Shipping packages seems like a very boring topic of conversation. When is the last time you picked up a magazine because you saw UPS on the cover?
Never.
... So let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: shipping stuff is boring.
Everything about UPS is boring. (I mean, they chose brown as their brand color; could they have picked a less exciting color?!)
What UPS did though was allow the process of receiving to be engaging, and for that, they made logistics ... dare I say ... “sexy?”
When UPS started using a tracker, it changed the way customers thought about UPS. When you knew you were getting a package, you couldn't wait to receive an email with the UPS shipping information.
Why?
Because knowing when something would arrive gave you control -- the knowledge of where your package had been, where it was at that moment, and where it was going next.
This is one of the 7 blogs in a series that examines 7 companies that have shaped the consumer experience, which have affected the title and escrow industry. As I mentioned in the first blog in this series, customer experience can be broken down into 3 main things that I call the QCCs:
- Quality product or service
- Customer care
- Customer control
If you want to learn more about the QCCs, you can check out our first blog in this series, “How the Domino’s Pizza Tracker Changed Consumer Expectations.”
As we’ve mentioned before, all 7 companies we look at in this series have mastered the quality aspect, so we won’t focus on that in this article. With UPS, it’s all about customer control.
Have you ever ordered something around the holidays and wondered why it hadn’t arrived yet?
Years ago when you might have ordered a Tickle Me Elmo for your niece or nephew, or more recently when you might have ordered a pair of AirPods to gift yourself, did you worry when the package hadn’t arrived after a couple of days?
At that point you probably frantically checked your UPS tracker to find out where your package was and when it would arrive. In cases like this, you don’t check with the shipper; you check with the shipping company.
UPS has allowed us to have confidence in the shipping company rather than the shipper. This has changed the way we see the shipment of packages. It has given us, as the consumers, the control to know where our package is because the shipping company takes responsibility.
Customer Control
The UPS tracker has changed the way we think about timelines and the status of a process. When UPS implemented its live tracker, they changed the shipping game. It went from simply shipping and receiving a commodity to pulling the curtain back and letting customers see where their packages were at every step of the way.
Similar to the Domino’s Pizza Tracker and Amazon’s shipping status updates, UPS -- in a mundane, boring, brown industry -- has allowed the recipient to know exactly where their package is and when it should arrive. It even lets you know what city the package is in at each stop and what time it arrived at each facility in those cities.
How many of us have known the expected arrival time and anxiously looked out the front window every few minutes in anticipation of UPS’s arrival?
I know I have!
Knowing the arrival date and time allows me to plan my schedule and know that I can open my package as soon as it’s delivered.
In an era when we could send packages via the post office, not knowing when it would arrive, UPS gave both the shipper and the recipient control by knowing when the package would arrive.
What Does that Mean for Your Title Company?
We have to give our consumers control. We have to let them know that they are in a process -- explaining what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. The CloseSimple visual timeline feature allows you to do just that!
One title company that uses CloseSimple told us how effective the email automation and text message updates and reminders were. One of the realtors that worked with this title company said that because of the automated updates they received from CloseSimple throughout the closing process, the realtor had 75% less questions for the title company than for another title company.
75% less questions!
Receiving the update emails and text messages proactively answered many of the realtors questions so that the realtor wasn’t left guessing. Imagine how great that realtor feels. Imagine their confidence in closing with that title company and the confidence they instill in their consumers as well.
Let CloseSimple help you look amazing by helping you provide your clients with a clear sense of control.
Do your realtors have that confidence in you? Have you done the necessary things so that the realtor and consumer feel in control, that they know the status of the file, that when they pass a file to you, you are going to complete it on time and accurately while keeping them informed along the way? Or, are they left guessing (like guessing if and when the package will arrive without having the UPS tracker)?
Check out our 5 most used email and text message templates to see how CloseSimple could help you communicate more proactively and more effectively.
Read the full eBook
How 7 non-real estate brands have impacted your customer's expectations on the closing process and what Title & Escrow companies can do to get ahead of the competition by creating a remarkable customer experience.
