About this episode
[00:21] Opening / Introduction [01:27] Tell us about your background. I grew up in Buffalo and studied political science at a school just outside of Rochester. I ended up selling small parcel to companies in Minnesota and Wisconsin for a few years before transitioning into selling transportation management solutions to companies in the Pacific Northwest. [02:25] Before getting into the five problems you have identified that e-commerce companies face with post-purchase experience, take us through some of the basics of e-commerce. As an e-commerce shopper, you're doing one of two things: buying directly from a brand's URL or buying from a major marketplace. [04:13] What does the post-purchase experience look like? When people think of e-commerce, they often just think of everything that happens before the sale. An important driver of getting people to buy from your website a second time is the post-purchase experience, including shipping, tracking, returns, customer service, etc. [05:33] When you wrote this article, who were you writing it for? I wrote for people who work in e-commerce, operations, or logistics departments at mid-market companies that want to sell directly from their website. [07:04] Take us through the five problems with post-purchase experience. [07:30] 1. There is no single, integrated solution that addresses consumer expectations in 2019 for web sales. Marketplaces have created very high expectations from customers. When a mid-market company is trying to design their site around these expectations, they find that no single provider can do everything that a marketplace does. [09:24] 2. Transportation companies are not a replacement for e-commerce partners. While delivery companies are really good at delivering parcels, I found that when they are designing or proposing their services to e-commerce companies, they're a little bit stringent. Transportation companies have designed their networks over decades, not around the needs of shoppers in 2019. [10:56] 3. Lost revenue and fewer site visits that are caused by customers tracking their orders on a carrier website. As a shopper, when I receive a confirmation email and a tracking number, I click the link and get directed to a carrier's website. It's a missed opportunity because I could be upsold on other items if I was directed to the website of the company I purchased from. You're paying the carrier to take customers away from your website. There are companies out there than can provide integrated solutions to track the parcel on the original website. [14:56] 4. E-commerce companies overpay for small parcel delivery. Time and time again, companies are defaulting to the biggest players in the market that are priced at a premium level. The main reason I found was that people in e-commerce and marketing have no idea that alternatives even exist. I try to emphasize that they do exist and, more importantly, they don't have the rate increases that some of the larger players in the market have. [16:57] 5. Companies are losing out on repeat purchases due to an antiquated returns process. Returns can make or break a business, especially for brands that are trying to gain recognition in the market. When someone wants to make a return, they're already not happy, and making the returns process difficult will make them even less likely to buy again. Refunds can sometimes take a long time as well, which is completely unacceptable. [20:28] Marketplaces are trusted, but that trust still has to be earned at some of these branded sites. When you're shopping on somebody's website, you're probably already doing something that is out of the ordinary for you. If your purchase and post-purchase experience isn't smooth, you won't purchase again. [23:00] Tell us a little about what you're up to these days. I'm currently a Sales Director with Pitney Bowes, so feel free to contact me. [23:48] E-commerce is a different animal and takes a different solution set. Companies spend 98% of their time on the pre-purchase experience, but then forget about their customers after. By writing this article, I wanted to shed some light on the post-purchase experience. Learn more: Jonathan's article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-common-problems-e-commerce-companies-face-experience-jonathan-kish-1c Jonathan's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-kish-2112a8a3 Jonathan's email address: jonathankish13@gmail.com