DELIVERING A GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SHOULD BE EASY
This glossary is intended to help you navigate the overly complex world of customer experience, customer support, and order fulfillment.
We hope you find value in this guide and invite you to contact us with additional questions or to suggest edits and additions to this content.
COMMON CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TERMS
3PL / Third Party Logistics Provider
What is a 3PL?
3PL stands for third-party logistics provider. A 3PL is company providing warehouse facilities, equipment, and staff to handle the transportation and storage of goods.
3PLs can be used for both inbound and outbound shipments, and can provide a variety of services such as order fulfillment, contract logistics, distribution, transportation management, kitting & assembly, and much more.
Why do brands use 3PLs?
There are a number of advantages to using a 3PL. Perhaps the most obvious is that it can save your company time and money. Outsourcing logistics to a third party allows you to focus on your core business, rather than having to worry about the day-to-day details of inventory logistics, fulfillment, returns processing, etc.
In addition, a 3PL can provide economies of scale and access to a larger network of resources, which can lead to lower costs. In particular 3PLs usually enjoy discounted shipping rates from carriers like FedEx, UPS and DHL that are shared with their clientele. Because 3PLs are experts in logistics, they can often provide superior service and reliability.
How do you find the right 3PL for you?
Choosing the right 3PL is critical to the success of your operations and overall business. You will want to consider a number of factors, such as the company’s experience, reputation, business culture, geographic coverage, specific service offerings, and much more.
Dimensional Weight / Billable Weight
What is Dimensional Weight and Billable Weight?
Worldwide, UPS and FedEx charge for shipments based on billable weight. Billable weight is defined as the weight in pounds (in the US) or kilograms (ex-US) used to assess the fees charged by the carriers for a given shipment.
The billable weight calculation is not as straightforward as it may seem. Many new Rush Order clients are surprised to learn how these two carriers calculate the weight of each shipment.
Billable weight is the greater of A) the actual weight of the shipment, as measured by a scale and B) the dimensional weight.
The actual weight is very straightforward. The box is weighed on a scale and the resulting weight is recorded.
Dimensional weight (aka “dim weight”) is based on the following formula. But, be careful whose account you are shipping on. For example, Rush Order’s dimensional weight calculations with FedEx and UPS are significantly different than what is published pubicly.
The published dim weight calculation is based on the three dimensions of the box (in inches in the US) multiplied together and divided by an arbitrary value. Specifically, the published formula by both FedEx and UPS is the box Length (in.) x Width (in.) x Height (in.) / 139.
For example, a box measuring 12 inches by 10 inches by 8 inches would equate to a Dim weight of 6.9 pounds, which is always rounded up. So, the Dim weight is 7 pounds. Let’s assume the box actually weighs 5 pounds on a scale. This shipment will be billed as a 7 pound shipment, NOT 5 pounds.
Keep in mind the value of 139 is often negotiable with FedEx and UPS, especially if you have significant shipping volumes. Another option is to take advantage of better “dim divisors” by shipping on the account of a 3PL like Rush Order.
If you need a little more help or would simply like to double check your calculations, please contact us.
Helpdesk System
What is a help desk system?
A help desk system is a software application customer support teams use to create, manage, and maintain lists of customer problems. Help desk systems also allow customer support agents to respond directly to customers and help them with their question or problem.
Of course, many help desk systems also provide other functions including, but not limited to:
- Omnichannel support
- Ticket routing, categorization, and tagging
- Tracking and measurement
- Knowledge base management
- Automation
- Live chat
Examples of help desk systems include Zendesk, Freshdesk, Desk.com, Kustomer, and Intercom. There are many others available as well.
Why does your brand need a helpdesk system or ticketing system?
To help organize, prioritize, and consolidate support requests, your physical product business needs a helpdesk system. Helpdesk systems allow businesses to quickly assign issues to the most appropriate agent, provide context for customer interactions, and track the frequency and severity of customer issues. The system also offers a common inbox where staff may collaborate with each other on customer issues.
Knowledge Base
A customer service knowledge base allows your customers to locate answers to their own questions, reducing the costs and workload for your customer service agents.
Live Chat / Web Chat
Live Chat is an online communication app enabling you and your website visitors to text message in real-time with customer support agents. A typical live chat “window” is comprised of a pop up where customers can ask questions, read agent responses, and generally interact in real-time with agents.
Oftentimes, live chat functionality is augmented by a chatbot. A chatbot is a computer program that can mimic human conversation. Chatbots are used in customer service and support to answer common questions and help customers with their inquiries. Only once the chatbot has exhausted all of its possible answers to a given question will a live agent be prompted to jump in and takeover the conversation with the customer.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a customer loyalty metric that measures the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products or services to others. It is calculated by subtracting the percentage of customers who are detractors (those who give a rating of 0-6) from the percentage of customers who are promoters (those who give a rating of 9-10).
An NPS of 50 would indicate that 50% more customers are promoters than detractors. The score can range from -100 (everybody is a detractor) to +100 (Everybody is a promoter).
NPS is used as a predictor of growth because it measures customer loyalty, which is strongly correlated with revenue growth.
To calculate your company’s NPS, you can use a survey tool like SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics. You will need to ask your customers two questions:
- How likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague? (0-10 scale)
- What is the primary reason for your score? (open-ended)
Once you have collected the responses, you can calculate the NPS by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.
NPS = % of Promoters – % of Detractorsx
Proactive Customer Support
What does the best proactive customer support look like?
First, customer support has been reactive for years. So, unfortunately, the bar is often set very low. Customers contact a support agent, who then contacts them back and waits for the problem to be resolved. Proactive customer service is when you can anticipate issues and reach out to customers before they contact you. You can provide customers with moments of delight by employing a proactive approach to assistance and offering a helpful hand in solving their troubles.
Proactive support can be as simple as:
- Notifying customers about product issues such as potentially defective items and system outages.
- Engaging customers differently if you know the user experience is not perfect at a particular step in the product setup, configuration, or ongoing use.
- Notifying customers about operational issues such as shipments stuck in transit. Rush Order’s Transit Dashboard tool is an example of any easy proactive intervention tool available at little cost.
- Delighting customers with additional special offers, accessory add-ons, and referral programs.
Ticketing System
What is a ticketing system?
A ticketing system is a software program that a customer support team uses to create, manage, and maintain a list (or lists) of customer problems.
Of course, many ticketing systems also provide other functions including, but not limited to:
- Omnichannel support
- Ticket routing, categorization, and tagging
- Tracking and measurement
- Integrations
- Knowledge base management
- Automation
- Live chat
Examples of ticketing systems include Zendesk, Freshdesk, Desk.com, Kustomer, and Intercom. There are many others available as well.
Why does your business need a helpdesk system or ticketing system?
To help organize, prioritize, and consolidate support requests, your physical product business needs a ticketing system. Ticketing systems allow businesses to quickly assign issues to the most appropriate agent, provide context for customer interactions, and track the frequency and severity of customer issues. The ticketing system also offers a common inbox where staff may collaborate with each other on customer issues.
THE RUSH ORDER DIFFERENCE
Most customer service and order fulfillment providers require conformity to their business model. At Rush Order, we work with the best, brightest, and fastest growing brands in the world to deliver their products to happy consumers.
We understand that what worked yesterday may not be good enough to enable your growth today or tomorrow.
We are ready to build a DTC and wholesale-ready operation that conforms to your unique differentiation in the market and significantly grows your bottom line.
Rush Order is a flexible organization that can readily adapt to your needs, efficiently scale capacity, and provide the level of process and business rigor any growing company needs to develop.– Alex, SVP Operations, POPSUGAR
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