The Black Friday shopping craze has ended, but e-commerce merchants are still on “red alert” as the Holiday shopping season is about to take off. While this is expected to increase the volume of your sales, it is also expected to increase the amount of WISMO calls. WISMO stands for Where Is My Order. This, of course, refers to your customers who are following up on their orders. According to Linda Bustos, in an article for Get Elastic, WISMO calls can take up about 70 to 80% of customer service calls during the peak of the Holiday season shopping. As an e-commerce merchant, this can take up a large portino of your resources. Bustos shares some tips to reduce your WISMOs and improve your business’ customer service experience.
1. Overcommunicate delivery estimates. In these hectic shopping times, repeating yourself is the recommended course of action. Customers call because they do not know what to expect so provide them with the information that they need. Put your delivery schedule in various parts of your e-commerce site and let them know if you expect some setbacks. It is also wise to add a buffer to your delivery dates so you are ready for unforeseen and inevitable events which may cause delay.
2. Provide order tracking. If you are not yet offering this, you may find this to be a bit expensive for your budget. However, this is an investment that you’ll find useful, especially during this hectic shopping season. A few online shoppers base their e-commerce choices on a site’s efficiency in tracking orders. This is also a good way to increase customer satisfaction and save sales.
3. Once you have the order tracking tool (you can do this on your own or use your carrier’s tool), follow up each order with a link to that tool. If you don’t have this, go back to number one: repeat yourself. Also, Bustos suggests stating the delivery date in terms of month and day, which is more precise, instead of using X number of business days, which is more vague.
4. Send an e-mail when the order is shipped. Again, re-state the delivery dates.
5. On your FAQ page, address WISMO inquiries. This will ease the burden on your hotline, as customers can now inquire on there own, based on information from your e-commerce site. Again, take this opportunity to re-state your delivery dates.
6. Spend a bit more for second day shipping. If the difference between regular and expedited service is a few dollars, Bustos advices e-commerce merchants to pay for the extra costs. The additional cost can be a huge difference in terms of the customer service experience you provide and will in turn, significantly lower your WISMO calls.