What Does Wismo Mean? Why it matters to your Business?

Post-pandemic, online purchasing has exploded like never before. Everyone is shopping online, which speeds up the transition from traditional shopping to eCommerce.

In the past, customers could go directly to the store to try and buy products, but now they can sit at home and quickly press the order button. Since the outstanding development of eCommerce, customers no longer have to spend time going to stores and queuing to buy goods. Instead, they always choose to browse products and place orders on their phones or laptops.

However, convenience sometimes brings many risks that customers worry about, such as orders not meeting expectations, customers waiting too long for orders, or even not knowing where their orders are. This is the time they constantly ask the retailer: “Where Is My Order?” - It is WISMO meaning.

What Does WISMO mean?

What does WISMO mean? This is an abbreviation for the phrase “What Is My Order?” and it is exactly the question that customers ask retailers to know the status of their orders. WISMO arises in many cases when customers feel that their orders are encountering issues during the delivery process.

The rise of eCommerce has made WISMO a crucial component of the overall customer experience. When an online order is successfully confirmed, every customer will always want the order to be delivered to their doorstep as quickly as possible, and within how long they will receive the order.

This shows that customers are accustomed to the ability to view and control their orders. So if your business cannot meet this demand, it will directly result in a poor customer experience, worse still, they will leave and remove you from their shopping list. When the WISMO rate is high, it means that the business's supply chain process is facing issues.

On the contrary, businesses that are able to effectively address WISMO and provide transparency to their customers about the expected orders can gain a significant competitive advantage. Whether your business is large or small, you will receive at least one call from a customer regarding WISMO, and this is when you need to take measures to reassure the customer and verify their order.

Make every effort to build customer loyalty for your business.

Reasons for the Rise in WISMO Requests

With the rapid development after the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more online shopping transactions happening every day. This leads to customers becoming increasingly reliant on tracking orders and delivery routes to compensate for the lack of direct interaction.

In the eCommerce market, a giant like Amazon is always the preferred choice of customers for its convenience and transparency in the delivery process. From providing real-time order tracking to proactive order status updates, it has built a strong trust with customers for this brand. And of course, customers will also raise their expectations when buying from other businesses.

But to control and meet the needs of customers is something not every business can do. The biggest reason is the increase in WISMO requests coming from overloaded orders and the inability of businesses to update the status regularly as customers desire. Typical examples are during holidays or peak seasons, when the shipment volume skyrockets, causing delays in delivery time compared to the expected. The majority of WISMO calls are for this reason.

In addition, during the waiting time for the order to be delivered, the customer will continuously track their orders. If the order is delayed somewhere, they will worry and contact the business and ask “What is my order?” and a series of different complaints such as:

• “Why is my order arriving later than expected?”
• “I cannot know the status of my order”
• “When will I receive the goods?”

In summary, the development of eCommerce, changing customer expectations, complexity in implementation, as well as the desire for control and certainty all contribute to increasing the demand for WISMO in the post-pandemic retail context.

Read more: 12 Challenges in Warehouse Management And How To Deal with It.

The Importance of WISMO for E-commerce Businesses

WISMO plays a very important role for eCommerce businesses. This directly affects the customer experience, so WISMO is a factor that your business must pay special attention to and ensure that it meets the needs to retain customers. When shopping online, customers will have certain expectations after placing an order as follows:

• Comprehensive order tracking: Customers want a robust tracking system that provides end-to-end visibility into the status of their orders, from the moment it is placed to the point of delivery. This includes details such as when the order was processed, when it was shipped, which carrier is handling the delivery, the current location of the package, and the estimated delivery date.

  Customers expect this information to be easily accessible, whether through the eCommerce website, mobile app, or automated notifications.

• Time: Customers want to receive timely updates and notifications about their order status, particularly if there are any delays or changes to the expected delivery timeline. When purchasing online, customers always expect faster delivery in a couple of days (2~3 days). If any brands didn’t offer this demand, they would not buy.
• Personalized updates: After completing an order, customers want control over how and when they receive order status updates (email, SMS, app notifications, etc).
• Proactive communication: Next to updates, customers also highly appreciate the proactive communication of the business when they are informed about any issues or disruptions that may affect their orders, thereby reducing the likelihood of disappointment or dissatisfaction.
• Responsive customer support: When customers have questions or concerns about their order, they want to be able to easily contact the eCommerce business and receive prompt and helpful assistance. Responsive and effective customer support helps build customer trust and loyalty, as it demonstrates the business’s commitment to delivering a positive customer experience.

Read more: What Does Order Waiting Fulfillment Mean?

Strategies to Enhance Customer Satisfaction and Reduce Question “WISMO”

WISMO is a standard for evaluating customer experience. The lower this ratio, the better the shopping experience of the business. But conversely, when the number of WISMO received is too high, the business should consider and implement appropriate strategies to satisfy customers and minimize the question “WISMO”.

• Transparency and updated order information: Provide customers with all the statuses of their orders from the moment they are placed, each processing step, packaging, time shipping, and delivery. Make sure this status is updated immediately so that customers always know the exact status of their orders. Your business can provide this transparency and visibility through features like order tracking pages, mobile app updates, and email/SMS notifications.
• Up-to-date notifications about customer orders: Proactively send order status updates to customers at key milestones, such as order received and processing, order shipped, including tracking information, estimated delivery date and delivery confirmation.
• Providing package protection/insurance: Your business can offer customers the ability to purchase package protection or insurance directly during the checkout process. This can include options such as delivery insurance to cover the full value of the item in case of loss, damage, or theft. Buying package insurance will help shoppers feel more secure when shopping, thereby reducing WISMO questions.
• Free shipping/return policy: The offer of free shipping/return on all orders will make the customers happier when purchasing online and they tend to buy more than usual. You can communicate the free shipping offer prominently throughout the website, including the homepage, product pages and checkout.

Practical Solutions to Manage and Reduce WISMO Queries With FBE

WISMO is a challenging problem that every business must solve. But if your business is still new and cannot fully control all the issues causing WISMO, you can choose to collaborate with EFEX to optimize the goods transportation process.

As an eCommerce company, Fulfillment by EFEX (FBE) is a service that allows businesses to store or fulfill orders across multiple sales channels. EFEX provides comprehensive solutions to support the process of delivering your goods to customers as quickly as possible. With EFEX, your business will eliminate concerns about packaging and storage until the order is shipped.

With advanced technology and many years of experience in the Fulfillment field worldwide, FBE has a professional operating process and a highly specialized customer care team that is always ready to handle all risks that may occur with customer orders thoroughly.

At EFEX, we bring personalized and tailored Fulfillment solutions to each business. With our outstanding All-in-one solution, EFEX will easily reduce costs and optimize operations for your business. Currently, EFEX has expanded globally and achieved significant sales growth with cross-border order services. This is evidence of the quality of service at EFEX.

Any questions or concerns about WISMO and EFEX services, you can contact us for a free consultation and many other benefits when cooperating with us.