{"id":11604,"date":"2021-10-14T09:02:34","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T09:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/?p=11604"},"modified":"2021-10-15T00:54:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T00:54:51","slug":"value-of-options-customer-service-retention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/2021\/10\/14\/value-of-options-customer-service-retention\/","title":{"rendered":"Value of Options: Customer Service & Retention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Arredondo, co-founder and vice president of customer success, Cargo Chief<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Given the volatility in today\u2019s market, customer service is a topic that is top of mind across the industry.\u00a0 Brokers are struggling to cover loads and meet volume commitments, while customer relationships are being put to the test.\u00a0 Although automation has become increasingly important over the past several years, it is apparent that a broker\u2019s services go well beyond automation alone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Role of Automation<\/b><\/h3>\n

As is often mentioned, transportation is a relationship industry…and relationships are rarely built on automation alone.\u00a0 The reality is that brokerage is about more than simply assigning carriers to loads.\u00a0 It is about problem solving and providing consultative services to your clients.\u00a0 Best-in-class brokers have a holistic understanding of their customers\u2019 business and provide services that go beyond just automation; they provide a multitude of options based on their clients\u2019 specific needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be clear, there are certainly scenarios where automation is the best course of action.\u00a0 Where a broker has strong carrier relationships and\/or consistent lanes, there is ample opportunity for automation to be the most effective way to book freight.\u00a0 However, that only describes a portion of a broker\u2019s business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other portion is where carrier options become important.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Options When Automation Breaks Down<\/b><\/h3>\n

This portion involves the problem loads, the one-off carriers, the situations where automation breaks down or where a scenario simply requires a human touch.\u00a0 Transportation is full of problems and a broker\u2019s day often involves situations that require creative problem solving, not automatically assigning what appears to be the best carrier for a load.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an example, there are times when a digitally booked carrier is not the best fit for a particular load.\u00a0 Superficially, maybe the carrier meets all the load requirements, but there is more to carrier selection and customer service than merely meeting minimum requirements.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A good broker will know the relative importance of price or on-time-delivery in the eyes of their customer.\u00a0 Perhaps an alternative carrier would be able to provide a better rate or better service, but need to have the load picked up at a different time.\u00a0 Automation does not take that into account.\u00a0 However, having those options and being able to bring them to a customer is an essential part of a broker\u2019s value.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, what happens when a digitally booked carrier falls off a load at the last minute?\u00a0 A broker might be able to recover on another digitally booked carrier, but more likely they will need to manually reach out to their network.\u00a0 Again, the ability to generate options at this point is a key differentiator for brokers.<\/span><\/p>\n

A final piece to note is the importance of giving customers visibility into these options, when applicable.\u00a0 Having visibility into this data is hugely important for shippers to understand their business.\u00a0 For example, a customer having no luck moving a load with a tight transit time benefits much more from knowing that their broker has three options for a later delivery appointment, rather than simply being told there are no available trucks.\u00a0 It helps shippers improve their internal processes and a broker educating their customer in this way does nothing but strengthen their relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Broker\u2019s Value Proposition<\/b><\/h3>\n

Overall, while automation is becoming more important for customer service and retention, it is certainly not the only requirement.\u00a0 An integral piece of a broker\u2019s value proposition is the ability to provide different carrier options to meet the specific business needs of customers.\u00a0 Luckily, there is technology available to help brokers gain more visibility into their data and better leverage their carrier networks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn about other ways in which optionality impacts a broker\u2019s business, check out our latest guide, \u201cThe Value of Options in a Tight Market<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Arredondo, co-founder and vice president of customer success, Cargo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demos.pagifly.eu\/cargochief-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}