You run a retail business. It’s a
competitive marketplace and your customers are important to you.
How do you differentiate yourself to customers? Better pricing? Great customer service? Promotions? New and trendy items or products?
Hey, whatever is working and is successful for you, keep doing it. And keep testing new ‘stuff’... Afterall, you know your business better than anyone else. You also know the effort it takes to acquire new customers and keep current customers happy. It’s not easy.
How about offering deliveries?
Make it convenient for your customers to purchase from you. Increase that lifetime value of that customer! Depending upon what you sell, it may make sense to offer deliveries.
If your customers are local, there seems to be various ways to offer deliveries.
A. One way is to use one of those big online systems that are very ‘trendy’ and popular right now. You can digitally request a delivery and they will have someone come, pick up your product, and have it delivered to the customer. But…
That’s the easy way out but not necessarily the best thing for your business. Using them, you don’t know who is making the delivery and how they will treat your customer. These delivery people are basically just trying to complete as many deliveries as possible. They do not care about your business. Remember, these delivery people are a reflection on you, your business and your brand. When they show up at the destination with your product they represent you.
B. The better way is to handle the delivery yourself. When I say yourself, I mean you or one of your employees.
Every contact you have with a customer is an opportunity. A friendly delivery person makes your customer feel appreciated. Treat them like they’re special. You can also have your delivery person present them with a promotion, coupon, or other message. You control the relationship with your customer.
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When you have one of these outside delivery services make a delivery for you, you are losing control of your customer. Who is the driver? It seems like a quick and easy solution, but, in the long run, you want to control the relationship with your customer.
How to add Deliveries? Have a car or truck? Have a responsible, friendly, personable employee? You know your business. Think about what you need to offer deliveries. It should not be difficult. We suggest speaking to your attorney and insurance agent to make sure you are not overlooking anything.
The DeliveryMark Delivery App is step #1. It’s easy to use and costs only $7 / month / driver for unlimited use. It allows you to create and track deliveries, collect signatures, add comments, take photos, create a proof-of-delivery document and more. It’s perfect for any type of delivery.
[ Here’s a previous post on how to add deliveries to your retail business. It gives a general idea of some of the items to consider.]
Adding deliveries is easy.
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About DeliveryMark: Couriers, Messengers, Truckers, Hotshots, Driveaways, Brokers, Retailers,Wholesalers, Manufacturers, and anyone delivery anything can use the DeliveryMark Delivery App.
