How order tracking boosts business success
Apr 18, 2024
Consumer behavior experts say that a customer doesn't accurately remember the shipping time; they remember how they felt during the waiting period.
Orders might arrive exactly on time, but without clear updates, the customer feels anxious, stressed, and perceives the waiting time as long. Conversely, an order might be slightly delayed, yet with smart notifications and clear, reassuring language, the customer remains satisfied and calm.
Tracking orders is no longer just an added feature; it has become an indispensable necessity for every business striving to gain customer satisfaction and enhance their loyalty. On one hand, order tracking provides customers with a sense of comfort and trust in the brand, putting them at the center of the process, knowing exactly where their shipment is, when it will arrive, and what the next step is. On the other hand, tracking helps businesses improve supply chain management, reduce inquiries, and increase operational efficiency.
Let's shed light on the feature of order tracking and its contribution to enhancing the success of various businesses, and review some tips for making the most of it for your e-commerce store.
First, What is Order Tracking? 📦
The term Order Tracking, also known as shipment tracking or parcel tracking, refers to the process of monitoring the movement of shipments and parcels from the moment they are prepared and received at the shipping location until they reach their destination and are delivered to the end customer. This is done by providing real-time information regarding the shipment's location, preparation and packaging stages, and the estimated time of delivery.
Order tracking is a crucial and central tool for both shipping companies and businesses, as it allows customers to follow their shipments and receive real-time updates on the shipment status, thus contributing to improving customer experience and providing better service.
Order tracking is typically done using unique tracking numbers for each shipment sent to customers, intended for monitoring the shipment's path and receiving instant updates.
What about the Tracking Number and its Main Formats?
Simply put, it is a code consisting of a set of numbers and letters, usually ranging from 8 to 40 characters in length, which are formatted in a specific way to convey all information about the shipment. The importance of tracking numbers lies in being the innovative and advanced means to monitor the shipment's path, starting from its receipt by the shipping company until its delivery to the end consumer.
It is worth noting that there are many formats or types of tracking numbers, depending on the shipping company being used. Generally, the most common types and formats of tracking numbers are summarized in these two types:
Numbers Only: In this type, the shipment's tracking number consists of a set of numbers, usually ranging from 12 to 15 digits, exactly like the famous global shipping company FedEx. This type of tracking number may occasionally reach 20 or 22 digits, but this is very rare and uncommon.
A Mix of Numbers and Letters: This type of tracking number is commonly used by various shipping companies. The shipment's tracking number consists of a set of numbers and letters, which may reach about 18 characters in length. The most famous global shipping company that relies on this type of tracking number format is UPS, whose shipment tracking number usually starts with (1Z).
Why is Order Tracking No Longer an Option, but a Fundamental Part of the Customer Experience?
In a world where shipping has become a natural extension of shopping, order tracking is no longer an added feature; it has transformed into a fundamental pillar of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Here are the most important reasons why order tracking is an indispensable necessity:
Contributes to Enhancing Customer Peace of Mind:
Tracking notifications sent to the customer play a key role in alleviating the anxiety that may accompany customers after completing a purchase. Accurate, clear, and transparent information provides the customer with a sense of comfort and reduces the ambiguity associated with the shipping stage. When a customer receives an update at every stage, from order receipt to delivery, they feel their order is valued and that the brand is keen on communicating with them for their comfort, which directly reflects on their level of satisfaction and trust.
Enhancing the Post-Payment Customer Experience:
Many businesses view the moment of payment as the end of the purchasing journey. However, recent studies indicate that the true customer experience begins immediately after the purchase is completed. Sending tracking notifications represents an extension of this experience, keeping the store in effective communication with the customer during a sensitive stage often accompanied by high anticipation or stress. This continuity in communication reinforces the relationship with the customer and enhances the brand's image as a responsible entity that cares about details even after the sale is complete.
Mitigating the False Impression of Delay:
It often happens that a customer feels a shipment is delayed despite arriving on time, due to a lack of updates or clarity on the order status. Order tracking contributes to reducing this false feeling by providing regular notifications that show the progress of the process, even if there are no major changes. Thus, continuous communication, even with simple information, prevents the customer from feeling that their order has stalled or been neglected, which positively reflects on the overall impression.
Reducing Pressure on Customer Service Teams:
Order tracking contributes to reducing the number of repetitive inquiries received by customer service teams, especially those related to the shipment location or delivery time. The proactive availability of accurate information to customers reduces the need for direct communication, saving time and effort required to deal with more complex issues. Therefore, an effective tracking system not only contributes to improving the customer experience but is also a tool for increasing internal work efficiency and reducing operational costs.
Supporting the Brand's Corporate Identity:
Order tracking represents a strategic opportunity to embed the brand's visual and voice identity. By customizing the tracking page with the store's colors and logo, in addition to the writing style that aligns with the brand's personality, the tracking experience can be transformed into a natural extension of the overall shopping experience. The more coherent and well-thought-out these elements are, the greater the business's ability to leave a lasting impression and foster a long-term relationship with the customer.
