We hear it all the time.

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Over communicate.

But with the evolutions of tech and automations, many retailers have lost the human touch of that experience. It has for most, become very operational and process at best.

Sadly, many retailers also fall into the “we are just so busy” narrative, and the reason for the busy (orders from customers), causes the lack of communication with these customers! With supply issues, that hard conversation of keeping customers updated with the latest information, completely disappears.

Enter “ghosting.”

That’s when someone cuts off all communication without explanation. We are all consumers, so we know how we crave details. Yet, many retailers sweep the most important aspect of what we consumers need under the rug. They don’t do it properly or at all (ghosted). Ask yourself these questions…

[Consumer hat on] What are your minimum communication musts from retailers you buy from?

[Retail hat on] Are you meeting or exceeding those?

A couple points about communication.

A thank you for your order is mandatory. Think hard about including a personalized contact with email and phone.

Be proactive with a bigger ticket, those longer lead-time orders. Communicate weekly, even if there is no new news. Unless the customer says don’t call, they will appreciate you are still on the case.

My past experience.

When we had our ecommerce company, our team contacted each customer for each order! WHAT did I just say?! Yes, each order.

What we discovered is that those front-end calls (thousands of quick calls) increased ticket size and reduced returns! That 7-piece dining set is designed to go one way and come out of a box. You ship one back – that one return freight bill will cover the minutes spent making calls. Maybe it sounds a bit much, but ecommerce orders need a bit more!

Bottom line: communicate, the good and the bad. Keep the conversation flowing. Definitely do not GHOST your customers!

Retail on,
Jesse