Creating and maintaining a loyal customer base can be a tough task, but it is essential to build a successful business. There are things you can do to help gain customers and keep them satisfied, and one of the best ways to do this is to provide them with reliable deliveries.
Customers who receive their orders in a timely fashion are more likely to have confidence in the business and their purchase. In fact, 70% of online customers say the speed of their delivery is one of the main aspects in their buying decisions. With this in mind, business owners should use delivery as a way to improve customer satisfaction. But how can this be achieved?
This post will uncover the four methods businesses can use deliveries to maintain a happy and devoted customer base.
Choose a Reliable Courier
The first step to ensure your customers are happy with the delivery of their purchases is to use a reliable courier. This means that the chance of any mishaps during transit is decreased as it is near impossible for products to go missing or be delayed. An example of a trustworthy courier is California Courier Services; this delivery service is offered 24/7, 365 days a year, and its customer service is “top ranked,” too.
A professional courier’s customer service will also provide you with honest and transparent communication from the courier, which can also be passed along to the customer.
Provide Simple Shipping Options
When a customer places an order with your business, they should be given different choices for shipping. These options might include:
- Free shipping: Unsurprisingly, this option is the most appealing to customers. If you offer this, the cost of shipping could be added into the cost of the products or a minimum spend could be applied.
- Standard shipping: Customers will either pay a standard shipping rate or the price will be calculated depending on what’s in their basket.
- Express/Expedited shipping: You might also want to offer same-day, next-day, or two-day shipping in the same manner as the standard shipping option.
These shipping options should be listed clearly, allowing customers to choose which one best suit their needs. You might also want to offer international shipping as well as domestic shipping to reach more customers.
Give an Accurate Estimated Delivery Date
As some customers will organize their lives around deliveries, it can be incredibly disappointing when a purchase doesn’t arrive when it was supposed to. Offering accurate delivery estimates can help to prevent issues from arising and customers complaining. You can provide the exact date of deliver as well as the time slot or a date range.
In some cases, your business could provide tracked delivery to improve the trust customers have in your service. This would allow customers to plan ahead for their deliveries without pressing pause of their day-to-day lives.
Use Branded, High-Quality Packaging
Shipping can be made safer by the use of high-quality packaging. Honeycomb paper, for example, is sturdy and protective, which is great for keeping items undamaged during transit. Customers do not want to receive damaged items, and packaging can prevent this from happening.
Not only does high-quality packaging protect the products within, it can also be a great way to show off your brand. This helps to set you apart from your competition. Branded packaging can be used to communicate the business’ message and values that the target market understands.
Customers also appreciate the extra touch that goes into personalizing their online orders, and packaging can help you do this.
Conclusion
To conclude, ensuring your customers are satisfied with the overall service of your business can be helped along by the delivery. You can do this by selecting a reputable delivery service, providing delivery options and accurate delivery estimates, and using quality packaging.
As the last step in purchasing process, this is the final chance to give your customers a positive opinion of your business.
