Throughout the year, and especially for the holidays, you do all you can to please your customers. Even a one time order can create word of mouth referrals, so everyone is important. We always look at how the shipping system touches customers. It's obvious that the shipping system is the link in getting the package out the door and on the way. Let's go past the obvious and look at some other ways to put the shipping system to work making customers happy.
Do your customers prefer address verification or address correction? Whenever address correction comes into play, package delivery is probably taking longer that it should and it's likely additional costs are incurred. Here is what one company using the Address Verification Module for our CPS shipping software told us. Their address correction fees dropped from $120 per week to nothing after they started verifying "ship to" addresses in the shipping system. They take orders at their web site and (half) jokingly said "I never knew that so many people don't know where they live." Use the shipping system to verify that actual "ship to" address and you've done everything you can to make delivery as quick as possible (at the least cost to you), and that makes seller and buyer happy.
When your customers place their orders, I bet the next thing on their mind is "When is it on the way and when do I get it?" That's what I always want to know. Do you send customers an email to let them know about their package? Is the email sent by the shipping system? If you use one of the carriers' shipping systems and send the shipment notification from their system, look at the notification sometime. It's not from your company, it's from the carrier. Also, notice how far into the notification you have to go before it's clear the package is from your company. Use your own shipping system and, when it sends your customer their shipment notification, there is no doubt it's from your company and it’s information about their order with your company. That puts a peace-of-mind smile on their face.
Finally, they have to buy from you before you can make them happy. Studies show web site orders are lost when the shipping cost exceeds the customer's expectation. Decrease or eliminate shipping cost "sticker shock" and you decrease your site's abandoned shopping carts and build your market size. How? Used correctly, the data in your shipping system will help. If you analyze your shipping data to discover your average cost to ship a package, then break that down by the services used (Ground, 2 Day, etc.), you are on your way to building sales. With that analysis you can determine "Flat Rate" shipping charges to use on your web site instead of calculating shipping separately for every order. Your customers know their shipping cost right away, which is one way to reduce abandoned shopping carts. If you calculate shipping charges based on the delivery address for every order, people who are farther away pay more. This turns your company into a local or, best case, regional business. You created your web site to sell to a bigger market. Why kill your plan? Flat rate shipping charges establish your company as a national business. The exclusive Flat Rate Shipping Charge Analysis report in Harvey Software's CPS shipping system provides this invaluable shipping cost data. Your customers have a better shopping experience and you retain more sales. This time it's smiles for your customers AND you.
The CPS shipping software can help with each of these. For more information about a shipping system that helps make customers happy, visit www.HarveySoft.com.
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