5 Ways to Use Emotion to Improve the Delivery Experience

How have brands like Amazon become so successful? This is a question that many marketing commentators have continued to explore year on year. A common conclusion is that mastering customer experience is a major factor in determining business success.

Whether their audience is B2B or B2C, building a personalised customer experience allows a brand to influence how customers feel. And the way customers feel can significantly determine their buying behaviour.

Used in the right way, emotional customer experience tactics can increase conversions, build loyalty, and support brand growth. There is a significant growth opportunity for brands that learn how to use emotional customer experience tactics to their advantage. In fact, using emotion in within the buying cycle can increase repeat purchases by 80 percent and retention by 58 percent.

Emotion is often used at the conversion stages of the buying cycle to drive customers over the line. But it can also play an important role in the post-purchase experience. This blog post explores five ways to use emotion to enhance your brand’s delivery experience, increase the likelihood of repeat purchase, and build brand loyalty.

How to use emotion to enhance the delivery experience

After making a purchase, many customers experience a type of post-purchase anxiety called buyer’s remorse. This can cause customers to regret their purchase or worry that their money may have been better spent with another brand.

Designing a delivery experience that evokes positive emotions is a powerful way to enhance your customer’s post-purchase journey and combat buyer’s remorse. This can improve the way a customer feels towards your brand and increase the likelihood of repeat purchase.

Here are five emotional tactics you can use to improve your customer’s delivery experience:

1) Being flexible to create a sense of control

The fear of missing a set delivery slot can be a barrier to online shopping. So, offering customers flexibility on delivery times is crucial.

Giving customers options makes them feel empowered and in control. When customer’s feel in control, they feel more relaxed and positive towards your brand. This means they will be more likely to order from you again.

2) Communicating to build trust

Secondly, consider how you will communicate with customers throughout the delivery process. In the age of immediacy, customers can become anxious if they don’t receive regular delivery updates. This can create negative brand sentiment.

Sending regular information about delivery over SMS and email reassures customers and builds a sense of trust. A survey found that 82 percent of consumers want retailers to proactively communicate every fulfilment and delivery stage. Meeting this expectation creates positive brand sentiment, increasing the likelihood of repeat purchase.

3) Delivering on time to satisfy

How customers feel when they receive your product has a significant impact on the future of their relationship with your brand. The majority (96 percent) of shoppers in one survey said that a positive delivery experience would encourage them to buy from a brand again.

One of the fundamentals of a positive delivery experience is delivering your customer’s product on time. There’s no getting around this one — it is essential that timeliness is a key focus of your delivery process.

4) Being proactive to surprise and delight

Use proactive customer service to surprise and delight your customer. Don’t wait for them to come to you with questions — be ahead of the game.

Build in the ability to react to changes their end. Predict and solve problems along the way. Wow your customer with how much better your delivery process is compared with other brands. This is great way to build brand loyalty.

5) Asking for feedback to show respect

Our fifth and final emotional delivery experience tactic is to ask for feedback. Asking for feedback on your delivery process makes customers feel respected and heard. These positive emotions will make customers more likely to buy from you again.

It’s also important to remember that how existing customers feel about their delivery experience can impact your ability to attract future customers. One study found that over half (56 percent) of shoppers say negative online comments about delivery influence whether they shop with a retailer. For this reason, collecting positive delivery reviews is crucial.

Takeaway

Emotion is central to customer experience. It is a tool that’s regularly used to shape consumer behaviour, drive conversions, and support business growth. But emotion is equally important to the post-purchase experience.

Enhancing the delivery process using tactics designed to provoke a positive emotional response can help to combat buyer’s remorse. The five emotional delivery experience tactics covered in this blog post will help your brand to improve brand sentiment, drive repeat purchases, and increase loyalty.

To discover how Maxoptra could help you enhance the delivery experience you offer your customers, get in touch with one of our experts.