One of the biggest lessons to learn from scary movies is to keep your eyes open. Notice the subtle changes to avoid being caught unaware, left vulnerable, or in a terrifying situation.
Fortunately, those movies are fiction. In everyday life, we never find ourselves running from a dangerous driver, tripping and falling down, only to finally make it to our car and drop the keys as we frantically try to get away. And once in the car, of course, realizing the engine won't start… just as the monster approaches.
We all make mistakes – in business and life. And unlike scary movies that come to a startling conclusion or untimely end, our errors can live on and continue to haunt us, potentially bringing on new nightmares. But knowing the most common mistakes lurking behind the next corner helps us better prepare, we can sleep more soundly without fearing what could jump out of the shadows next.
Terrifying Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
#1: Keeping Customers in the Dark: Keep customers in the loop with tracking numbers, order status changes, shipping dates, courier pickups, and final delivery so there are no surprises. Plus, they help you better track your own fulfillment pitfalls. If good, accurate communication isn’t in place, your customers could be on the run, locking their doors to protect against monstrous business practices (or just disappointment). Turn on the lights so your customers know what to expect.
#2: Chaotic Inventory Management: When customers order a product only to find it isn’t available or won’t ship on time, not only could you lose the order, but you could lose the customer altogether. Plus, they may start warning others – online and in person – that what you see isn’t always what you get.
Ensuring you have the right inventory management system for your business can prevent human errors and alert you to changes so that you (and your customers) won’t be taken by surprise. It can also lower the risk of overselling, overstocking, and losing sales.
#3: Wasted Movement: Looking for a product, pulling and packing single orders one at a time, searching for supplies, or moving products on multiple occasions wastes time, money, and resources which can leave your team frustrated and exhausted.
Sure, extra motion in a movie may heighten anticipation, but that’s a mistake you want to avoid in fulfillment. Streamlining the pick, pack, and batching processes reduces errors and lessens the stress and load for greater efficiencies and predictable results. As a result, the only intense emotions your customers feel are excitement and delight.
#4: Frightening Shipping Costs: One thing that can quickly creep up is high shipping costs. High and unexpected shipping costs are some of the most common reasons customers abandon their shopping experience.
While unforeseen surprises keep people’s attention in movies, when it comes to real-life fulfillment, customers prefer to know exactly what’s coming. Developing relationships and then negotiating with shipping providers and carriers can help decrease these costs, so everyone feels safer.
It’s impossible to eliminate all errors, but with the right technology, warehousing, logistics, and fulfillment partner, there’s no need to fear these types of haunting mistakes.
Learn more about how QuickBox’s fast, friendly, accurate fulfillment can help you deliver greater customer satisfaction and save the scares for the movie screen. Contact us today.
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