Whistl Magazine Summer 2020

Whistl Magazine Summer 2020

Whistl

Summer 2020

magazine

Delivering in different times

THANKSALLROUND FROMNICKWELLS

INCENTIVES FOR DM FOCUS ON E - COMMERCE BEST PRACTICE IN CONTACT CENTRES MOMENTUM FOR MOVEMBER

Wells Said

Delivering in different times… helping our customers through the pandemic

I’d just like to say thank you… to our employees and our customers

“ We are sustaining our business thanks to the work and dedication of Whistl employees and other third parties. We truly appreciate your teamhas been a lifeline to our business…..” “The Service has been really helping our customers in need. Particularly all of the mums and dads who have kids at home. The packages the teamdeliver are helping to educate a nation and it’s making a big difference tomany families’ lives. Not all heroes wear capes!” “I wanted to endorse the roleWhistl plays for us being able to send information to our customers. This includes regulatory and contractual information that customers need so they are reassured of the cover they have, and how they can access our claims and breakdown services they have paid for. While some can be sent electronically, we still have documents to post as customers are able to choose how they would like to receive information. Whistl play a critical part in this process for us” “Postal donations are a lifeline to charities at this moment and it is great to see that the mail system is working just fine. Could you please feed this back to the teamat Whistl as it really does make a difference as we need tomaintain donations so that we can continue to support people living with Cancer”

My regular Wells Said column normally occupies just one third of a page in this magazine… but, as I’m far from the first to say, 2020 isn’t about ‘normal’.

In mid-March, just before lockdown, we activated our Pandemic business continuity plan here at Whistl. The safety and wellbeing of our team was, and remains, our first priority, whilst maintaining continuity of our essential services to customers. Those who could work from home – including our fantastic Customer Services team – did, (and still largely do), non- essential travel was halted, and meetings went virtual. All depots remained open with our cleaning contractors nationwide implementing stringent new procedures in line with all Public Health England and government advice. Our collection drivers loaded their vehicles unaided to minimise contact with customers, and delivery into our partners also become ‘contactless’. Early in the pandemic, the government declared that those involved in postal services and deliveries were ‘key workers’ and that Whistl provided ‘essential services’. I wrote to thank the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for identifying the delivery and logistics sector as ‘essential’, urging his Department to continue their support

of the broad delivery sector. I think it’s worth repeating part of the reply from BEIS, recognising the vital role played by our sector. ‘The government recognises the important role that delivery workers play in serving customers and supporting businesses across the UK. Their willingness to maintain deliveries during a time of increased social isolation and when many people cannot leave their homes is vital’ wrote Paul Scully MP, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets. I’d like to put on record my thanks to the team here at Whistl, for their unstinting efforts in keeping supply chains moving. I’d also like to thank our customers for their understanding, collaboration and cooperation in this most extraordinary of times. Some of their kind words are included on the next page. Kindest regards

NickWells Chief Executive, Whistl

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2020

Win-Win for senders! New incentives and new service offering introduced by Royal Mail for DM and business mail .

Best practices every contact centre shouldknow There’s nothing more frustrating than phoning customer service with a problemonly to be put on hold for 10minutes and having 1,000 UK consumers what their preferences are when it comes to a good customer experience and what they find intolerable! Here’s what we found. to endure that annoying on-holdmusic. We asked

Buttons not prompts 86% of respondents prefer selecting options via push buttons on a handset rather than voice prompts. Keep costs down 44% are very conscious of call costs which increases with retirement age. Don’t keep themwaiting 3.9minutes is seen as a reasonable hold time; longer than 5 minutes is unreasonable. Catch thembefore they go 69% of those surveyed said they’d hang up after 10minutes. Men are the most impatient hanging up after 8.3 minutes.

Mornings work best Most people prefer to call between 9am and 12pm, especially those agedover 65. Don’t repeat yourself Listening to a recordedmessage on repeat is the most annoying feature of contacting a call centre. Get in the queue The most popular recordedmessage is ‘you are position x in the queue’, followed by ‘all our agents are currently busy, press 1 and we’ll call you back’. Get to the point A long greeting message and rigid script reading were found to be the most annoying aspects of a call centre.

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Back to Business

Mailmark Economy

Home is where the new contact centre is

Back to Business Incentive An Advertising Mail incentive for all customers posting a minimumof 50,000 incremental items. A discounted postage rate of 12p per letter is offered, with postage credits to be used on futuremailings. Back to Business Extra Incentive Aimed at larger posting customers sending a minimumof 2.5 million incremental items. The postage rate for these volumes is 10p per letter. The application deadline for both incentives is 25 September 2020, and is applicable for mailings scheduled between 28 September – 24 December 2020. For more information talk to your Whistl Account Manager or visit: https://www.royalmailwholesale.com/back-to-business-incentives

This service is launching in January 2021, with prices to be announced in October 2020. • Lower-priced letter delivery for non time-critical letters – transactional or promotional • Delivery timeframe of 1-4 working days after handover to Royal Mail – with a target of 45% delivered the day after handover We’ll be in touch when prices are published, in themeantime contact your Whistl Account Manager for more information.

