Today’s consumers have come to expect speedy express delivery of items they order online. Whether it’s paperwork, electronics, medicine or restaurant meals, your customers are used to getting what they want with just a click of a button.
This probably has you wondering about the most cost-effective way to meet this expectation for your customers.
Many businesses today are solving the problem by working with a reputable courier express service. These services can provide same-day express delivery to your customers, taking one more thing off your plate.
But is it worth the money?
You might wonder if you really need a courier delivery service, especially if most of your deliveries are pre-scheduled.
You may feel that a same day courier delivery service is unnecessary.
However, in today’s fast-paced world, you need to have the flexibility to meet requests for same day service should these requests come your way.
Here are all the reasons that your business should work with a same day courier service.
Safe Delivery
When it comes to shipping companies or the postal service, speed often comes at the expense of safety.
At the end of the day, it simply doesn’t matter how great your product or service is, nor how quickly it gets there, if the item shows up broken or damaged.
This can be a problem if you’re working with a company which makes multiple stops along the way. These stops introduce a greater possibility of your product getting mixed up with other mail or packages, leading to breakage and loss.
Even if the damage is not your fault, it still reflects poorly on your business. And it can be disastrous if you’re sending a perishable item such as medicine or food.
In some cases, such perishable items may be left sitting around for an extended period of time, leading to spoilage.
A professional same-day courier service adds a layer of security, giving you the confidence that items will not only arrive quickly, but safely to their destination.
Generally, courier services use dedicated delivery vehicles which simply pick up a package in one location and deliver it directly to another, diminishing the likelihood of getting lost.
Besides that, couriers are specially trained and experienced in handling items with the proper degree of care to ensure safe arrival.
Same-day courier delivery means you don’t have to worry about a precious package rattling around loose with a stack of other packages in the back of a truck or van, where it could easily be forgotten. In most cases, you can request that your package is delivered by one vehicle and one driver who will not be distracted by a long, circuitous delivery route. You’ll also want to be sure that you communicate any special instructions for the delivery. For example, is it fragile? Does it need extra cushioning to prevent breakage en route? Does it need a temperature-controlled vehicle for safe transit?
You can do a lot to ensure the safe arrival of an item by taking necessary precautions when you prepare it for delivery. Wrap breakable objects in bubble wrap and wedge foam or loose paper into any open spaces.
You can trust that a courier service will personally take responsibility for ensuring the item arrives at its destination safely and promptly.
Most courier companies offer real-time tracking of packages, so you can always find out exactly where a package is and at what time it will arrive. That means if something does go wrong with the delivery, you’ll be aware of it right away.
Of course, the safety of a package depends on the trustworthiness of the courier service you choose. Take the time to carefully screen the company before entrusting them with same-day delivery. Research their reputation and seek out online reviews to make sure they have a history of getting the job done.
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Speed
There are occasions when time is of the essence. When you or your customer has an immediate need for something, you can count on a courier service to get it where it needs to go quickly.
A good courier service will have a number of couriers and vehicles at their disposal. They can easily deploy a van, a small car or even a bicycle to navigate through traffic and make deliveries promptly, no matter how large or small the object may be.
There was a time when waiting days for an online order was routine. But things have changed since then. In a post-pandemic world, consumers have come to count on fast delivery. If you’re not able to deliver that to them, they’re likely to seek it out elsewhere, causing you to lose customers.
Even traditional bricks-and-mortar stores have found that they can benefit by offering same-day delivery of their products in addition to the items a consumer can readily find when shopping at their physical location.
Presently, ecommerce dominates the market with more consumers shopping online than ever before. 58% of them shop online at least once a week, and 43% say they would be quite happy to never shop in a physical store again. Nearly a third of all consumers expect same-day delivery, while 90% consider two to three days as a shipping baseline. 85% of all consumers will shop somewhere else if delivery is not fast enough. And 48% are willing to pay more for faster shipping.
As you can tell given these statistics, fast delivery is essential to keep your competitive edge in this space. It’s no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
So the question is not if you will offer same-day delivery service. The real question on the table is how you are going to make this happen.
Obviously, all kinds of factors must be taken into account. One of these is cost. It may be cost-prohibitive to pay a shipping company to do the job. Taking care of delivery needs in-house is another solution that some companies try to utilize; but this option can cost you dearly in terms of labor costs.
A professional courier service can meet your delivery needs 24/7, after hours and over the weekend. Especially if your business mainly serves your local area, there’s no need for same-day delivery costs to break the bank.
