One way or another, the term CX (customer experience) has entered the mind of most brand owners. Because, as we all know, one good or bad experience can linger on the consumer’s mind for a long-time, if not forever. With a single negative experience, 32% of customers would walk away from a company they loved, and in Latin America, the number snowballs to 42%.

Even with the slight chance of forgiveness, 59% of consumers will walk away from a company they admired after several bad experiences, while only 17% of customers would return. 

Customer experience is crucial. With this in mind, how do we raise the volume of our customer experience without disrupting fulfillment? Luckily, here at OceanX, we specialize in DTC (Direct-To-Customer) services, making our experience in customer experience at an all-time high. Keep reading to elevate your entire customer experience from point A to point B and beyond.

What is Customer Experience?

 

According to Wikipedia, “Customer experience is a totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral consumer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages.” 

There is a customer experience created from consumers are viewing your eCommerce store, to when the purchased product delivers. Experiences can be both good and bad, but one thing remains the same; they stick. 

The Benefits of a Good Customer Experience:

• Brand Loyalty. Brand loyalty translates to repeat business. 50% of customers will switch to a competitor after one bad experience. If multiple negative experiences occur, that number rises to 80%. As the brand, we need to create a good experience in every department: packaging, customer service, fulfillment, etc., and keep our brand loyalty. 
• Brand Reputation. Keeping a reputation for your brand is key to new business. Whenever consumers have a good experience, it may spread like wildfire. According to a study done by Esteban Kolsky, 72% of customers will share a good experience with 6 or more people. 
• Customer Satisfaction is King (not cash). If nothing else, being a brand owner in the beauty and wellness space means committing to good morals rather than greed. We do business because we care about our customers and desire for a good experience!

Is there a way to strategize a positive experience? And if so, what are the key elements? Although there are hundreds upon thousands of ways to give your clients an exceptional experience, here are just a few ways we can implement experience within our design, structure, and strategy in the beauty and wellness space.  

Customized Packaging

 

Customized packaging has been the craze for the past few decades. With unboxing videos and influencers sharing their experiences, making a personalized packaging experience helps the entire CX ecosystem. 

Create an Experience with Packaging:

• Personalization. The Wall Street Journal reported that after 11-years of a steady decline in sales, Coke sold 0.4 percent more year by year after their “Share a Coke” campaign. With this campaign, they personalized bottles with over 250 different names. Personalization is one of the best ways to connect with the consumer in a unique way.
• High-Quality Materials. Are higher-priced items worth the investment? When proving value — the short answer is yes! When packaging your product, it’s best to choose higher-quality materials for the ultimate unboxing game changer.
• Sustainability. Back your packaging with a mission to achieve sustainability is one of the best ways to appeal to the modern consumer. Environment awareness is on the rise, and brands need to adapt to industry changes. Recycling Product News just released this statement – “68% of consumers have chosen a product in the last six months based on its sustainability credentials.” After, they also revealed that 70% of consumers identify as environmentally aware, up 3% from last year.

There are many ways to create a customized experience through packaging. For more help, check out our blog Wave and find an entire article dedicated to customized packaging here.

Order Confirmations

 

The order confirmation is prioritized to the consumer because they feel that their order is acknowledged. To back this, did you know that 64% of customers consider purchase confirmations to be the most valuable type of email? 

Order confirmations also have the largest engagement out of all emails with an average open rate of 65% and a click rate of 17%. With these numbers, we can see how vital this one small action can be in the eyes of the consumer. Underestimating the small actions of CX will backlash upon brands.

Meet Shipping Demands

 

Fulfillment transparency is crucial when developing a CX shipping ecosystem for your company. The fulfillment industry is at an all-time high and challenging in competition. As brands, we need to find ways to prove shipping transparency meanwhile upholding our efficiency. 

Shipping Transparency Elements:

• Tracking. Providing tracking numbers with location accuracy and expected delivery dates raises anticipation for the consumer and less worry.
• Speed. When relating to fulfillment, the sooner, the better. Luckily, fulfillment warehouses such as OceanX pride in 2-day shipping for customer satisfaction. 
• Handling. Allowing customers to opt-in for additional shipping insurance allows all parties to be safe throughout handling. 31.6% of recipients say they will purchase insurance when sending certain product types, while another 10.5% would opt-in to insurance based on previous shipping costs.

Customer experience is a battlefield for brands, considering 88% of companies prioritize CX in their contact centers. Why should fulfillment be any different? The ultimate goal of eCommerce is to fulfill the consumer’s needs; CX is one key point to this.

OceanX Fulfills Customer Experience 

 

Does fulfillment mean delivering packages or customer experience? In reality, once packages leave your online store, it’s hard to predict the rest. Pairing with a 3PL (third-party logistics) is the best way to foresee complications and deliver consumers’ expectations. 

If you are ready to pair with a tech-first, industry-lead 3PL, to deliver an all-time high in customer experience and prove shipping transparency, jump on the wave and consult with OceanX today.