In the world of ecommerce, it is not uncommon for businesses to brush off customer delivery concerns, tossing the responsibility onto delivery carriers. But here’s a reality check: one subpar customer delivery experience can wreak havoc on your brand’s reputation. If you have a “ship and forget” mindset, it is time for you to change. Indeed, it is time to realize that a bad delivery experience is disastrous for your business. So to help you change, I’ll highlight for you the three most significant costs your business can face due to a lousy customer delivery experience.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

Warren Buffett

1. Poor Customer Retention Due To A Bad Customer Delivery Experience.

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As most businesses rely on repeat customers, even one negative delivery experience can result in losing a loyal customer. For example, surveys show that 84% of customers will not return to a retailer after one poor delivery experience. So as a result you end up with less than a delighted customer.

The reasons that you can lose customers due to a bad delivery experience are many to include:

• Missed Promised Date. Customers become frustrated due to their orders being delayed after the promised date.
• Last-Mile Carrier Issues. For instance, the package is damaged or lost. The delivery person is unprofessional (ex. stepping on flowers, noisy car, etc.).
• Order Fulfillment Issues. For example, your warehouse never shipped the order, ships wrong product, or ships an incomplete order.
• Poor Customer Communications. This includes not providing timely shipment status and providing a poor post-delivery experience such as returns or product questions. Bottom line, customers do not feel that your customer service is addressing their concerns in a timely manner. 

See my article, Is Your Customer Delivery Experience In A Tailspin? for more on improving customer delivery experience.

“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them—preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.”

Richard Branson

2. Increased Costs, Reduced Operational Efficiency.

Delays in orders can result in longer fulfillment times, increasing labor costs. Lost or damaged orders lead to added expenses for replacements or refunds. Additionally, your customer service efforts will increase as customers call in asking, “Where’s my stuff?”

Also, poor delivery experiences can lead to increased shipping costs. Regardless of your refund or cancellation policies, a delivery exception will cost you. At a minimum, you may incur extra charges such as address correction fees or the cost of returning the shipment. Other potential expenses include the cost of damaged goods and refused shipments.

3. Negative Reputation, Loss Sales Due To Even One Bad Delivery Experience.

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The worst impact to even one bad delivery experience in the impact to your business’ reputation. For example, customers may leave negative reviews or spread negative word-of-mouth, which can damage your reputation. Additionally, even your current customers may be less likely to shop with you in the future if they have had a negative experience. Accordingly, this can lead to a loss of customers, and ultimately a decrease in profits.

Negative reviews by customers spread like wildfire across the internet. Specifically, the majority of your potential customers and prospects will check reviews online before purchasing a product. Subsequently, if one of your customers posts a negative review about a bad delivery experience, potential customers may read the review. As a result, these bad reviews lead to a decrease in overall customer satisfaction and trust. The bottom line is that your customer’s bad delivery experience reflects on your company.

“The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers.”

Shiv Singh

See FarEye’s Bad Delivery Experiences for more information on the costs of a bad delivery experience.  

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