Order taking is an important activity and process for every single company, no matter the industry that they are in. When it comes to taking orders over the phone or via an e-commerce website it is vital that you have put in place clear processes and direction that makes the entire journey simple and secure for customers, as well as efficient, productive, and transparent for your employees. When it comes to the fast-paced modern world where there is multi-channel engagement with your customers across many different platforms, from social media to telephone calls, marketing campaigns and the company website, it is even more important that you can provide a clear and secure channel for order taking.
Remember, that there are some key factors to take into consideration when fulfilling orders. The first thing to do is to create an order taking process that is as simple as possible. Over a short period of time a simple order taking process ensures that you’ll experience higher numbers of sales over a faster period of time, whilst over a long period of time it ends up with greater brand recognition and reputation.
The first step is to take the customer order, confirming the product type that the customer wishes to purchase. Take care to retrieve information about the customer in terms of personal and delivery information, as well as purchase history (but only if that specific information is not already available on the customer database). Once you have achieved this part of the process it is time to confirm the exact details with the customer before committing to the transaction. This gives both parties time to iron put any difficulties and to minimise misunderstandings and for any changes to be made before the transaction is completed.
Once a customer has confirmed the order the process of putting the order in place from the company’s point of view begins in earnest. The information is collated and sent to the relevant departments to ensure that payment from the customer is confirmed, that the fulfilment and logistics to the order can take place and the customer can receive the item within the agreed timeframe. It is also at this stage where the customer can be asked feedback to ensure they are satisfied with the order taking process and with the company as a whole.
Having the assistance of a call centre team that understands how to effectively develop the order taking process, and can put together a clear plan of action to assist your company, could make the difference between success and failure over a long period of time. Ensure that you have the professional, expert support of a team that can be used however you see fit – whether to take initial queries before passing on to the relevant in-house departments of your company to finalise a sale, or to take the order details and payment information there and then in order to process and finalise the transaction. Order taking is a serious business and with a smooth process in place your company can grow and scale up in as smooth a fashion as possible.