Satisfying your customers is critical for your business but at times it can be demanding and unpredictable. Despite this, a great terminal will always go out of its way to help as many customers as possible and continually boost customer relationships. The reason is obvious: satisfied customers are more likely to return and maintain business with you.
Striving for maximum customer satisfaction is good business, regardless of the challenges involved.
So, how can your terminal approach the problem of customer satisfaction? Here are some actionable tips.
Streamlined Operations
In the world of terminal management, delays, wait times, and confusion are profit-killers.
Longer wait times mean cargo will move more slowly, causing delays that trickle down the queue. This means cargo ships wait around for longer, while equipment and employees are strained to their limits and trucks are spending more time on the terminal or stuck in backups at the gate—increasing the chances of mistakes and confusion.
Inefficient terminal operations will lead to:
- Slower turn times, delays, and increased costs for all stakeholders
- A higher-stress environment for your employees, who will be forced to work harder to relieve congestion
- Potential regulatory or compliance issues
Each of these problems can significantly impact customer satisfaction, leading to long-term reputational damage and loss of business.
Strategies for Minimizing Wait Times and Maximizing Efficiency
With this broad perspective, it’s clear to see that it’s important to streamline the efficiency of your terminal if you’re interested in maximizing customer satisfaction.
- Invest in Your Technology: Perform regular technology audits to ensure you’re getting the most of what modern software can offer
- Continuously Monitor Performance: Set concrete performance goals and metrics and invest in a system that can help you monitor your improvement
- Actively Seek Customer Feedback: Make sure you’re listening to the ones who matter most. Find out what your customers love about your operation and what they think needs improvement
A Methodical Approach to Prioritizing Customer Needs
Taking a customer-centric approach means prioritizing your customers’ needs above all else. Shipping companies and cargo owners have specific needs that only efficient terminal management can meet. Your opportunity is to prove you have the expertise to add value and keep their cargo moving.
3 Customer-Centric Solutions to Try
Here are just a few examples of customer-centric strategies you can follow to boost customer satisfaction:
- Prioritize Communication: There’s nothing more frustrating for customers than feeling like they’re left in the dark. Ensure your communication systems facilitate prompt responses and even proactive communication to give your customers peace of mind and allow them to trust that you’re there to support them when they need it
- Offer Customized Services: Consider adapting terminal operations to suit the needs of specific customer segments better. This could mean offering specialized handling or flexible scheduling for unique cargo types
- Empower Your Staff: Your staff are the primary representatives of your company. Make sure they’re well-trained and equipped with the tools and authority necessary to resolve problems and keep things flowing smoothly on the ground
Harnessing Automation and Data with Seamless Integrations
Though many customers may have unique requests, needs, communication styles, and standards, they all share one thing in common: they want their cargo handled quickly, efficiently, and with no errors. If you can achieve this every time, you’ll keep your terminal competitive and improve your customer relationships across all of your segments.
That’s why investing in your technology integration capabilities is one of the most critical steps you can take if you want to maximize customer satisfaction.
Automate to Improve Efficiency
Automation is a major focus of today’s technology landscape, so a centralized terminal operating system (TOS) that can handle diverse applications and easily integrate new technologies, including automation, is a must-have.
For example, Mainsail, Tideworks’ next-generation marine TOS, smooths your transition to automation. Automation that can help:
- Drive efficiency and productivity
- Increase safety
- Enhance accuracy
- Optimize resources
- Extend hours of operation
- Improve inventory management
Use Data-Driven Insights for Better Decision-Making
It’s not enough to just collect information. Without proper organization or search tools, the data is simply noise that may be time-consuming to sort through.
A TOS like Mainsail can help you sift through mountains of data and improve your terminal management:
- Turn raw information into actionable insights with interactive search tools
- Get access to deep, structured, reliable reports you can use over and over again, as well as the ability to on the fly ad-hoc reports to help you address dynamic problems
- Centralize information across multiple systems using Tideworks Unified Gateway (TUG), as well as global information hubs like Advent eModal
Invest in Staff Development for Excellent Customer Service
If your goal is to improve your customer satisfaction, starting with customer service is a natural first step.
To do this, your frontline employees must be trained and empowered to resolve customer issues in a customer-friendly way and prioritize building long-term relationships over short-term gains.
A skilled and knowledgeable workforce will help your terminal run more smoothly, but it will also help your customer satisfaction by:
- Giving your customers someone to trust when things go wrong and need fixing
- Building a reputation as a customer-oriented terminal that will always prioritize the needs of its clients
- Putting a friendly and reliable face on your company
- Providing a stable foundation for future improvements and transitions
All of this is why Tideworks chooses to work closely with our own customers anytime they need us. We know that if we can contribute to helping empower their employees and adopting our systems, our customers will be better suited to get the most out of our technology and see their terminal grow now and into the future.
Empower Your Terminal for the Future: Chart a Course with Tideworks
Prioritizing customer satisfaction in terminal management is not just good practice—it’s smart business.
Satisfied customers are more likely to return and become brand advocates. Streamlining operations, adopting a customer-centric approach, integrating technology, and investing in staff training are all key steps toward achieving this goal.
Tideworks understands the importance of focusing on customers because it’s how we’ve built our business. We know that when our customers thrive, so do we.
If you’re interested in cutting-edge technological solutions that can ease your transition to automation while maximizing customer satisfaction, take a look at what Tideworks has to offer.