Customer service can often be one of themost difficult tasks in a business. As an organisation grows, there aremore customers to deal with, meaning more demands, more queries, andmore complaints. As a result, more andmore companies are turning towards outsourcing their customer service calls to companies. Withmany agents nowworking from home here are some of the benefits:

Reduced costs Choosing to outsource customer service to work-at-home agents rather than hiring additional staff keeps your overheads low as there’s no need to spendmore money on equipment, larger premises, electricity, or other overhead costs. Broader talent pool Maximising the chance tomatch agent to customer need whether this be a language need or technical support, improving call resolutions and customer satisfaction. Increased availability By working at home, agents are more available to work around other commitments, offering extended hours without increasing headcount.

Better balance Call volumes can be shared across the workforce creating a better balance in costs and call volumes to each call agent. Improved flexibility You can easily take on additional members of staff when call volumes are higher during seasonal promotions and new product launches. If you’d like to find out how outsourcing your contact centre toWhistl can help you save money, call us for a friendly chat on 01628 702 413, visit www.whistl.co.uk/contact-centre or email [email protected]

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2020

What keeps Brits buying

TOP TIPS TO REDUCE SHIPPINGCOSTS

With a surge in online shopping it’s vital for businesses to understand that final basket sales can be impacted bymore than just the cost of an item. The convenience of deliveries, howmuch packaging is used and how and when the customer’s goods arrive can have a huge impact on an e-retailer’s market share. Here are just some of the insights we gained fromour research about what customers want when buying online.

Use a carrier manager By leveraging the buying power of a carrier manager, you can access significantly discounted delivery rates by combining your shipping volumes with many other retailers.

Shipping is becoming the battleground for online retailers. Price is not the only weapon of choice when it cames to crushing the competition, shipping – andmore precisely, free shipping – plays an important role for consumers when weighing up who to buy from. Our recent research has revealed several useful pointers for online retailers. • Free delivery is rated as themost important consideration for online shoppers. 95% aremore likely tomake a purchase if delivery is free • Shoppers are willing to ‘overbuy’ tomeet the basket value threshold for free delivery • Points systems for frequent shoppers, and ‘membership’ services like Amazon Prime, are increasingly being offered as means of access to free delivery Before committing to free delivery, you should first carefully consider your shipping cost, customer location, speed of delivery and type of items that are likely to sell more. It’s all about striking the right balance between offering themost cost-effective delivery options, meeting customers’ expectations and accessing competitive delivery rates. Free shipping wins customers

To find out more about how you can reduce shipping costs download our white paper at www.whistl.co.uk/research oversized boxes and excessive packaging. Tailor-made packaging for your product line will help you increase savings by reducing the size and dimensional weight of shipments whilst also reducing the need for excessive packaging. Get to know your customers Managing your shipping options allows you to delight customers and keep costs in check. By understanding what your customers want and how quickly they need their items, you can tailor what shipping options you offer according to your customer base. Offer a range of delivery options If you sell products of different weights and sizes, you could actually reduce shipping costs and save yourself money, simply by using more than one courier service. Different providers will be more cost-effective for certain parcel types. Minimise your packaging Make sure you’re not using

MORE MEN PURCHASE ITEMS ONLINE DAILY/ WEEKLY THANWOMEN

Whistl and Independent mail and parcel broker, UKPWorldwide joined forces to offer a simple, seamless customs clearance process for customers sending international items. The collaboration means that customers of bothWhistl and UKPWorldwide will benefit from their goods passing through UK customs approved processes without any unnecessary delay. • In-house customers clearance for compliance and speed • Covers mail, packets & parcels (tracked & untracked), plus returns from specified territories. Nick Wells, CEO of Whistl, said: “As the UK’s trading relationships with the wider world are changing, it’s important for customers to be working with experts in the international import and export mail and parcel sector who can navigate this complex compliance journey. “By working with UKP, Whistl continues to simplify the delivery management process by taking away unnecessary hurdles that can impede efficient and reliable delivery both in the UK and internationally.” Lee Bucktrout, CEO of UKPWorldwide added: “Whether you import, export or tranship parcels, it’s imperative to select a partner who understands local and international regulations. “This collaboration allows UKPWorldwide to provide clearance solutions and seamless transfer to the Whistl carrier network with a single point of contact for customs clearance, final mile delivery andmanaged returns.” COLLABORATION SIMPLIFIES CUSTOMS CLEARANCE

