Merchandise Returns, Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Great Customer Service

Great customer service is an important part of sales. Making returns easy is part of great customer service. It's a fact of online business that some merchandise will be returned. Sometimes to exchange for another size, another color, or perhaps the wrong item was ordered. How well these are handled can define repeat business. Make it easy for your customers and they will be back and sing your praises. If you provide a return label with every order you ship, your customers know you are there to help. So, how can a shipping system help with this?

Many shipping systems handle the different carriers' return services. The trick is to make it easy for you like you are doing for your customers. In some shipping systems you may have to create a separate shipping record for each return. That's an extra, time consuming set of steps. Not easy and not good for you. Mass printing return labels can be done, but then there is nothing identifying the order on the label. There is another way, and your shipping system can help.

The US Postal Service Merchandise Return Service is an established, accepted way to handle returns. In our CPS shipping software, there is a setting to print a USPS return services label automatically for every package shipped. It does not matter which carrier you use to ship the package to the customer. Ship the package and the carrier's label is printed and then the USPS return label. The return label has information about the order so it's easy to match up the incoming merchandise. You don't pay unless the item is returned. Easy again.

This year, make it easy for yourself and your customers to do business with your company. Use your shipping system for fast delivery and to help with returns. That's an effortless sales builder.

Do I Need a Backup?

"This computer will not start up. What should I do?"

That's a computer statement that no one wants to hear. This is bad in any department and it's a real problem when this happens in the shipping department. If you suddenly lose your shipping computer, it's a good bet that the next question will be "Is there a backup?". If the answer is "No", what follows will either be silence or bad words. So what's the best plan to keep your shipping computer and others as safe as possible? It's a fact that computers still fail without any warning and what follows is either a real pain or relief that the planned backup system has saved the day.

If you have information on a computer that is absolutely, positively necessary for your business, it should be backed up. It's easier than you might think. You can make local backups, you can use an online service, and some applications (such as our CPS™ shipping software) have a built-in backup to save those specific applications and their data. Local backups might be set up by your network person, or you might just copy your important files to a file server using a backup application, Windows Explorer or the Windows backup program. Online backup systems include Carbonite.com and Symantec. There are solutions out there to help make your data safer.

Keep in mind there is both direct computer failure as well as indirect computer data loss to think about. Data corruption due to a power failure, files that are deleted accidentally (or otherwise), and other things happen. A current backup can save the day. And use a battery backup. Be ready.

Using Free Shipping to Make More Sales

We've talked a couple of times about free shipping. According to one survey, free shipping offers are up this year compared to last year. Free shipping should always be used to gain more business, not just give away the shipping cost - a profit and sales tool, not a giveaway. But there's more to it than just posting "FREE SHIPPING".

Generally, a free shipping offer gives the best return when it's matched to products and services for consumers. And the products offered are important. For example, overstock merchandise sales do not benefit as much with free shipping offers. Current products that have caught consumers' interest respond much better when matched with a free shipping offer. Also, always offering free shipping can reduce its success. Offering free shipping for a limited time typically provides superior results.

A final note-
When preparing marketing, whether email or other, keep in mind that a limited-time free shipping offer provides better results for the more popular items and services sold to consumers. Moving away from any of these points can definitely affect sales results.

Today's Dirty Word - AbandondedShoppingCarts (And How to Stop Them)

Want more orders from your online store? Of course we know the answer to that. Shopping cart abandonment is up to 25% higher than previous years - now estimated as high as 59%. This trend matches the estimate that on each shopping trip, brick-and-mortar shoppers choose and then leave at least one item in their cart. With the year's biggest order season coming, right now is the time to get your strategy in place to keep the most orders possible.

Why this rise in abandoned carts? There are several reasons, but the top reasons always include surprise charges at the end of the transaction. Technology problems and consumer confusion also contribute. Once you are sure your shopping site is competitive, consider if your buying process is competitive. A surprise charge, such as an unexpected handling charge or a shipping charge too high, will make a buyer just say "Bye!" What else can help? Another strategy that has been successful is requiring fewer steps during checkout.

A number of experts and Internet entrepreneurs find that it is very important to display shipping charges before checking out to avoid shopping cart abandonment. It's clear that flat rate shipping, strategically mixed with "free" shipping offers, combats this problem. Now, how to do this?

Free shipping is very easy to calculate but figuring out the right amount for flat-rate shipping takes a little more effort. If your company's actual carrier rates are in your shipping system, then use historical reporting directly from the shipping system. Our CPS shipping software goes a step further by providing a report showing average shipping cost per package and average shipping cost per pound. With just a few mouse clicks you can keep tabs on your shipping costs for any period of time by carrier and service to accurately manage a flat rate shipping offer.

