There are six major points of interaction between an e-commerce business and the consumer, representing a Satisfaction Chain. Maintain quality at each of these links to maximize customer satisfaction.

How does your company handle each of these touch points?

We created a new infographic to help visualize each of the six interactions.

6 LINKS ON THE SATISFACTION CHAIN

1. WEBSITE VISIT

Visitors begin to form impressions about the business immediately upon landing on the site. Is it easy to navigate? Is the brand personality clear? Is the essential information readily accessible? High bounce rates indicate the site needs foundational improvements.

2. ORDER PLACED

Yes! The visitor becomes a customer. Eamine the e-commerce conversion rate to evaluate the checkout process for satisfaction. What is the cart abandonment rate? Is the checkout one easy page? Identify hangups in data to make improvements to the site. It is not enough to have a website these days, it needs to be fresh and engaging, and it needs to work flawlessly.

3. FULFILLMENT OF ORDER

Whether in-house or via third-party logistics provider (3PL), the order must be filled accurately and efficiently. How quick is the turnaround? Same day order fulfillment has become a standard expectation. Packaging and filler should be new, clean and correctly sized... extra points for recyclable.

Fulfillment is a key link in the satisfaction chain and it can make or break customer experience.

4. SHIPPING AND TRANSIT

The shipping carrier transports the package to the consumer. Choose the right carrier and service for the order (consider size, speed, destination, and fragility).

5. CUSTOMER RECEIVES ORDER

Finally, the customer received the package. The timeliness and presentation are important. Unboxing has become a trend highlighting the actual unpacking of the box. To make a great impression (and increase satisfaction), the contents of the box should not only be correct, but fun to unwrap.

6. POST-ORDER FOLLOW UP

Follow up with the customer to gauge satisfaction, find areas for improvement and rectify errors. Roughly 75% of customers will ghost a company after one bad experience, so don't be tempted to skip this step!

Conclusion

Reverse logistics also follow this chain, in effect. Even higher numbers of shoppers desert a company after a single bad returns experience, but reviewing the reverse logistics process is of crucial importance to customer experience.

If the interaction is satisfying to the customer, they will return to the site and place a new order. The chain loops around if the relationship continues, becoming more of a circle. Keep in mind that every order is another chance for good (or bad) performance and customer loyalty is no longer as resilient.

Is Your Fulfillment Helping or Hurting Customer Satisfaction?
https://www.sprocketexpress.com/blog/fulfillment-helping-or-hurting-customer-satisfaction

Fine-Tuning Your Fulfillment Service Experience
https://www.sprocketexpress.com/blog/fine-tuning-your-fulfillment-service-experience

No Sales Final - Managing Reverse Logistics
https://www.sprocketexpress.com/blog/no-sales-final