With grand sale days around the corner don’t let your seller/reseller network and 3rd party delivery agents tarnish your brand. Safeguard your reputation and strengthen your brand with verification.
A company’s most valuable asset is its reputation. As an e-commerce platform, the truth is that your reputation is dependent on multiple entities and individuals – sellers, resellers and, very significantly, last-mile delivery agents.
The fact remains that when a customer makes a purchase from your platform, as far as they are concerned, they are purchasing from you. The seller/reseller is a non-entity. Therefore, when there is a deficiency in service or a question about the quality, it directly affects your reputation.
The same principle applies to the person making the delivery. The agent’s behaviour, and in some cases, honesty is connected directly to the perception of your company. While many e-commerce companies plan their shipping and delivery through in-house and 3rd party delivery & logistics partners , the customer still sees them as representatives of the platform. Hence, it is still your reputation that takes a hit. And when issues like this arise, it is a multipronged threat to your reputation.
Affects more than the customer affected
The primary affected entity in the above instance is the customer himself. His experience with the agent, and subsequently the company, is not one that he will cherish. It may colour his decisions regarding the company henceforth.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. By virtue of it becoming a legal case, two more very powerful entities enter the picture. The judicial system, and the media. It is quite obvious that when the ingredients of a wronged customer, a mistake by a large MNC, and a verdict that goes in favour of ‘the little guy’ make for great news that has the potential to go viral. And it has.
The root causes
The cause of the issue, in this case, has to be laid in the integrity of the agent who made a false claim that the product had been delivered. The same principle can be extended to any individual or entity in the ecosystem.
So how does a company ensure that there is accountability among the thousands of individual agents or sellers? By nipping potential issues in the bud.
Verification – Separating the chaff from the grain
Every time an issue crops up, it leads to a clean-up in the system. But a better course would be to ensure that the system starts clean and stays that way. That’s where verifications come into the picture.
A comprehensive pre-employment or pre-onboarding verification process can help raise red flags among the potential sellers, resellers, or last-mile delivery agents. Even if the hiring of agents is outsourced to a 3rd party, insistence that they perform stringent verification should be a mandatory clause.
Accurate, convenient, and in real-time
Real-time digital verification is a quick and hassle-free process that can go a long way in protecting your reputation.
Choose a verification solution that supports API integration, and it can become even more seamless as it becomes part of your (or your vendor’s) native software. Some leading solutions leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to make the process more accurate and faster.
What are the recommended verifications for last-mile delivery agents?
As mentioned earlier, whether the agent is employed by you directly, or is an employee of your delivery partner, the name that the customer associates with him/her is yours. Therefore, before a delivery agent who will carry your company’s name is onboarded, these are the recommended checks.
- Digital Identity Verification
- Digital Address Verification
- Criminal Record check
- Social Media Check
What are the recommended verifications for sellers and resellers?
These are the recommended checks.
- Address Verification
- Credit check
- Criminal Record check
- Social Media Check
As we approach Independence Day, and online shopping is expected to rise as customers are on the lookout for sales and offers, this would be an appropriate time to evaluate and monitor the verification systems (if any) currently in use.
Because, unlike a price drop, reputation cannot be brought back to the original level easily.