5 Reasons You Should Hire a Local Express Courier Service
Finally, your business is successful enough that you need to hire a courier service for deliveries.
Congratulations on this great milestone!
But at the same time, this is a crucial moment when each decision you make can have a profound impact on the future of your business, whether for better or worse.
And the decision about which courier service to hire is a good example of that.
You’ll have to ask yourself many questions about what exactly you need from your courier service and what your budget will allow.
One of these questions is whether to go with a large national courier company or a local express courier service.
While there are pros and cons either way, we’d like to encourage you to go the local route.
Here’s why.
1- Local courier services will go the distance in customer service because they are in the same network
Superior customer service is the best way to set yourself apart from the competition. When customers feel that you value them, they are sure to keep coming back.
Unfortunately, when you hire a courier company you give up a lot of control over the customer service that your clients will receive.
In fact, delivery drivers are likely to have more face-to-face contact with your customers than anyone in your company and much of your brand reputation will depend on the quality of these interactions.
When you hire a large company, you rely on a large network of drivers. These drivers probably don’t care all that much about the experience of the delivery recipient. It’s just one more stop in their long busy day.
On the other hand, a local delivery service already knows your area. Chances are the drivers already are familiar with many of your customers.
By going local, you boost the chance that customers will see the same drivers whenever you make a delivery to them. This makes your drivers feel like they have a vested interest in nurturing good relationships with those customers. They will come to know each customer on a personal level, and to understand what they expect.
Because of this relationship, delivery drivers will take extra care when handling shipments, preventing costly damage or breakage. They’ll also be more diligent about making sure items arrive on time, and about communicating promptly if there is a delay. In addition, the delivery service will make itself available via phone and/or social media in order to respond to customer concerns. All this results in happier customers and a better brand image for your company.
After all, there’s nothing quite like a brand representative that knows your customers by name. This, more than anything, makes them feel seen and valued and keeps them coming back. It also means more positive reviews, allowing you to grow your customer base more quickly while retaining the customers you already have.
When your delivery drivers value your customers as much as you do, it’s truly a win-win. You can rest assured that your friendly neighborhood delivery drivers will make a real effort to provide a positive experience to customers, an experience that reflects well on your brand.
2- Local courier services can offer custom technology that can fit your segment.
Your company is unique in so many ways. A cookie-cutter approach, in which a delivery service applies the same solutions to all its customers, just won’t work. But unfortunately, a large courier company does not have the bandwidth to get to know each customer’s individual differences and needs.
In contrast, a local courier company has both the time and the motivation to get to know you and find out what makes you different. They can use relevant technology to provide a custom fit for your industry, products, region and customers.
A local delivery service can offer services that you might not be able to provide otherwise, such as one-day/same-day delivery and real-time tracking.
The ability to track deliveries in real time is an expectation of most consumers today. It updates you (and your customers) on each stage of the delivery process: its departure from the warehouse, its location while in transit, and its expected arrival time. This is a great convenience; however, the technology required to do so is expensive to purchase and time-consuming to manage.
By contracting with a local delivery service, you can remove that additional cost and burden from your plate, while still offering the up-to-the-minute delivery updates that your customers expect.
Another great service which a local courier company can provide is the technology for easy online ordering. This is a convenience which may be costly for you to provide, but your delivery service can provide this service to your customers so you don’t have to.
Access to these resources gives you the flexibility you need to scale up or down depending on the changing needs of your business.
Can larger courier companies provide these perks? Sure, they can. However, they cannot offer the same level of customization as a smaller, local company can. As a result, you may find yourself paying for services and solutions that you aren’t using.
A local company can take the time to get to know you, find out what your needs are, and customize a solution so that you are only paying for the tools and features that your company actually uses.
This saves you both time and money in a big way.
3- You will save time by using a local courier service that knows your market.
What’s the biggest perk to partnering with a courier service for deliveries?
In a word…time.
Delivery management is a huge and time-consuming project that never ends. It requires constant monitoring of driver performance, schedules, vehicle maintenance, and so much more.
If you work with the right courier service, they can take these burdensome tasks off your plate and free you up to focus on the core tasks of running your business. With more time to focus on marketing, customer relations, and product development, the sky is really the limit on what your company can achieve.
