Customer experience is the primary differentiator in the world of business today. No matter the industry you operate in, customers expect you will give them an experience worth their time and money. A customer experience trends study1 found that post-purchase shipment tracking is a key service expected by customers from businesses. Up to 52% of the surveyed customers expect it and anticipate shipment notifications to accompany the service.
Proactive shipment notifications play a critical function in business from creating trust to improving the customer journey from purchase to delivery and converting first-time buyers into return customers.
Whether you want to enhance the customer experience, gain their loyalty, or improve communications with them, this article is for you. In it, we will discuss what shipping notifications are and disclose everything you need to know.
What is a Shipping Notification?
Explained in simple terms, a shipment notification is an alert that a customer receives with an update on the latest shipment status of a package they are anticipating. The notifications are typically sent via email or SMS. In recent times, as the logistics industry advances technologically, mobile apps have come up as a way to update customers on the status of their shipments.
Customers harbor a lot of expectations when dealing with any brand, more so online stores. After paying for an item, this expectation is infused with excitement about receiving their order. These strong emotions quickly degenerate into anxiety which can be calmed with the provision of shipment updates. Under such a condition, shipping alerts become the building blocks of healthy and long-lasting relationships between buyers and brands. Taking the initiative to send your customers shipping updates from an official channel could also help them avoid shipping notification scams.
Types of Shipping Notifications
Depending on your brand’s shipment notification workflow, customers will receive different types of shipping notifications. The following are the major categories of shipping alerts that businesses send to their customers.
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Shipping Created
This alert is sent immediately when a customer orders a product and you create the order on your business backend. Alternatively, a ‘shipping created’ notification might be issued by a logistics partner, if you’re collaborating with one.
For the most part, the notification will tell the customer that a shipment for a certain order is coming their way from your business’s location. Additionally, the message will include other crucial information such as the package’s tracking number and instructions on how the consignee can track the item’s journey.
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Shipping Exception
Port congestion, incorrect information input, and other unforeseen issues frequently cause delays in shipping processes. In such instances, it is important to keep the customer informed about the delay to set the right expectation.
Shipment exception notifications come in handy in such scenarios. By sending this alert to the customer, your business can communicate a new estimated date of arrival, helping to reduce schedule conflicts and significantly improving the customer’s satisfaction with the overall shopping process.
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Delivery Notification
Delivery updates let the recipient know that the final mile of the shipping process is in progress or completed. Such notifications are sent to the customer when a delivery driver is headed to their designated pickup or delivery destination, or when a package has been delivered.
Delivery notifications are important because this last stretch of the shipping process is one of the most tormenting for customers in terms of anxiety. According to 4over2, up to 63% of customers peek out the window on the delivery day when they are expecting a package. Proactive and personalized delivery notifications can ensure your customers enjoy a better experience.
TrackingMore is designed to help simplify the process of sending shipping notifications to your customers. Our customizable branded tracking emails feature lets you set triggers for specific key tracking milestones you’d like your customers to be notified about.
Some of the milestones you can select include:
- In transit
- Pickup
- Delivered
- Undelivered
- Exception
3 Ways for Sending Shipping Notifications to Customers
There are three effective methods for delivering shipping notifications to your customers, ensuring they stay informed and engaged from purchase to delivery. These methods include the following.
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Email
Despite the popularity of instant messaging apps, email remains one of the most reliable communication channels that you can use to send shipping notifications to your customers. OptinMonster estimates the number of email users in 2024 at 4.5 billion people worldwide and that up to 60% of consumers prefer brands to communicate with them via email.
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SMS
Short message service (SMS) is the other stand-out way of sending shipment notifications to customers. Since SMS does not rely on an internet connection, it serves as an effective alternative to email or can complement it to ensure prompt notification to the customer about any status updates concerning their shipment.
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Mobile Push Notifications
Another way you can send notifications of shipment to customers is through mobile push notifications. These alerts require the customer to have your business or the logistic company’s mobile app installed on their devices. The shipping updates are then displayed on the lock screen, notification tray, or as a banner.
5 Advantages of Shipping Notifications
In e-commerce, Amazon excels in customer communication with its effective Amazon shipping notifications, crucial for a seamless shopping experience. These alerts keep customers well-informed about their order status. Adopting Amazon’s shipping notification practices can greatly improve your customers’ post-purchase experience.
Here are five key advantages of proactively sending shipping notifications.
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Keeps customers informed
Today’s customers are enlightened and demand full disclosure of what’s happening to an item that they ordered from your website. Through shipping alerts, you can keep these customers informed of the whereabouts of their items and the stages that they have successfully passed through in the shipping process.
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Reduces customer anxiety
Your business’s obligation to provide an exceptional customer experience does not end with the close of a transaction on your website. Modern businesses that treasure their customers know that this responsibility extends after the sale. By sending proactive shipping notifications to customers, your business significantly reduces their post-purchase anxiety resulting from not knowing what is happening to their order or when to expect it. Shipment alerts are especially important for helping customers stay calm when there are major disruptions in the supply chain leading to shipping delays.
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Enhances customer loyalty
It is widely known in the business world that retaining a customer is cheaper than acquiring a new one. Consistently updating customers on their shipment status provides them with an anxiety-free post-purchase experience, earning their loyalty. Satisfied customers, as a result, will be eager to engage in future transactions with your business.
More than just the loyalty of existing customers, sending shipping notifications also opens opportunities for cross-selling, enhancing overall customer engagement and loyalty.
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Improves business logistics
Shipping notifications are also the key to enhancing business logistics. With this, your business can efficiently track packages, monitor its journey, and anticipate any delays or issues in the delivery process.
TrackingMore webhook notifications automatically notify your business about shipping events, eliminating the need for manual tracking API calls. This allows your team to respond quickly to any changes and ensure on-time delivery.
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Boost brand reputation
Shipping delays and delivery issues are not a rare occurrence in business. However, how a business communicates with its customers in these situations makes all the difference. Customers tend to view businesses that send timely shipment updates positively and prefer them over those that don’t.Your business’ reputation does not depend on having no delivery delays, instead, it hinges on satisfied customers positively reviewing their experience. Timely delivery updates are key to ensuring that your brand’s reputation is a good one.
Take Your Shipping Notifications to the Next Level
Are you a customer-centric brand looking to enhance the post-purchase experience for customers with proactive shipping notifications? Then look no further.
TrackingMore features email & SMS shipping messages sent automatically to your customers at each delivery checkpoint. The shipping notifications function allows you to map out your shipping notifications timeline and create a customized notification template that aligns with your brand. This allows your business a unique cross-selling and upselling opportunity. You can recommend other products that match your customers’ interests helping you boost conversion rates and grow your revenue. Branded shipping notifications also foster your brand’s image, drawing customers in and increasing their loyalty in the long run.
TrackingMore is trusted by renowned brands including Shein, DJI, and Kaufland to help them reduce WISMO queries, optimize delivery rates, deliver a satisfying post-purchase experience, and cultivate repeat purchases.
