (CX). And that process has to be consistently perfect whether you\u2019re shipping one product, or one thousand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked the James and James team how online retailers can keep the CX intact while they\u2019re successfully scaling their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get the first impression right <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The impact of fulfilment on customer experience is often underestimated. Spending a fortune on carefully curated websites and great delivery promises is a wasted investment if the product turns up late, damaged or swathed in acres of unnecessary packaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure having a pretty website is key to enticing someone to buy \u2013 but unpacking the product is the customer\u2019s first real \u2018hands-on\u2019 experience of your brand, and that impression will last.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ensuring the right product arrives when promised is just the start \u2013 although many retailers are still not getting that right. The way the product is presented, from the neatly folded packing slip to the personalised message to the carefully considered low-impact packaging, should be a reflection of your brand that reinforces the customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentation is just one part of the experience. Communication is another. Can your customer track the product from the moment they press buy, around the warehouse, onto a courier\u2019s van and into their hands? Is there a simple returns process, where customers can use a returns portal, select a reason for return and track the product back? And is that customer experience the same every day \u2013 whether you\u2019re selling 1,000 items or 20,000; to the UK or across the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get yourself ready for unexpected peaks <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Direct to Consumer (D2C) fulfilment is challenging \u2013 especially if you\u2019re looking to compete with the big names in the business who offer next-day delivery and a range of courier options. Scaling up to cover peak sales such as Black Friday<\/a> and Christmas can be a major headache. The issue is not just recruiting the staff but also ensuring consistent quality control \u2013 from picking accuracy to packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is for expected peak sales \u2013 you also need to be ready to scale in response to an unexpected plug from an Insta-influencer or a mention in a magazine. This might be a business-changing opportunity to capture new customers, a time when every aspect of that first customer impression should be perfect. But how can that opportunity be grasped without a robust, scalable, and repeatable fulfilment model?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great fulfilment skills can make or break an online business. This is an absolutely critical component of the customer experience \u2013 and, as such, it\u2019s something you need to put some serious thought into.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tap into fulfilment expertise<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unlikely that you started your business because you were excited about the order fulfilment process, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outsourced fulfilment offers economies of scale and ensures you can respond to any spikes in demand without affecting the quality of customer experience. But this is not just about efficiently getting a product into a box and onto a van. A tailored service will ensure your brand is on every box; while the product tracking service is also customised to your brand to create a true extension of the customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re going to achieve that essential match of fulfilment experience to the core brand value, there are a few additional things to consider: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Be realistic about the delivery promise<\/strong> \u2013 don\u2019t pledge something you can\u2019t commit to without compromising the customer experience <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Have a clear understanding of the cost model<\/strong> \u2013 what does it cost to ship to the UK and internationally? What is the variance between next day and longer shipping<\/a> times \u2013 and how much do courier prices vary? <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Match delivery options to the required level of customer experience<\/strong> \u2013 is free shipping essential to reinforce the brand\u2019s luxury feel, or do you need to set a minimum spend threshold to make free shipping viable? <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Make your delivery policies flexible<\/strong> \u2013 a \u00a3250 pair of trainers may justify expensive packaging and free shipping but a \u00a340 pair may come in a boring box with standard shipping costs.  <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In an eCommerce dominated retail market, fulfilment is now both art\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0science: it needs to look great\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0generate profit.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Fulfilment is about so much more than the cost of getting a product from the warehouse to your customer. It is an extension of the customer experience and one that will define the customer\u2019s perception of your brand. But it is also about efficient retail operations and proactive management of both inbound stock and outbound product to maximise revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Embedding the\u00a0perfect fulfilment model<\/a>\u00a0within the customer experience is essential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Online demand is soaring but too many retailers are missing out on great opportunities due to one simple reason: fulfilment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":24065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[376],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scale-up"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"James Dillon","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/110919_JamesJames31577-scaled.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/110919_JamesJames31577-scaled.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"J&J Global Fulfilment","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/author\/james-and-james\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecommercefulfilment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}