Have you ever stopped to think what your customers value the most when it comes to buying your products online? Is it the fact that they can do everything from the comfort of their home, without bothering to stroll around large shopping centers or search for the address of your specific store for hours before actually stumbling upon you? Is it the easiness of the transaction that makes them want to keep using your online services?
It’s that, but it is also much more than that! The things I have mentioned above won’t mean a thing to your customers if you don’t offer them great shipping services. Statistics show that around 50% of shopping cart abandonment happens due to huge shipping costs. Your consumers won’t bother justifying those costs by realizing that you aren’t the one that’s charging them because, eventually, they are buying the products from you and they don’t care how you handle your deliveries. They just want things delivered at a small fee.
Here are the results of an interesting survey on the influence of shipping costs on consumers: https://retailwire.com/discussion/consumers-hate-paying-for-shipping-more-than-just-about-anything/
In addition to not wanting to pay a huge fee, there is something else that people don’t want. I’m talking about waiting for a long, long time for their package to arrive. Fast delivery is almost always an indicator of great and high-quality service. No matter how great your products are, if people end up waiting for those products for longer than they expected, they are highly unlikely to use your services ever again.
It’s in our nature to be at least a little bit impatient. Think about it. If you need to wait a significant amount of time for something, you will most likely give it up. Even if you don’t give up your order at that time, you will definitely look for other service providers and other stores the next time you are ordering something, just to be safe that your package will arrive sooner. This is also how your consumers think.
Shipping fees and the time of delivery are factors that don’t actually depend on you. These factors, however, affect your reputation directly. That means that you want everything to run as smoothly as possible, so that you don’t end up being labeled as the company that charges too much for their delivery services or takes forever to send the package. In order not to be labeled that way, you’ll have to find the perfect shipping provider. Let me give you a few tips on how to make the right choice.
Table of Contents
Consider The Fees
If you don’t want your customers to pay a huge fee, you need to find a provider that won’t charge you huge fees. As you can see at GLS and similar companies, the fees depend on the region you are shipping to, but they can very well be reasonable and affordable. Take your time to compare the costs offered by a few different providers and find the one that works perfectly both for you and your customers.
You cannot get these services for free. Expecting such a thing would be a complete nonsense. You shouldn’t, however, be satisfied with enormous fees. Don’t let anyone overcharge you and rip you off. Take some time to do your research and find the perfect option for you, because the perfect option definitely exists.
Time Is Detrimental
I have been going on above about how people don’t like waiting too much on their packages, so it’s not surprising to see that this is the second criterion on our list. Every professional and dependable company will be able to give you an idea about how long it would take to ship to which regions. If you come across a firm that is too vague with time, it’s best to continue looking further and avoid them. Your reputation is at stake, remember?
Now, I don’t want you to expect a miracle here. It takes time to deliver things from one place to another and how much it will take depends on the area of delivery. Keep your expectations reasonable, because the packages aren’t miraculously teleported from point A to point B. Look for a company that won’t drag their deliveries and have your customers wait for months, but be reasonable and don’t expect everything to happen in a day. Go here to learn what else you should expect from your shipping provider.
Reliability Is Everything
If you don’t want to deal with misplaced packages and similar nightmares, you will need to find a reliable shipping provider. Check the reputation of a specific company before hiring it, because reputation speaks volumes about the quality of their services and their reliability. It would also be a good idea to read a couple of reviews about specific providers, so that you know whether they are worth your time and your money.
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