Hiring a local courier service maximizes this saving of time. They are familiar with the area and can navigate all the side streets, backroads and highways with ease. They know where and when the traffic is worst, and which roads may not get plowed right away in a snowstorm. This detailed knowledge makes it easy for them to plan the most efficient routes for the delivery schedule. As a result, they can make more deliveries more quickly, leading to more revenue for your business, reduced labor costs and of course, the added benefit of happy customers, too.
Besides that, their knowledge of your neighborhood is a huge asset if you want to offer same-day or one-day delivery. A larger company may promise this service, but may get derailed by unexpected traffic tie-ups or road closures. A local company can always follow through with your promises, getting a package to its destination within just a few hours. The trustworthiness of your courier service definitely reflects on you, building your image as a brand with integrity.
It’s not just your customers that benefit from quick, localized delivery service. It also makes it much easier for you to send documents, equipment or materials to remote colleagues or other businesses you partner with. With traditional mail, it could take days for them to receive these items; but a local courier service can speed up the whole process, helping to create a more efficient workflow.
This is an important consideration especially if you’re delivering perishable items such as food or medication.
Most local couriers are available 24/7, so you can move items along quickly even during weekends, evenings and holidays.
4- You can get personalized delivery support.
There are few things more frustrating than calling customer support only to be put on hold for what seems like forever.
With big companies, this is somewhat inevitable. Big companies have a lot of customers all over the country (or even the world) and they can’t always provide the reliable support that you and your customers need and deserve.
Not so with a local courier service. Their staff is readily available to help you if a package is late, or a customer needs to make a last-minute change. If there’s ever a problem, you can trust that someone will be there to answer your call. Because they are based in your area, employees can respond right away and resolve any problems promptly. This promptness and reliability build trust for your brand in your customers. The courier service can solicit feedback from customers and efficiently monitor driver performance to constantly make improvements as necessary.
In some cases, a local delivery service can even assist with storage and warehousing. They can store items in an accessible location, allowing them to move them quickly to their destination. This also has the effect of freeing up space in your own warehouse or storage facility.
In addition, a local courier service is better able to support its drivers in the field. That means if there’s a problem with an incorrect address, a vehicle malfunction or a damaged shipment, they can immediately respond to the driver with any assistance that’s needed. So you and your customers can be assured of minimal delay, as you can trust that every possible step is taken to address problems as they occur. Many local courier services even offer 24/7 customer support, so they are available at all times of the day or night, ensuring speedy delivery any time.
On the other hand, delivery drivers for large companies may be left on hold, trying to figure things out for themselves, leading to costly and inconvenient delays.
5- You will be contributing to the local economy and working with local drivers.
Raise your hand if one of your goals as a business is to boost profits for large, multinational corporations.
No one? We didn’t think so.
Like most small businesses, you’d like to throw your resources behind the economy close to home, the same economy that nurtures most of your customers, as well as your own friends and family. After all, we are all connected.
By working with local drivers, you’re helping to provide jobs to people right in your community. And you are pumping money into the local economy which will eventually find its way back to you.
It means that local drivers can live and spend their money in your own community, contributing to the local economy in doing so.
You could call it karma, or you could just call it good business sense. Either way, it’s a clear win-win.
Additionally, supporting the local economy is a great way to enhance your brand image. If your customers know that you contribute to a robust economy in their own backyard, they will feel better about buying from you, knowing that their money is staying close to home, in the pockets of friends and neighbors.
By maintaining a vibrant community, you’re doing your bit to combat the environmental effects of urban sprawl and to reduce automobile use and habitat loss.
When you contribute to the growth of other small businesses, it fosters more competition, leading to lower prices and more product diversity.
And you’re also contributing local sales taxes to the revenue of your local government, which they can then reinvest in community, education and infrastructure. Besides that, local drivers put less strain on existing roads, ultimately leading to tax savings.
Another consideration is that if you need to buy or sell food items, you can count on a fresher and healthier product if you rely on local businesses and local delivery drivers.
We also know that statistically, local businesses are more likely than large companies to support local charities. So when you contribute to the local economy, you’re boosting resources for first responders, community service groups, animal shelters, youth organizations, and so much more.
This makes your community not only a better place to do business, but a better place for you and your family to live.
So when choosing a courier service, invest locally and you’ll be amazed at the long-term benefits.