You can get these same numbers from the carrier bills, but its so much easier if you can just "Click" and see them. This example is for CPS, but look for similar reporting in your shipping system. Monitor your costs monthly and make adjustments for changes in average charges. You might supplement flat rate shipping with free shipping offers for special times of the year like holidays when competing for consumer dollars.

A number of experts and Internet entrepreneurs say it is very important to display shipping charges before checking out. Remember, no surprises! Flat rate charges let you give shoppers shipping cost information before you collect any information about them. This simplifies their shopping experience and gives you the best chance at a successful order. Make the process easy and help your customer click "Buy" instead of "Bye".

For more on this subject visit http://www.BusinessShipper.com/ and read the free white paper entitled "Mail Order and Internet Retailer's Guide to Handling Shipping Costs".

USPS Flat-Rate Box 101 - Beating the Fuel Surcharge

At just one price and no matter the weight, you can save in several ways using US Postal Service flat-rate boxes. First, put in as much as will fit and pay just one price for shipping. Next, you can count on that price since there is no fuel surcharge for USPS shipping. Finally, the boxes are FREE. That's a really reasonable price!

Shipping cost is more than just how much the carrier charges to deliver a package. You also have to include the cost of the shipping box and materials. How do the carriers help? If you use the carriers' air services, each carrier provides boxes and envelopes at no cost to you. The USPS goes a step farther by providing shipping boxes for their air (Express) and their Priority Mail services. Another bonus, there is no dimensional weight to consider and no fuel surcharge to compute with USPS flat-rate boxes. For each of these services, the packaging is free - you pay only the postage. In contrast, the other carriers' air delivery boxes are subject to dimensional weight rating.

With a recent survey (http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=30897) showing that 46% who abandoned carts did so because of high shipping fees, better shipping prices for your customers can mean more sales. USPS Priority Mail gives a wide choice of flat-rate envelopes and boxes. Choose from a flat-rate envelope as well as small, medium and large flat-rate boxes, each with a flat-rate price for domestic shipping and international shipping. More information about USPS supplied packaging materials is at http://shop.usps.com/.

Will these boxes be right for every package? Maybe not, but whenever you can use them it's money you keep. Between the actual cost of the box, using flat-rate services and avoiding a fuel surcharge, smart use of these can sometimes save you up to $20 dollars per package! The important thing is to do the math and check the rates between all the carriers before you ship. Many shipping software packages like CPS do this all automatically for you.

Until next time…

Riding the Fuel Surcharge Roller Coaster

As oil prices dropped, the carrier's fuel surcharges for air and ground shipments also dropped. This was great for everyone - that is while it lasted. The two major US package carriers have posted their fuel surcharges starting August 3, 2009. Looks like the ride has started again. How much are they going up? Ground is increasing about 27% over the surcharge from July 1st. Air shipments are much more - a 550% increase over the surcharge from July 1st. That's a price increase you need to keep track of.

The fuel surcharge is calculated on fuel prices going two months back, so the rates for August are up even though we see lower gas prices recently. But how does this affect your shipping? After all, you still need to ship your packages. And how can your shipping system help?

First, make sure your shipping system can account for the fuel surcharge so it's included in rate calculations and rate comparisons. Next, check to see if the fuel surcharge amount is included in reports or data you use from your shipping system. This makes sure you can check your bills and charge your customers correctly. Here is how our CPS™ shipping software helps its users cope with these changing monthly figures.

The fuel surcharge is included with every rate calculation and rate comparison. That means the shipper always sees the correct shipping rate. Next, CPS provides a critical report that can be run quickly and at anytime. This report shows the average cost per box and per pound so you can quickly determine your "break even" shipping costs so you can decide how much you should be charging for shipping. We call it the "Flat Rate Calculator" since its shipping cost averages tell you the flat rate you need to charge so you do not lose dollars when charging customers for shipping.

A shipping system that handles the fuel surcharges so you have the best information keeps you in control of your shipping. And isn't that the idea?

FREE Multi-Carrier Shipping Software?

Usually we write about shipping and ideas showing the ways that an automated shipping process can really help a company's profit. Of course, since it's our Blog, we also show how features in our CPS shipping software can help, but we also explain the features to look for in other systems, too. This Blog is different. This will still have an idea (or two!) for shippers to save, but this time we can't tell you what to look for in systems other than CPS. This is not because we are changing our direction, but rather there is not another shipping system we've seen that presents this new offer.

Would you like to use multi-carrier shipping software for FREE? Well, you can! Today's economic conditions are very complex. While we know our multi-carrier shipping products can help you save as you ship, we also realize that finding ways to lower your costs to do business is very important. Plus, the economy is stressing your customers. For these reasons, Harvey Software has created our all new Shipper Dollars program that can let you use our shipping products for FREE! That's something that no other shipping system provider gives you.

If you want to know the details about Harvey Software’s Shipper Dollars click here… The rewards are generous and it's easy to get into the program. Check it out today!

Until next time...