Providing a Comprehensive Psychological Experience for Customers:
The logistics process should not be purely cold or technical; it should be transformed into a human experience where the customer feels involved in every step. If the process of sending notifications is presented smoothly and visually, it helps create a feeling of involvement and attention for the consumer, even before they receive their product. This type of comprehensive psychological experience is what ambitious brands strive for, where their relationship with the customer is not limited to selling a product but is about building an experience.
Enhancing Competitive Value in a Crowded Market:
With increasing purchase options and the diversity of e-stores, the post-purchase experience has become a key factor in the first purchase decision and its subsequent repetition. The lack of an advanced tracking service may prompt customers to search for alternatives, even if the product quality is comparable. Therefore, tracking is no longer an added element but a true competitive tool that contributes to differentiation and building trust, especially among new or hesitant customers.
Order tracking is no longer just a means to pinpoint the geographical location of a shipment; it has transformed into a fundamental component of the customer experience, contributing to building trust, alleviating anxiety and stress, demonstrating the business's commitment to details, and adding a human dimension to the logistics process.
We note that the order tracking process involves several stages and steps, as detailed in the following section.
How Order Tracking Works in E-commerce:
The order tracking process in e-commerce goes through several stages and steps to track the movement of orders from the e-store to the end customer, including:
Tracking Number Generation: When a customer places an order via the e-store, a unique tracking number is generated for this order, intended for tracking the order and updating its status. This tracking number is typically included in the confirmation notification sent to the customer after the order is submitted.
Order Processing and Preparation: This is the stage or step where all details related to the order are processed, and work is done to prepare it for shipping, including collecting the items, checking them, packaging, wrapping, and placing the product shipping labels for delivery to the shipping companies.
Shipment Handover: After the order is prepared, it is handed over to the approved shipping company. Shipment details such as weight, size, origin, and destination are recorded, and the tracking number is added to the shipment to facilitate the monitoring and tracking process.
Status Updates: During the shipping process, the order status is updated periodically in the order tracking system using technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and estimated timings to record the shipment's movement and update its status. Shipment statuses include information such as ("Shipment prepared," "Shipment delivered to carrier," "Shipment in transit," "Shipment out for final delivery," "Shipment successfully delivered"). Instant notifications regarding the order status are sent to the customer via email or text messages.
Order tracking has many benefits, the most prominent of which are reviewed below.
Key Benefits of Order Tracking for Businesses:
The most important benefits of order tracking for businesses are summarized as follows:
Helping customers monitor their shipment movements and know their status in real-time, contributing to enhancing reliability, granting them a feeling of peace of mind and comfort, and allowing them to plan in advance to receive the orders as they are aware of the expected delivery time, thereby contributing to reducing returns and gaining customer satisfaction.
Professional supply chain management by following the movement of products and materials during production and distribution stages, allowing for improved planning and scheduling and achieving higher efficiency in supply chain management.
Enhancing the effectiveness of logistics operations, as order tracking grants businesses the ability to identify bottlenecks and delays and take immediate action to address them, leading to improved coordination and reduced late deliveries.
Increasing transparency between you and customers, as shipment tracking allows for removing ambiguity about the path of orders and their delivery time, thereby contributing to building a bridge of trust and transparency in the brand.
Identifying the location of lost shipments or shipments sent to a wrong destination, and consequently, the ability to access them, correct errors, and adjust their course, thus contributing to their correct delivery to the end consumer.
Use These Tips to Benefit from Order Tracking for Your Store:
Make the order tracking process easy and clear by using simple, easy-to-understand language at all stages of order tracking.
Try to provide real-time updates to customers regarding their order status, including information on order receipt, preparation, shipping, and expected delivery time.
Be sure to provide accurate and up-to-date information to customers about their order status.
Offer diverse options for customers to track shipments, such as sending text messages to their mobile phone, via email, or through instant messaging applications.
Provide clear and comprehensive information about your store's tracking policy. Explain how the tracking system works, the information customers can track, and the available methods for receiving shipment status updates to help avoid any confusion or ambiguity for customers.
Place a clear, easily accessible link for customers to track their shipments smoothly. For example, OTO, as an integrated logistics platform, gives you a link to a shipment tracking tool that enables your customers to track their shipments easily without hassle.
Make the order tracking process easy and intuitive for customers. Use a simple and clear user interface, and ensure the information is organized and understandable.
Rely on advanced and innovative order tracking systems that allow you to provide a distinctive tracking experience that contributes to granting customers a feeling of trust and peace of mind, leading to gaining their satisfaction and enhancing your competitive value.
It is worth mentioning that you can achieve all this by creating a free account on OTO, the leading shipping gateway in the Arab world, and enjoying unique features that allow your customers to track their shipments easily and effectively through the Customer Notification System, which allows for providing instant notifications of order status via text messages, email, or WhatsApp to keep them constantly informed about their shipment status and delivery times, thereby improving the shopping and shipping experience and increasing brand confidence.
In Conclusion:
Undoubtedly, order tracking is one of the pivotal tools that plays an active role in enhancing the success of various businesses, as it directly contributes to improving customer experience and enhancing their satisfaction, which positively reflects on the growth, prosperity, and sustainability of commercial businesses in the market. Therefore, investing in an effective and innovative order tracking system is a smart and strategic decision that benefits both the business and the customers, leading to enhanced brand trust, increased sales, and improved long-term customer satisfaction.
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