Lifestyle

4 Things to Know About Shipping Your Products

https://unsplash.com/photos/MGaFENpDCsw

If you’ve managed to turn your hobby into a business, you have plenty of customers eager to try your products and leave you hundreds of glowing reviews. But, before enjoying success like this, you must ship your products correctly. It sounds easy enough, but neglecting to understand how to efficiently and safely send products across the country (or even across the world), can be the difference between excellent reviews and terrible reviews. 

Charge the Right Shipping Rates 

Your customers want quality products and happily pay a little extra for an assured premium. But, they also don’t want to pay too much for shipping, especially when considering the wealth of free delivery options available. Still, if they want to support small and local businesses, they should expect and accept delivery charges. 

Working out how much to charge for delivery can be tricky. Usually, you charge the cost of the postage stamp and packaging materials. However, if you’re working as a supplier and sending mass amounts of products to businesses, you need to look at freight shipping options. This can be challenging to work, but it is possible to compare freight shipping costs with this freight shipping calculator to determine a fair (and manageable) amount. 

Send Everything Off On Time 

Speedy delivery is also something you must guarantee. No one wants to order something and not have it arrive for a few weeks, especially if it is urgent. Like free delivery, customers are spoiled by rapid delivery, so you need to match this. 

You can achieve this by sending everything off on time and providing accurate shipping and delivery estimates. This can vary depending on the business, especially if everything’s made to order, but it’s vital for guaranteeing happy customers. 

Keep The Products Safe 

It’s also worth knowing how to package a product safely to ensure it arrives in perfect condition, especially if you send it over long distances. 

Fragile products require plenty of interior padding to ensure safety, but even small products could get damaged if you don’t package them correctly. Furthermore, a robust and durable packaging material, such as cardboard boxes, can add further protection. 

Stay In Touch With the Customer 

Years ago, customers were often left in the dark about where their package was. They just had to hope it would arrive on time. Now, vendors and small businesses can take advantage of technology to stay in touch with customers throughout the journey. 

Using automated alerts informs your customers of where the product is and where it will be. You can send emails regarding packing and then hand it over to the delivery services that can provide a tracking number. If the customer provides an email address, they can get real-time updates about their order and make arrangements to ensure they receive it. 

Safe and Sound 

You want your products to arrive at their destination in the same condition as when they left your office, and customers want you to keep them in the loop so that they aren’t waiting by the door for the courier or postal service to arrive. By remembering these tips, your products will have no trouble arriving at the destination in perfect condition. 

Karla Urwitz
Follow Me