TABLE OF CONTENTS
  • What is Logistics Customer Service?
  • Providing Seamless Experience
  • Meeting Customer's Expectation
  • Offering Consolidated Quotes
  • Better Customer Service Using a Logistics CRM
  • Conclusion

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    Your customers can determine whether you are a logistics business that can offer high-quality customer service. They can even help you establish a solid reputation. The key is to offer good logistics customer service.

    Click Here: Provide Better Customer Service Using a CRM Truly Built for 3PLs

    Providing excellent logistics customer service has become a more significant challenge with the rise in customers' demands and expectations. As a result, companies look for effective customer service strategies to help them stand out against the competition in logistics.

    In this article, we'll help you improve your logistics customer service and distinguish yourself from competitors by tackling the following points:

    • Definition of Customer Service in Logistics
    • Strategies to Improve Customer Service
    • How to Provide Better Customer Service Using a Logistics CRM

    What is Logistics Customer Service?

    Logistics customer service refers to customer assistance and support that encompasses prompt anticipation of logistics customers’ needs, efficient issue resolution, and meeting their expectations.

    In customer service, exceeding their expectations is crucial because promptly meeting their needs fosters your relationship. This assurance builds trust, establishing you as a reliable logistics service provider they can depend on.

    Below are three impactful strategies to improve customer service as a logistics service provider:

    1. Providing Seamless Experience

    If a customer hires your logistics company to transport their goods, they expect to get it done right the first time and error-free. This would likely result in satisfaction and confidence in your company's reliability and competence.

    However, it would not be enough if you focus on the service alone. Be it transportation, storage, or distribution needs, providing your customers with a seamless experience involves offering them excellent logistics customer experience.

    A tool that can help you achieve this is a logistics CRM, a centralized place for all your customer interactions. The right CRM ensures that everyone in your team involved in the process is fully aligned.

    For example, a CRM allows you to document each call and note each customer's needs. When the same customer calls for the second time, whoever gets that call can go back and refer to those notes.

    Since it is possible that the same person is managing multiple accounts, they may struggle to recall specific details about each customer. The documented interactions will help your team in comprehending the customer’s history, which is significant to providing seamless logistics customer service.

    Read about Customer Retention Strategies for the Logistics Industry

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    2. Meeting Customer's Expectation

    Every customer has different expectations when they choose a logistics service. How you manage the expectations of each client is essential to boost customer service.

    Having smooth, centralized communication can help meet the expectations of your customers. It can also help you better understand what your customers are going through.

    A CRM with a centralized communication feature in supply chain management allows you to store all the interactions, including calls, emails, and meetings with customers, in one place. The storage of past interactions helps create a valuable source of data. You can discover your customers' priorities and challenges based on past interactions. It can also help decide what steps to take to meet customer expectations and improve your overall logistics customer service.

    logistics customer service - salesperson speaking on the phone

    3. Offering Consolidated Quotes

    Offering consolidated quotes to your customers is a great way to improve logistics customer service. A consolidated quote is a single quote that includes multiple transportation and logistics services to fulfill all your customers' requirements. This helps boost customer service by simplifying the quote process and not sending multiple quotes that could create confusion.

    For example, take a customer who needs to move their goods overseas. You can offer inland and ocean services in a single quote through a consolidated quote. You can also include different options for inland, such as FTL, LTL, or Intermodal, in that quote to provide customers a choice according to their timeline and budget.

    Read about Freight Quote Software: 6 Must-Have Features to Win More Lanes

    logistics customer service - salesperson using quoting tool

    Better Customer Service Using a Logistics CRM

    A logistics CRM is pivotal in enhancing customer service through its multifaceted capabilities. By centralizing customer data, the CRM ensures that comprehensive information about each customer, including their history and preferences, is readily available to customer service representatives. This 360-degree view allows for a deeper understanding of customer needs, enabling more personalized and relevant interactions. The system also promotes efficient communication within the team, minimizing the risk of miscommunication and ensuring consistency in the customer experience across various channels.

    One of the significant advantages of a CRM system is its contribution to faster issue resolution. With quick access to customer history and interactions, customer service teams can address concerns promptly and effectively.

    Additionally, automating routine tasks like data entry and follow-up emails allows teams to focus on more complex and value-adding tasks, such as attending to customer concerns.

    Also, CRM systems have analytics and reporting tools within the CRM to help track customer service performance, providing insights for improvement.

    In essence, a well-implemented logistics CRM is a comprehensive solution that centralizes data, streamlines processes, and empowers businesses to deliver superior customer service through personalized, efficient, and data-driven approaches.

    You can use a logistics tool like Supply Chain Relationship Management (SCRM). With SCRM, you'll have a logistics CRM that can help you retain customers as well as convert new ones.

    Conclusion

    Practicing the abovementioned strategies can help you meet the rise in customers' demands and expectations and improve your logistics customer service. The quality of customer service can effectively enhance your brand's image, which will help you bring in new customers and retain your existing ones, increasing sales.

    If you are looking for a CRM that enables you to implement the strategies mentioned in the article, look at this CRM built especially for 3PLs.

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    Thank you for reading our article. For more educational content, you can explore all our blogs here. You can follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook to get supply chain industry trends and efficiency tips. If you have other inquiries or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact us through this link.

    ABOUT AUTHOR

    Phil Magill Supply Chain Expert

    Phil is IFS’s co-founder, chairman, and industry expert, holding over 35 years of experience in the transportation industry. He is also the founder and CEO of Transportation Management Solutions, the largest privately held 3PL in South Florida. Prior to TMS and IFS, Phil held significant roles in C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Freight Transportation Specialist (acquired by C.H. Robinson), and Emery Worldwide.