If you are like most business owners, you already know that product delivery has become an integral part of the day-to-day operations, especially in the current times of social distancing. While traditional mail or package services such as FedEx and UPS can help you ship products, there are many other effective ways to deliver items to your local customers. This article will explore various local delivery ideas to help you provide better customer experience and vault past your competition.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
One of the readily available delivery methods for small businesses is the on-demand local delivery service. Offering app-based delivery services, local companies help you send items to your customers fast while still allowing you the flexibility to track the delivery and get a confirmation once it arrives. While you might not always enjoy the same level of service you would from a professional delivery company, on-demand local delivery service gives you a chance to support a small business near you.
Whether you want to be more hands-on with your business’s delivery processes or you’re a fast-growing business that needs to increase your resource pool, then having your own delivery team and vehicle may be an excellent option. This can help your local business deliver products more efficiently within deadlines. Thereby, making your customers happier and more satisfied. When you have your own delivery team, keeping up with the demands won’t be a problem. You have people ready to deliver products to the customers’ doors.
Hence, to build your own delivery team, you need to conduct a recruitment process. This allows you to hire the best people who can deliver products quickly. You can utilize job advertisements to get more qualified individuals who can be part of your delivery team.
Once you’ve built your team, the next step is to invest in your own delivery vehicle. By doing so, you can streamline the delivery process since the vehicle will always be available to deliver your products. Also, you can have more control over the quality of your customer service if you use your own staff and vehicle to complete the transaction. For example, if your business involves temperature-sensitive products that require temperature control, owning vehicles like GRV4 Fridge Vans can help you deliver them quickly without compromising quality.
With these vans, you can guarantee the shelf life of your products by providing them with efficient temperature control. Unlike a third-party delivery service, using your own delivery vehicle allows your business easy accessibility from your store to the customers. This is essential in ensuring the quality of your products and excellent customer service.
A drive thru system makes customers happy. This technology is coined after the drive thru delivery systems used in fast-food chains, which evolved with the advancement of digital technology. Customers expect speedy service in drive thrus or express delivery, making their lives a lot easier, especially when they’re on a long trip or busy schedule.
Why is embracing drive thru technology important? Drive thru technology improves the speed of service and increases customer satisfaction for all sizes of businesses. It also identifies the roadblocks and bottlenecks businesses face. You can set goals and track your drive-thru performance several times a day. In addition, this technology allows you to generate downloadable reports in different locations.
Nowadays, drive-thru technology includes headset systems and timers. Gone are the days when you had to pick up the traditional phone and get orders. With drive thru headset systems, you can multi-task. You can get new orders and process existing ones simultaneously in a centralized location using voice over internet protocol (VoIP).
Whether you have a meal delivery service or a fast-food chain, drive thru technology allows you to incorporate gaming. Gaming can turn your drive-thru staff members into vehicle count-crushing alliances. They can win prizes and awards as they reach service goals, beat the timer, and win the competition.
Even though they might seem a bit quaint, bike couriers are perhaps some of the most effective delivery options for small local businesses. Unlike other run-of-the-mill delivery methods, they offer speed, sustainability, and huge cost savings. Considering that the bike courier delivery method does not deal with traffic, it can be the best way to deliver a product from one side of the town to another. In addition, it can even be used in tandem with other delivery services to ship items outside your own delivery region.
With most people staying at home, you may have lots of products to deliver to your local customers. Planning all the routes manually can prove inefficient and time-consuming for your delivery team. That’s why you need to boost efficiency with a routing app. What this route optimization application does is allow customers to set and change delivery windows. The routes app also dynamically updates the delivery drivers’ schedules while still ensuring that they are where they need to be when they need to be there. The end result? Your small delivery team saves a significant amount of time and can deliver lots of products within a short time.
In-person pickup is another faster, easier, and convenient option for product delivery. You may allow customers to browse your website, purchase stuff online, and pick them up at their convenience without waiting for delivery. Although it may seem a little out of the ordinary, this option gives you an excellent opportunity to better connect with your customers and drive your marketing efforts further. Besides, customers are more than likely to purchase additional items as they have a chance to browse in-store and ask questions about the products they wish to buy.
Regardless of which delivery method you choose, you must ensure that it best serves your interest as well as those of your customers. That is, it should be cost-effective, hassle-free, and suit your customer’s unique needs and expectations. Hence, to help increase your local business’s delivery efficiency, keep the information mentioned above in mind and you’ll be heading in the right direction.
