The explosion in ecommerce has led to a real boom in the courier and parcel delivery service industry. There are now more companies than ever before who are offering competitive rates and raving about the quality of service that they can offer – but beware, using the wrong London courier service can have a huge impact on the reputation and success of your business. Here we look at three things businesses need to be aware of when shipping parcels.
Shipping Can Make or Break Your Business
Up until the point of shipping, companies are in complete control of their customer service and satisfaction. The quality of the product, the information given to customers, and the speed at which orders are processed are all in-house. Implementing a reliable customer order management solution can help streamline this process, as it ensures that every stage leading up to shipping is handled efficiently and accurately. Once you let go of the reins, however and put your trust into the hands of a parcel delivery firm, you lose control and so you need to know the service can live up to your expectations.
Choosing a service like the one offered by TNT makes a lot of business sense. You are able to choose the speed of delivery in accordance with your needs and rest assured that the parcel will arrive safely and on time.
Packaging and the Personal Touch
Another important consideration is the packaging. The way an item looks when it first arrives at its destination says a great deal about you as a company and to a large degree, dictates the condition of the item upon arrival.
Packaging that is fit for purpose, but also embodies the values of your company is paramount to customer satisfaction. Packaging is best kept discreet, but with some subtle branding, robust enough to protect the contents, but small enough to be efficient and cost-saving. For a winery, this could be custom corks for wine makers that are durable and have branding on them, whereas in the fashion industry, this is more likely to be the bag or box that the items come in. This is a fine balance and takes some consideration in order to get right.
Ensuring there is a return address printed or labelled on the packaging is also a great idea and helps with lost items or returns. Finally, a personal touch is also good practice, a card expressing gratitude for the business or better still a discount voucher to encourage return trade is all it takes.
The Cost of Shipping
Taking into account the finite cost of shipping is sometimes overlooked and can easily eat into margins. Knowing precisely how much you will be paying to ship items and passing that cost on to your customers is a practice that needs to be enacted clinically.
Every penny counts in business and so the cost of shipping is important. Bear in mind that customers would rather pay a little more for a good service than be left waiting or receive damaged goods.
Follow these three basic requirements and your shipping needs will be fulfilled, leaving customers happy and ready to use your services again.
