The American e-commerce market is set to reach over one trillion dollars in sales this year alone. The global industry is projected to generate an eye-watering six trillion dollars! To understand that a little bit better, if online sales were a country, it would be second only to China and the USA in GDP.
The only way to have a successful online business and get a massive slice of that pie is to ensure that your store is the best it can be. The easiest way to do that is to offer a fantastic, seamless user experience that is nothing but a pleasure, effectively manage your deliveries, and knock your customer service out of the park.
If you need help with managing your deliveries, you have come to the right place. Below are five of the simplest tips for doing just that:
1. Be Transparent About Your Charges
Be open and honest about your delivery charges. Some smaller businesses don’t have the luxury of offering free delivery – and that is nothing to be ashamed about.
Transparency is essential when operating an online store, especially if you want your customers to return.
2. Never Overpromise
Disappointed and frustrated customers are some of the most dangerous threats to your business. Always aim to under-promise and over-deliver. Late deliveries are inevitable at some stage, but you need to do your best to avoid them at all costs.
When communicating your shipping times, be upfront and leave room for delays and unforeseeable issues. That will allow you to meet your customer expectations, no matter what – which will keep new ones adding to their carts.
3. Offer More Delivery Options
When it comes to delivery, this isn’t an area where you should be looking to turn a sizeable profit. Trying to do so will alienate your customers and give your brand a bad online reputation – something no one can afford.
To impress your customers and win them over, you should offer more delivery options. Choose a quality service like Couriers Chicago to give your online business the upper hand. Customers value options, so avoid only offering the same bog-standard delivery option that everyone else does.
4. Warehouse Locations
Although one of the most critical aspects of deliveries is ensuring customer orders aren’t damaged, don’t be tempted to skip having multiple warehouse locations. By splitting your inventory into multiple warehouses across the country, you can ship items from the closest location and avoid making customers wait.
Multi-warehousing allows you to offer express deliveries to your customers, significantly reducing shipping bills and keeping your customers happy with speedy deliveries.
5. Inventory Management
The only way to deliver a customer’s order on time is to ensure you always have sufficient stock levels. Manage your inventory by using a management system. These systems and programs allow you to track real-time inventory by factors such as status and quantity on hand.
They also allow you to analyze historical data to prevent overstocking. Look for a program with an actionable dashboard to ensure your orders get delivered on time, every time.
