Most subscription retailers know what their own customer experience looks like from start to finish. But wouldn’t it be interesting to take a peek inside how another brand does things?
You’d be able to see what their online ordering process and checkout flow looks like, examine their packaging and shipping time, and with an unboxing, you’d get to see exactly what the product looks like when it arrives at the customer’s doorstep.
The good news is: You get to do that today.
I documented my experience ordering a subscription product from start to finish, and am going to walk you through what that was like. Let’s jump right in.
The online ordering experience
Any true coffee lover will tell you that subscriptions + coffee just makes sense. You drink it — and then you need more. STAT. Finding myself in this very situation, I went to the Verve Coffee Roasters website to look into their recurring coffee subscriptions.
The ordering process was simple and laid out in a four-step process, complete with illustrations. The steps were:
- Select your coffee
- Select whole bean or ground
- Select quantity
- Select frequency of delivery
From there, I was directed to the shopping cart where I could review my subscription purchase and enter my payment details. Because Verve uses Recharge, the subscription was built seamlessly into the checkout experience.
Verve also uses Shopify for their ecommerce sales, so the checkout workflow was only two pages long — with no long forms or required account creation to hold up the process. One page was for reviewing my order, and the other was for entering my payment and shipping details. Very simple, fast, and without any major points of friction.
Post-order
After I completed my purchase, I got an email in my inbox confirming the order and inviting me to complete my account so I could customize my shipping schedule on future orders (which I appreciated). It also shared an email address I could contact with any questions about my order.
I received another email when my shipment was out for delivery, complete with a tracking number so I could get an ETA on my package.
Accessing my Account
I realized I needed to update my delivery date (due to an upcoming vacation), so I logged in and found it was pretty simple to change the delivery date for my future orders. I also noticed that I could increase my frequency of delivery — in case I needed a re-stock sooner than expected.
Unboxing the Order
The order arrived by the end of the business week and was in a nicely branded package when I came home to find it in my mailbox.
As soon as I opened the package, the smell of the coffee flooded my living room — and it was delightful. A+ scent-based unboxing experience. My bag of coffee fit perfectly within the package and I found my order receipt enclosed there as well.
Upon first brew, I knew I’d made the right choice with my selection — and was excited to have a recurring shipment of this delicious coffee headed my way every four weeks. Bonus: It’s one less thing for me to remember.
Wrap Up & Summary
Overall, there were a few elements that stood out about the customer experience with Verve:
- The whole process of selecting and ordering a subscription process was ultra-simple. From start to finish, it took less than four minutes.
- The product arrived quickly, and I was always kept in the loop about the status of my order.
- The product arrived in well-branded packaging — and the product itself was excellent.
All of these elements made for a positive experience — and they’re things you should consider within your own business, too. Think about how you can improve processes for customers to set them up for home-run subscriptions that earn revenue for you month after month.
