Oil Affecting Your Bottom Line - (AGAIN!)

Just a quick note…It looks like the carrier's fuel surcharges may not change much for this season's biggest shipping days. Effective 11/2/09, the surcharge decreases for air/international and stays constant for ground shipping. The ground surcharge has been inching is way up since July, and the air/international has bounced around a little. Although they don't appear to be changing much, you still loose track of 4-6% of your shipping costs if you do not account for them.

Make sure your shipping system can let you know about the total cost to ship a package, including the fuel surcharge. Our CPS shipping software notifies the user when the fuel surcharge changes and provides the option to update it for UPS packages. The fuel surcharge is automatically included for FedEx packages. Currently there is no fuel surcharge for USPS packages…I wonder if that can last?

Oil prices are really bouncing around, so keeping up with the fuel surcharge on a monthly basis is just good business.

Considering a Mail Consolidation Service for Last Minute Shipping Bargains? Questions to Ask...

Each year, especially at holiday time, shippers receive offers for better shipping rates from one of the hybrid services that combine a regular package carrier with final delivery by the US post office. The savings that are promised are often attention getting. From calls we receive, it appears there is strong competition for smaller packages weighing 15 pounds and less.

Are these services the best for you and your customers? Here are some things our CPS multi-carrier shipping software users who use some of these services with CPS suggest considering as you evaluate using these services, especially at this most important time of the year.

Package Delivery Time

Ask how long it takes to deliver a package compared to their normal delivery service. This includes finding out what path the package takes. It's possible for packages to go from your business to a consolidation warehouse, then be held there until there are enough consolidated packages to forward to their destination. If there is a delay like that, is that acceptable to you? This process can vary according to your location, so it's an important question. Finally, how does holiday volume affect delivery times?

Returns

If a package cannot be delivered or is refused, how is it handled? Is there an additional cost if a package is returned? Will you know it has not been delivered? You need to know what to expect so you can tell you customers.

Billing

We've heard reports of billing for these services not matching the promised rates. Will you receive enough information from the carrier to be able to check your bill? How are unexpected billing issues handled for the hybrid service?

Tracking

Ask how you and your customers can track packages. Today's customers expect a tracking number and package information with just a "click". If delivery takes longer than the customer expect, being able to track a package without a call to your customer service department is important.

The carriers are also negotiating rates for their regular services that you already depend on. A multiple carrier shipping like our CPS shipping software can automatically rate shop for the best price using your company's rates. You can still get great rates for every package and get the service you (and your customers) expect.

Weigh the answers to these questions above and be sure you choose the best service for your business.

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…