Make your EXIM stand out from the crowd by propelling your customer service journey

We all know this simple fact.

No customer satisfaction means no retention.

No retention means shrinking customer database & straight drop of profit.

By 2020 customer experience will be the main differentiator factor predicted by Walker Consulting. Not the price nor the product itself. It will first and foremost be about the experience – and customer satisfaction – you provide.

Historically, the term logistics has been associated merely with the transportation of goods from points A to B.

But in the last couple of decades, however, its scope has broadened to include complementary services such as packaging, storage, cargo handling, etc. As technology has evolved, the expectations of customers have in turn risen even more. Customers are now actively seeking complete logistics services from their suppliers.

As technology has evolved, the expectations of customers have in turn risen even more.

Hence customer satisfaction is extremely important for supply chain management seeking competitive advantage because if they do not stand up-to-the customer expectations their place will be taken by alternative companies whose activities will be more concentrated on customer expectations.

Therefore, logistics companies must ensure every customer service related aspect, no matter what it includes: acceptance of orders, their execution or the solution of problems. A client of a logistics company must be sure that the chosen company understands his needs.

Now you probably have more questions: how do you achieve customer satisfaction in logistics? How do you increase customer satisfaction in logistics?

Let’s dive in

Traditionally at most export/import (EXIM) businesses, the logistics process would include people from operations, the factory team, and an external logistics service provider, whilst the marketing, business development, and finance teams would be involved in the documentation or other formalities.

A relatively new addition to the logistics process is the customer service team. Initially thought of as an offshoot of marketing, the importance of the customer service department has grown exponentially.

With growing competition, many businesses are realizing the importance of customer satisfaction and how this is intrinsically linked to customer retention.

Companies that prioritize customer satisfaction grow and increase revenue. Those that do not, don’t. 

A strong bond with your customer lays the groundwork for long-standing business ties. Although it is the marketing team that lays the foundation, it is your customer service team that builds strong, long-lasting relations on top through consistent client engagement.

Here too, technology is poised to play a big part and this is evident from the adoption of various customer relationship management (CRM) tools already available on the market. The industry for CRM software is now valued over $40 billion and is poised to touch $80 billion by 2025 (IBM, Superoffice). As a result, many companies are now looking at other innovative avenues to add value to their CRM efforts and make them stand out from the crowd.

Within logistics, one of the major opportunities to enhance the customer experience is to facilitate shipment visibility over their cargo status. This method has already been vindicated by the majority of major e-commerce players as they jostle to gain prominence in that crowded market. Similarly, within the EXIM industry, cargo status updates form a major part of their CRM efforts. Despite this, however, the current process is often prone to errors and missed updates due to excessive dependence on manual inputs.

GoComet offers you the solution.

For any EXIM business, the easiest way to eliminate these errors and automate real-time cargo status updates is by using GoComet’s proprietary container tracking software. Our unique ‘single source of truth’ platform allows you to constantly monitor your good’s shipment movements from a unified, consolidated screen – whomever the freight forwarder or shipping line – and in addition provides you with proactive updates throughout its journey. What’s more, you can also enable your customers to access and enjoy this service to track their shipments and receive customized notifications directly to their email inbox.

Mirroring the impact of CRM software, GoComet’s container tracking solution is propelling the customer service of our clients to the next level. With year-on-year client adoption growth of 300%, GoComet’s container tracking changing the landscape of international logistics customer service.

Bottom Line

Customer satisfaction is your business, regardless of your product, industry, or niche. You must make it a priority. That’s true today, and will only increase in importance in the years to come.

GoComet tools exist to make it fast, affordable, and convenient for businesses.

Also check out GoComet Freight Index and Sailing Schedule modules.