With Esendex, we get both good service and competitive pricing. We anticipate them remaining a core part of our total global service offering as we expand over the coming years.
Ian Hammond, Criticall
| Customer: | Kiddicare | .jpg) |
|---|---|---|
| Services: | SMS API | |
| Website: | www.kiddicare.com |
Since implementing the Esendex system, Kiddicare has seen a 30 per cent reduction in its carded missed deliveries rate, improving customer satisfaction markedly whilst driving down delivery costs.
Kiddicare is the largest privately owned nursery supplier to the UK public and is dedicated to first class customer service. With 80 per cent of Kiddicare’s annual turnover, which is on target for £35 million, from online sales, kiddicare.com prides itself on being the most secure, committed, reliable and trustworthy online nursery business on the net. Kiddicare now sells 600,000 items a year through kiddicare.com.
Kiddicare initially selected Esendex to provide a two-way SMS system between customers and their Customer Service team. The service allowed customers to text Kiddicare with product enquiries. Customer Services then text back with the answer.
Although the theory behind this service was sound, the execution proved unsatisfactory for both Kiddicare and its customers. It was time consuming for Kiddicare staff and customers really did not require such a service, especially as Kiddicare.com provides all stock availability information quickly and easily. A much more important factor for success and customer satisfaction was hitting the delivery slot.
With 80 per cent of its business online, Kiddicare has to ensure that its delivery service is second to none. The idea appeared simple: text customers when goods are dispatched. The challenge was finding a comprehensive provider to integrate with Kiddicare’s existing systems and reliably handle the required amount of SMS traffic.
Kiddicare uses a third party delivery company to deliver its goods purchased from kiddicare.com. Therefore any customer communication system must integrate with the existing sales database and warehouse system to ensure smooth operation not only internally at Kiddicare, but also with its chosen delivery partner.
A Partner at Kiddicare, explains
“One of our key performance indicators in e-commerce is ensuring that home deliveries are made efficiently. This means being on time and ensuring the customer is available to accept the delivery. Returned or failed deliveries cause delays and problems for our customers, our staff and the delivery company. The best way around this is prevention rather than cure.”
Kiddicare utilises Esendex’s standard SMS API (Application Programming Interface) to integrate with its existing systems and automate the sending of customer dispatch texts. The outbound-only text delivery system means Kiddicare customers are kept fully up to date with the status of their order and can make changes as required.
“At the point of order, the customer inputs their mobile number in the Kiddicare checkout system. As soon as the goods are dispatched from the warehouse, the customer receives an SMS to say their order is on its way. If we only have their landline number, this is not a problem as the Esendex system sends the message to this number where it is converted to a voice message for the customer to retrieve,” comments the Partner.
To validate the communication, the messages are “Kiddicare” branded rather than displaying a mobile number or shortcode to keep the customer informed about their order. A send-only service of this nature ensures Kiddicare keeps a tight handle on customer delivery changes through the appropriate order channels to save staff time and possible inconsistencies from the customer.
“The Esendex API is very intuitive and integrates well with our existing business applications,” highlights Weavers-Wright. “It’s reliable and with outstanding availability. It really has helped keep our customers happy, which means we can get on with running the business and maintaining excellent service.”
Since implementing the Esendex system, Kiddicare has seen a 30 per cent reduction in its carded missed deliveries rate, which is where the delivery company has to leave a card if the customer is unavailable to receive the order.
“We have noticed a significant improvement in our delivery rates, which is excellent news for our customers, our staff and our suppliers. Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about the text messaging system and we continue to look at ways to improve this further still,” concludes the Partner.
Get in Touch!
Call us now on 0845 356 5758 or email sales@esendex.co.uk to find out more about our services can help your business.
