If you are running an e-commerce company or selling any type of product on the market, then deliveries are always going to be important. If you want proof of this, take a look at some typical customer reviews online. You’ll find that most mention the delivery services of a company in a positive or a negative light. It’s a key factor for consumers when choosing what business they want to buy from and more than 85% will explore customer reviews before they commit to a purchase. So, you need to get this right from day one. Here are a few questions that should be on your mind when you are setting up deliveries in your business.
Should You Outsource?
The option of outsourcing is one that numerous companies are now exploring. Outsourcing simply means that you pass on a job or process in your business to another company. They will then complete that process for you and you can pay them per month or whenever you require that solution. Due to this, it can be more cost effective than hiring a full time member of staff or even a complete new team on the payroll. As such, you should explore outsourcing for areas of your business model where the costs are high.
Logistics can certainly fit the bill here. Indeed, with logistics, you would need to set up a warehouse and hire employees to operate the warehouse. If you have special products, then you could also need temperature controlled environments which makes the set up more expensive.
Of course, you should only outsource if you can get the right service for the right price. This means that you need to check reviews and ensure that a company will match your high standards.
Do You Require A Specialist Solution?
There are numerous logistics B2B companies on the market. However that doesn’t mean that they will all be able to provide the service that you need and this isn’t just about quality. You also need to think about whether you have special requirements. Are your products dangerous or could they easily be damaged? If you are transporting liquids then you need to think about the potential risk of spills. For instance, if you are selling chemicals then you will almost certainly need the support of a chemical company that specialises in this type of logistics. In doing so, you can make sure that you have a team on hand that understands the risks associated with your business?
How Can You Make Customers And Clients Happy?
Remember, we mentioned that deliveries are often a key point in customer reviews. They tend to highlight issues that they had with the delivery service that you provided. This will be the case if your deliveries are late. However, there is something that customers hate more than a late delivery and that’s being left out of the loop. The good news is that these days, you don’t have to worry about this at all. There is tech readily available that makes it easy to track deliveries and provide the key information to customers and consumers. You can keep them notified to the nearest minute as to when their delivery will arrive. This will be useful regardless of whether you are running a B2B company or providing products to private clients.
Another way to keep customers happy is to provide them with numerous options. One of the things that you need to keep in mind is the potential lost sale. Usually, customers will decide not to buy if the option that they want from your business is not available. The more options that you provide for deliveries, the less likely this becomes.
How Else Can You Keep Costs Low?
We have already mentioned outsourcing and this is typically going to be one of the best ways that you can keep the costs under control in your business. But it’s definitely not the only way that you can save money and you should be exploring alternatives.
For instance, you can think about packaging. Sourcing packaging from the right company will help ensure that you can stay on the right track here. Though it may not seem like it choosing the wrong packaging company will quickly cause the costs to build.
We hope this helps you understand why deliveries and logistics are such a crucial element of your company. If you get this right, then you will strengthen your position against the competition. You can also make sure that customers trust your business and that you earn that ever important repeat sale.