CLOTHES / FASHION IS THE MOST POPULAR CATEGORY IN EVERY REGION OF GREAT BRITAIN

MEN DO NOT CONSIDER THE CONVENIENCE OF DELIVERY AS IMPORTANT AS WOMEN

FINDTHEABILITYTOSPECIFY LOCATIONVERY/ SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

OF THOSE SURVEYED FELT MINIMISING THE AMOUNT OF PACKAGING IS IMPORTANT

To find out howWhistl can help you savemoney on shipping costs through multi-carrier deliverymanagement email [email protected]

DELIVERY COST AND ENSURING THE PACKAGE ARRIVES SAFELY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO THOSE PURCHASING ONLINE

HALF WOULD BEWILLING TO PAY MORE FOR ECO - FRIENDLY PACKAGING AND THIS INCREASES WITH AGE

OF BRITS ARE MORE LIKELY TO MAKE A PURCHASE IF DELIVERY IS FREE

SHOPPERS WILL ‘OVERBUY’ TO MEET THE FREE DELIVERY THRESHOLD

‘WHAT DO YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT?’ visit www.whistl.co.uk/research/ what-your-online-customers-want

DOWNLOAD OUR WHITE PAPER

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2020

Shopping without frontiers – the boom in international e-commerce

Planes are flying again, the freight lanes are open and international e-commerce is set to resume its upward growth trajectory. Recent research conducted across six countries by Whistl has revealed the trends and behaviours that are driving cross-border online shopping. • Fashion is the biggest cross-border market, closely followed by electric/tech • People shop on overseas websites primarily because of ‘a better price’ • A third of shoppers check the returns procedure before pressing the buy now button

• PayPal ismore popular than credit cards as the payment method • International shoppers are a diverse bunch – with an equal gender split and the over 60s matching the millennials. Whistl is well-placed to help UK based online retailers capitalise on the boom in cross-border trade. Our range of outbound delivery services, including customs clearance, is not only comprehensive, but comes with support and advice that is available to both those looking to expand their online offering into overseas markets, and those already with an international customer base. Formore informationaboutour international services, email [email protected].

New research by Parcelhub, themulti-carrier delivery management provider that’s part of Whistl, has found that almost 70% of mid-market retailers fail tomeet their required customer service standards. The survey asked 100 British mid-market retailers how well they are responding to their customers’ delivery needs, with 69% of respondents saying they are struggling to respond effectively to customer queries. 72% of those surveyed were also considering outsourcing delivery tracking to a third party with 84% stating they are willing to outsource tracking to a delivery management provider. SimonWright, Marketing Manager at Parcelhub, commented: “Our research shows that larger retailers have the size and scale to be able to adapt to customer demand, but smaller retailers do not have the critical mass tomanage these complex carrier relationships efficiently. “It demonstrates the value that a multi-carrier delivery management provider like Parcelhub can bring to smaller retailers. We offer a variety of shipping options through one multi-carrier system and once the parcel has been shipped, we can take care of any queries that may arise in the process.” E-retailers struggling to meet customer service standards

STRUGGLE TO MANAGE THEIR CUSTOMER QUERIES EFFECTIVELY

ARE CONSIDERING OUTSOURCING DELIVERY TRACKING TO A THIRD PARTY

FASHION IS THE NO1 PURCHASE FOR INTERNATIONAL ONLINE SHOPPERS

A BETTER PRICE IS THE NO1 MOTIVATION FOR BUYING INTERNATIONALLY

ARE PLANNING TO INVEST IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT

“SETTING THE INNOVATION AGENDA WITH PROACTIVE DELIVERY” VISIT PARCELHUB.CO.UK / WHITEPAPER

DOWNLOAD OUR WHITE PAPER

ARE INVESTING IN OUTSOURCED CUSTOMER SERVICE OPERATIONS

For more information about Parcelhub’s range of ecommerce solutions visit www.parcelhub.co.uk or call 01159 503 018.

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2020

The charity Coin Carrier Use Doordrop Media to encourage cash donations

WHISTL NAMED GLOBAL LEADER IN SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

WHY DIRECT MAIL STILL WORKS Although we now live in a digitally- driven world it doesn’t mean that business direct mail is dead. In fact, recent research by the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMAIL) shows businessmail has the highest interaction rates of all mail types. Here we share some of those insights that prove business direct mail still works.

What was your involvement in the campaign? We were appointed to apply our >Page 1 Page 2-3 Page 4-5 Page 6-7 Page 8-9 Page 10-11 Page 12

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