Two of the focusses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. With some much of business today taking place online, the proper and timely shipment of orders is critical. Properly managing this one piece of your operation can pay huge dividends. The following contributed post is entitled, Better Order Shipments For Peace Of Mind.
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Now that a lot of companies sell their products online, they have had to think long and hard about how to dispatch and ship customers’ orders. This is now such a huge part of the whole customer experience that it really is essential that you do all that you can to make sure that your shipments are timely and that they don’t end up draining your budget too much.
Do you think it’s time that you reviewed your shipment process? Use these tips for some peace of mind when it comes to shipping and deliveries.
Use A Reliable Courier
Firstly, you need to decide how you are actually going to get your orders to the customers. Some companies decide to bring all deliveries in house and hire their own drivers. This isn’t necessary, though, and you might find that it is a lot more time and cost efficient if you outsource all of your deliveries to a courier. Make sure you find a firm that is reliable. The best way to find a trusted company is to take a look online at reviews, like CRST reviews, or to find some word-of-mouth recommendations.
Focus On Shipping On Time
You might already know that one of the things that customers complain about the most is slow delivery times. Delays in receiving their orders can cause issues for customers, and it will only end up ruining your business’s reputation if you are already delivering late. So, make sure that your orders are dispatched from your office or warehouse in plenty of time. If you put a lot of work into this and bring down shipment times, then you will find that your reputation starts to improve significantly.
Let Your Customers Track Their Orders
There is no reason why you shouldn’t let your customers track their packages once they have left your office or warehouse. In fact, some research shows that having the ability to track packages is something that a lot of customers really appreciate. So, if you offer this service, then you will find that a lot more people are happier with the shipments that you offer. That’s because they can plan when to be in to receive their order and will also be notified about any delays rather than left in the dark about them.
Offer Free Returns
Something else that many customers look for when they are deciding which company to buy from is free returns. There are lots of reasons why a customer might want to return a product, and not being able to could end up being really frustrating for them. Not only that, but having to pay to return an item can also really annoy customers. So, why not offer free returns? This shouldn’t cause any extra hassle or work for you, and it’s one step to improving your customer service as a whole.
Once you do start to use these tips for your shipments, you will find that your customers start to regard your company a lot better than what they once did. And you can also enjoy some peace of mind!