I wrote an article back in the 1980s about the last four feet of the journey of a product to the consumer. This was really focussed on the impact of the retail salesperson in the last four feet of the journey. Now I think the important last four feet is that of the courier delivery driver; they may be a subcontractor of the vendor, but they are a part of the brand experience.
Here is my rewritten article that focuses on the last four feet being that of the courier delivery driver.
Let’s put the job of the courier driver into perspective. As an online retailer, we spend time and money researching and developing new products to sell on our website. We distribute them around the world and ship them to our customers. We spend a lot of money on advertising and promotions to increase awareness and build consumer interest and desire.
This gets products ready for shipment and helps build order volume, but it all has to be done before the consumer receives anything.
Meanwhile, courier companies invest in large fleets and logistics networks. They incur many of the same costs as retailers – fuel, insurance, maintenance, technology, and of course their own advertising.
And all this before the package gets loaded into the courier’s van. When it does, nothing is certain: we cannot guarantee the outcome. But an opportunity exists to safely deliver the product and therefore complete the journey.
The Last Four Feet
This last phase of the product’s journey is what we call the Last Four Feet. It is where the customer and the courier driver meet.
Anyone can work out their own ‘delivery success ratio’ or percentage chance of a package being properly delivered. The purpose of working with a courier company strategically is to increase that percentage and therefore reduce the chance of a failed delivery. If every courier increased their success rate by just ten per cent – i.e. by properly delivering 33 packages instead of the usual 30 – an increase in customer satisfaction and retention of 100% is not unrealistic. This can be achieved by improved recruitment, engagement programmes, appropriate training and good leadership.
If customers regularly tweet about damaged packages or missed deliveries, then the company should ask whether its couriers are being totally successful.
As the vendor/brand selling to consumers, don’t abdicate the delivery to the consumer. Own the entire process including the last four feet. If the last four feet go wrong, it is your responsibility; your consumer has expectations of you. The final delivery is a component of your product, service and brand. Dealt with correctly, it can become a differentiator for you.
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