June 04 2018

How to keep deliveries and Net Promoter Scores in prime condition

At Yodel we understand that there’s a science to customer satisfaction. The formula for getting it right is complex and constantly subject to change. But we are committed to delivering the best customer experience possible, along with our retail partners. This commitment led us to develop our award-winning Have Your Say customer feedback programme, which has gathered over 5 million customer reviews since launch.

Our research has enabled us to measure customer satisfaction with nine specific delivery elements. By analysing the feedback, we’ve discovered the four factors that have the biggest impact on overall satisfaction. We call them the ‘4 Whats’ and they hold the key to driving up net promoter scores.

Summed up simply, the 4 Whats are:

•              Delivering the parcel on time
•              Delivering the parcel in a good condition
•              Delivering the parcel with a good attitude
•              Keeping the customer informed about their delivery

What the condition of a parcel means for NPS…

When customers are satisfied with all of these ‘4 Whats’, the average NPS score is +88.  However, if the customer is dissatisfied with Condition, but satisfied with the other 3, average NPS is -44.

The condition of a delivery item clearly has a significant impact on how customers rate their experience, so we conducted a further exploration of data to understand what both retailers and Yodel could do to make sure that satisfaction levels with delivery condition were as high as possible. Here’s what we found...

What retailers can do to boost delivery condition satisfaction:

•         Ensure that adequate packaging is used, especially for larger or more fragile items.  Even small, soft items (e.g. clothing) will benefit from being boxed or double bagged.
•         Load parcels carefully into the trailer.
•         Minimise the amount of traffic that requires manual handling.

And here’s what Yodel can do:

•         Handle the parcels with care as they move through the sort and transport process.
•         Follow special instructions (e.g. fragile, this way up).
•         If a parcel is left safe, ensure that it is not exposed to the elements.

This is not an exhaustive list. Our research into the drivers of NPS is ongoing and will, no doubt, lead to more valuable insight that we can use to inform service enhancements and new product lines. It is helping us to bring retailers closer to their markets and we’re working in conjunction with some leading names now to better understand what satisfaction looks like for their customers.

We already understand far more than we did before and, using condition as one example, can really bring home to retailers how important it is to invest in getting every element of the customer journey right. Knowledge is an excellent catalyst for change.