Investing in high quality, reliable and speedy courier services is now more important than ever for businesses in order to satisfy the needs of their clients no matter the industry they operate in. This is now big business and a key means of how industries are able to keep their supply chains running and operating to the best standards possible. There are good reasons as to why to hire couriers. SME’s can leverage the benefits of using a courier service to take advantage of ease of operations and gain significant cost savings.
As there is a myriad of local and international parcel delivery companies out there, it can be difficult for small businesses to choose the most suitable couriers for the job. Sameday couriers in particular are more and more in demand now. This is as businesses are working that bit harder to drive better overall customer service back to their clients. The Sameday courier market is wide and varied and there are no end of courier firms out there now offering this very specific type of service.
Now a key service for online retailers
When it comes to selling online, one of the most important aspects is finding the best courier service to grow your business. You need to ensure that you provide a positive shipping experience in order to enjoy more business growth and success. Fortunately, once your customers are content with the delivery of their items, you’re more likely to enjoy an increase in repeat sales and be able to build a better online reputation that can result in more first-time sales. The reliance on couriers has only seemed to have grown off of the back of the internet.
Check over Google reviews
Of course, you shouldn’t discount the power of the Internet. You wouldn’t buy a DSLR camera without vetting it with the online community, so why shouldn’t you do the same when searching for a reliable courier service for your business. Check out the online reputation of the courier services you were referred to in the earlier step. You can read Google Reviews on them or you can check out what their current customers say about them, by watching testimonial videos on their website (knowing that they might be a bit biased). The more information you have about the courier service, the easier it will be to make your decision. So don’t hold back. Read up on them as much as you can.
From the above, also check over their customer service
You might have a shortlist of contenders by this point, so now you can start calling the courier service themselves and start asking detailed questions about them. One of the most important things a good courier service will have is great customer service. Call their customer service and ask them questions. This will give you a pretty good idea of how they treat customers and potential leads. How eager are they to answer all your questions? Do they get impatient and try to run you off the phone. Or are they patient enough to deal with all your idiosyncrasies? Also, see how long it takes you to speak to a real live human being. Do so rather than a recording or a machine. This will be important when you are trying to get hold of customer service in an emergency courier situation.
Make sure items are fully tracked
Many courier services nowadays have online customer portals where you can enter shipments, track deliveries, and pay for services. It’s quite handy to have, especially since you don’t have to wait forever to speak to a customer service agent. You will alos have everything related to your deliveries in one place. Make sure to inquire of your potential courier services what their tracking capabilities are. And what their online customer portal looks like. You could even ask to take an insider look at it to see how user-friendly it is.
See if they are able to offer a demo or trial
If possible, try to ship a trial package with the courier service to see what your experience is like from top to bottom. Nothing else will give you a better idea of what your future relationship with the courier service will look like. This way you will know exactly what to expect when hiring this courier service to be your exclusive delivery partner in the future.
Overall, what to take into account
Couriers provide a very easy-to-use service. You can often arrange everything online and have an account that will make the process even easier for you. They also schedule your pickup and delivery, then choose your preferences in regards to packaging, delivery time, cost, etc. This will make everything very quick to arrange. In most cases, you can request that you are notified when the package is delivered so you know it has arrived. Some couriers may even provide tracking info so you can see the route taken. Whether you run a large or a small business, hiring a private courier is a good business investment. You’ll save money over building your own delivery fleet and it can be easier to manage as well. There’s no need to worry about maintenance or insurance since all of that is taken care of for you.
