For many online stores, the sending of orders is the only moment they get to have a personal interaction with their buyers. In a Holiday Shipping Survey, 93% of respondents say shipping options are an essential factor in online shopping. Another study by Walker Sands shows that 69% of consumers think of one-day deliveries as an incentive to shop more often and that 73% are willing to pay a $10 delivery fee.
This makes delivery all the more important today—not only is this a business function that can make or break your brand, it’s also an opportunity to build an excellent customer experience.
Here are the following factors that you can look for when searching for your new reliable courier service in Australia:
Immediate Availability
With the online shopping industry continually expanding, couriers are becoming busier than ever. A reliable delivery affiliate has enough personnel to mobilise at any moment—especially during peak season—always ready to collect your parcel and send it out right away.
Speaking of peak seasons, it can be extra helpful for you to have an affiliate that can provide couriers for a few days. Your partner’s delivery staff can serve as your own fleet when you need it the most.
Convenience in Booking
A truly handy way to deliver parcels would not involve going to the post office and leaving it there for days before someone picks it up. Nowadays, you have the convenience of booking a shipping job (which can be done through a compact device) and having the delivery person come to your location to pick up and deliver the parcel.
Quick Delivery Time
Customers can get impatient. They want their orders to arrive immediately; before they go to sleep at night if that’s even possible. Even though that sounds unreasonable to you and your courier, providing them with excellent customer experience is necessary to gain a competitive edge.
Many retailers have tarnished their reputations over incidences of delayed deliveries. There are different reasons as to why these happen, and in some circumstances they may be unavoidable. That said, a reliable courier will always have a backup plan or will inform in advance of any condition that may hinder them from completing a job on time or quickly. Such conditions include natural calamities, traffic congestion, or high volumes of orders.
Order and Delivery Tracking
Your responsibility as the retailer doesn’t end once a sale has been made or you’ve sent out the item to your courier. You also need to know if the product arrived safe and sound to its intended recipient. A reliable shipping partner is one that has a trusted system for tracking the order and delivery.
Order and delivery tracking come in handy especially during peak seasons where volumes upon volumes of orders are made or when the expected completion could take more than a day. Monitoring is also helpful for customers—especially when done in real time—who would like to know the current status of their shipment, so they know when to expect its arrival.
The courier service should also be able to provide proof of delivery, be it through the company website, SMS, or email. A reliable courier is one that you can trust to deliver whether you’re checking up on them or not.
Security
Parcel security involves the courier having insurance for the items they are handling and requiring authorised signatures on the acknowledgement form. They must have insurance policies like cargo insurance or product liability to protect their clients, especially in cases whereby a delivery cannot be completed due to particular circumstances or if the goods to be shipped out are valuable or confidential.
Value for Money
High price doesn’t necessarily mean quality service, and low rates don’t always equate to poor service. When it comes to your payment to the courier, you first need to know if they can carry out the services you require for your business. Only choose an affiliate that can do all the things you’re looking for in a shipping firm.
Final Thoughts
A trusty delivery partner is a must-have if you want your business to have an optimised process for sending out orders. While this procedure is something that can be done in-house as well, shipping companies take on a more specialised, high-quality approach in this task, without the high costs.
With one less thing to worry about, you can focus on streamlining other vital processes to grow your company further. More importantly, a reliable courier service will allow you to provide customers with a seamless, frictionless shopping experience from beginning to end.