More than ever, there has been an influx of ecommerce sites and online shopping after Covid-19. When life became a standstill, online marketplaces were lifesavers. The US ecommerce industry showed a 40% sales growth in 2020, as per statistics.
As the ecommerce acceptance grew, Where Is My Order? It became one of the most common questions that an ecommerce business faces when they mess up with the shipments of their customers. WISMO query, when on the rise, can affect business and also bring down trust.
Getting to know where their orders stand in terms of transit is a concern and with that in line, the customers can get impatient after a while. Treating the query right and giving them as much information as possible is the best way to tackle this situation.
Here in this blog, we are going to learn more about WISMO and everything around it.
What is WISMO?
Almost half of the customer calls will be “WISMO” and it may not be a direct “Where is my order?” but different combinations of, “Is it out for delivery?, I haven’t received it yet, When can I expect it?” etc.
The customer asks these questions to your ecommerce business when they do not get their shipment on the timeline as they had expected. The spontaneity of delivery and the less they have to be involved regarding the same can keep you from not getting these questions from them.
Why does WISMO matter?
Customers do take it very seriously when their orders are delayed and are even more angry if they aren’t getting an update on it. They may even decide to not purchase from the business ever again.
So, handling those WISMO calls is indeed important and it has to be handled in such a way that they are happy with the response and the solution that you gave.
Now, look into how WISMO queries typically affect your business and bring down customer experience:
Increase your business costs
Calls come at a cost. As per the research by Digital Genius, the WISMO queries in March 2023, sum up to 21% of all queries the customer support receives, and in peak sale months it can also go up to roughly 40%-50%.
Attending these calls will cost the business more money than expected which eventually results in lesser profits. Adapting to some good shipping methods can help you save money and invest in areas that will possibly enrich your business.
Customer Loyalty to toss
Business is non-existent without loyal customers. And what is the best way to get that out of the picture? Bad response to WISMO queries. After a seemingly good checkout process on your ecommerce website, they will next look forward to a good delivery experience.
Even when unprecedented reasons come up, it all depends on how you handle them. A good response team and best practices need to be set up for WISMO queries to make sure that you retain your customers for the long run.
Uncertainty and Anxiety
Now, when you have paid for the product in advance or the product is in urgent need, as a customer when it doesn’t reach on time, it creates unnecessary chaos. Without real-time updates about the transit of the product, customers have very vague information about their shipment.
Frustration on the cards
The customer finds it irritating to constantly be in the loop and to occasionally check the whereabouts of the order after the expected delivery date. When real-time information is not available, the customer is forced to keep in touch with your customer support for the whereabouts.
Perceived Unreliability
When your brand is not able to give the customer the order on time and there is no effective response on the same, then chances are that the customer will perceive you as a non-supportive and unreliable business venture. Frequent WISMO issues can also encourage them to take their views on your service to social media handles which will generate negative publicity against your company.
An Amazon Case Study on WISMO Management
Amazon is the leading ecommerce company and probably the go-to store for every need. Amazon has managed to bring down its WISMO queries by activating real-time shipping information across to its customers.
The features of Amazon’s real-time shipment tracking system are:
- Real-time transit information
- Machine learning algorithms that predicate estimated delivery times.
- Automated communication strategy that keeps customers informed.
Technology and Tools for WISMO Management
To enhance and enrich your customer’s experience with your ecommerce store concerning the WISMO queries, the best thing you can do is adapt to certain tools that help manage it effectively. It can be one or a combination of different tools to help in seamlessly handling your WISMO queries:
Plugins and Software
- AfterShip: This software, when integrated with your ecommerce store, you get access to shipment tracking software, estimated delivery date prediction, etc.
- Route: Another plugin that helps with providing the customers with correct updates and a step higher with visual tracking updates.
- Reachship: An API multi-carrier solution that gives your e-commerce business the leverage to track shipments, print labels, and even provide your customers with an estimated delivery date of their shipment.
Live Chats and Customer Support
- Zendesk: Live chat support integrated with AI that will help customers get immediate support in the case of WISMO queries.
- WSChat: This live chat plugin designed for WordPress has integration with Google Dialogflow AI which can help your customer support to give clear answers to your impatient customers.
Best Practices for effective WISMO management
Set expectations for your customers beforehand
Customers get panicky when they have zero clue about their orders. Convey the estimated delivery date. For example, Myntra, Amazon, and other shopping sites are now giving options for one-day delivery, two-day delivery, etc. Such an understanding can bring better acceptance from customers of their orders and the business.
Integrating live chat support on the ecommerce website
Bringing in live chat customer support will be a game changer in dialing down those WISMO queries. Customers are informed of the status of their order and if they have any doubt, they can always reach out to customer support.
Keeping Customers in the loop
If customers are kept informed, then there is no chance for WISMO queries at all. If their queries are addressed through emails or messages, they will be less frustrated. The lesser the frustration, the lower the queries.
Final Wrap
The whereabouts of one’s order is a very natural and important question that a customer will have. It is necessary that businesses need to be equipped to deal with such queries and make it easy for their loyal customers. This will help reduce the queries and help you keep the loyal base of your customers intact.
FAQs
- What does WISMO stand for?
WISMO stands for Where Is My Order. This is a very common query that customers have once they have completed their order and checkout. The question concerning the shipment, basically the delivery date, any shipment delays, etc are some of the concerns behind this query.
- How can businesses improve their WISMO process?
Adding some best practices and some good tools can help in enhancing the WISMO issues.
- What are the best tools for tracking WISMO?
Some of the best tools that will help WISMO issues are live chat support, plugins or software that give real-time tracking, order updates, AI-integrated chat queries, etc.
- What impact does poor WISMO management have on a business?
WISMO when managed poorly can lead to below-par satisfaction, a decrease in loyalty, frustration amongst customers, etc. Moreover, it can negatively impact the brand’s reputation and lead to a decline in sales and revenue as customers may opt for competitors that have more effective tracking and communication abilities.