Best of all, fast delivery can be the deciding factor in a customer choosing your business over a competitor. If you can guarantee speedy same-day shipment of the product, and your competitor can’t, this can immediately swing the balance in your favor, helping you to build your customer base.
GPS Tracking
As a small business, there are limits to your ability to invest in new technology. But when it comes to express delivery service, real-time GPS tracking of your product is not something you can go without.
When your customer service team is communicating with clients about the timing of their delivery, real-time tracking allows them to do so honestly and effectively. In most cases, your customers can even track delivery themselves at any time they want directly from their laptop or mobile phone, reducing any anxiety around the timing of the delivery.
With real-time tracking, you can connect better with your customers around your brand, focusing on how well it meets their needs instead of getting bogged down in delivery details.
While you can’t access or maintain tracking technology, a reputable courier service will provide the most up-to-date tools for tracking deliveries on their course directly from sender to recipient.
When selecting a courier service, ask them what technology they use to track drivers, ETAs and Proof of Deliveries.
One of the many benefits of this kind of technology is the capability to effortlessly collect data, store it in the cloud, and use it to optimize driver routes. In this way, planning the route for your same-day delivery is a seamless process, ensuring it will get to its destination smoothly and without incident.
Same-day couriers have the technology to anticipate delays due to traffic, construction, or bad road conditions. They can find the best route to avoid these delays, making same-day delivery service far more reliable than what you could manage on your own. This route optimization capability has the potential to carry out deliveries within hours instead of days, even in difficult circumstances. Besides saving time, this saves your business on delivery costs, as well.
Another handy technological feature that most courier services can access is mechanical failure assistance. This means that in the event of a delivery vehicle experiencing a breakdown en route, you (as well as your customers) can be made instantly aware of that. Even more importantly, it allows the company to send assistance ASAP so that any delays due to the incident can be minimized. This capability is especially valuable if your delivery radius includes remote or rural areas.
GPS technology is also useful for tracking data about vehicle maintenance. This information serves to make the courier company aware of any impending mechanical issues that a delivery vehicle might have. It can automatically create a maintenance schedule for vehicles to greatly diminish the likelihood of delays caused by vehicle malfunction.
Besides tracking location, GPS technology is also useful for:
- Rerouting/recalculation
- Preventive maintenance alerts
- Mapping and standardization of addresses
- Route optimization
It also means that if a customer calls with questions about delivery, you can provide specific answers as to the location of the driver and the exact time the package will arrive.
Customer Experience
This one might be the best argument of all for hiring a same-day courier service.
In this competitive, fast-paced world, favorably impressing your customers becomes more difficult, but also more important, than ever. Businesses now have to compete with the standards set by ecommerce giant Amazon, which has ratcheted up expectations for speedy and smooth delivery of products.
Consistent and reliable same-day delivery is a surefire way to delight your customers because it shows that you can keep up with their demands and expectations. As a result, they are more likely to write positive online reviews and to recommend your services to others. Satisfied customers are the best way to create a loyal, growing customer base. Getting a product delivered directly to their door instead of having to wait for several days or to come to your store to get it is a huge convenience which your customers will surely value.
The fact of the matter is, few small businesses have the personnel or the tools that big box stores can easily utilize to make deliveries all over the world. The channels you can access and the geographical area you can reach are limited. And this is where a courier service comes in, stepping in to handle all those same-day deliveries which would be too burdensome for you to take on in-house. This gives you, as a small business, that competitive edge that customer satisfaction can bring you.
A big part of that is through how your courier service represents your business to others.
For better or worse, the professional drivers who deliver your product will leave customers with a powerful impression of your company.
The best courier companies hire drivers who project an aura of professionalism. They will demonstrate to the customer that they care about the delivery, that they are personally invested in making sure everything goes smoothly. Most of all, they will be friendly and polite. This can go a long way towards ensuring a positive image of your company in the mind of your customers.
On the other hand, if a delivery driver comes across as rude, sloppy or careless, then this is the image that your customer will be left with about your business.
Besides a smooth, professional delivery experience, another way that a courier service can delight your customers is through reciever notifications.
Automatic notifications about when and where they can expect to receive their package increases their trust in you. This is a feature that few small businesses are equipped to provide; however, a courier service can give your customers that handy assurance.
For all these reasons, it’s definitely worth looking into working with a same-day courier service. The cost will more than pay for itself in reduced labor costs and higher customer satisfaction.
