Shipping has the potential to make or break your business. If you aren’t constantly on top of your shipping process, it’s almost guaranteed you’re paying unnecessary fees, and your customers are suffering from inconsistent performances from your team.
If shipping is a crucial area of your business, you have a lot to benefit from learning how to manage your shipping costs. This blog post looks at four things you can do to make shipping better for your company and your customers.
1. Take Extra Steps To Protect Your Items
Putting extra effort into protecting your items helps your company skirt avoidable mishaps. Finding ways to protect your product is especially important if you’re selling fragile items. The condition your product arrives in says a lot about your company, so it’s worth the extra effort to invest in protection.
If you’re using crumpled newspaper for cushioning, consider a new option. Newspaper packing has the potential to leave ink stains on other materials, especially if it gets hot during transport. One trick you can try is putting a small box inside a bigger box. Around the little box, you can include foam bits and other cushioning materials to restrict the movement of the small box and protect your items.
2. Get A Courier Service To Help You Out
If you do lots of local deliveries, it’s worth investing in a courier service. Courier services offer many benefits and make things a lot easier for your company. The most convenient advantage of using a courier service is the reliability. Courier services ensure your items arrive undamaged and with haste. Quick and safe delivery does a lot for your reputation in the local space.
Another reason to use a courier service is they’re affordable. Couriers usually charge per-km or a flat rate which helps keep prices low. When you factor in the speed and reliability, the fee is often quite reasonable. Being able to guarantee same day delivery in high traffic areas is something your customers will appreciate and come back for more.
3. Don’t Take Carrier Performance For Granted
Carrier fees are part of the cost of doing business, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept what your carrier company is giving you. Tracking factors such a response rates to customer service questions, the accuracy of data and the ability to keep appointment times can clue you into which of your carriers need to step their game up.
Another way to get better performance from your carriers is to get feedback from your customers. Your customers may have input about the delivery process that you may not have considered. Working with courier services often eliminates this problem since they are familiar with providing a high level of service to customers. With large national carrier company’s, you may not receive this same level of treatment.
4. Make Sure You Are Branding Your Company With Each Shipment
Shipments are an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone and squeeze some branding value out of the transportation process. You’ve probably noticed that companies like Amazon and FedEx have their own branded products included in each shipment. Using branded boxes and tape is an excellent way to reinforce your company’s brand by getting people familiar with your look.
Don’t be afraid to include some extras in your shipments. Branded bookmarks, USB sticks, and mouse pads are examples of inexpensive items you can use to help with branding. If your customers don’t keep the item for themselves, they’ll likely give it away to another person, which is excellent for increasing your reach.
All in all, shipping requires a lot of preparation ahead of time. The better you know your product and your audience, the easier it’ll be to construct an effective shipping process. Keep these four tips in mind to help serve your customers at a high level!