Over 80% of Canadians have adopted online shopping. More people are shifting to an online-first mindset, so you need to keep up if you want to succeed. Simply having a physical store isn’t good enough anymore.
When it comes to running a craft business, you aren’t dealing with necessities or items most people need often. To ensure you reach as many potential clients as possible, you not only need an online shop, but also a way to ship the items to the customer.
Keep reading to find out how a courier service can help your craft business flourish.
Speedy Service
If you’ve been delivering orders yourself, you know how time-consuming it is. You also can’t afford to deliver single items each time an order comes through, so you tend to wait until you have a few orders to deliver.
This drastically slows down your delivery time. Not only does this affect how quickly your customers receive their goods, but some customers might opt to buy from a different store to get the items sooner.
Using a courier service will not only ensure your customers receive their items in a speedy fashion but will also discourage them from buying from large corporates purely because it’s easier.
Door-to-Door Service
If you’ve been using the postal system to deliver your packages, you don’t really know if the right person receives the items. You have to trust that the parcel will reach its destination in one piece and that it will be picked up in time. By opting to use a courier service, you can ensure that the package is delivered to the hands of the right person.
Using a courier service to deliver packages also removes any size restrictions you may have been working with. When choosing a carrier, you can discuss all your needs and make sure they have shipping options to cover any order size.
You also don’t need to worry about shipping fees. People also tend to spend more to ensure they qualify for free delivery. This means you’ll make more profit and can easily cover any fees.
Careful and Limited Handling
When you ship items to customers using a service ensures your parcels are handled with the greatest care. Unlike sending items through the post, the packages won’t be handled unnecessarily, and it’s highly unlikely that your items will be dropped during the process. Using a shipping service gives you peace of mind that someone is taking extra care to make sure your package is handled properly.
Limiting the number of people handling your package and taking care to do so with caution ensures your package arrives in the best possible condition.
Safety First
When you use a shipping service, your package can be tracked and identified. This means there is no risk of your package disappearing while it’s en route to its destination.
Unlike with the postal service, your package won’t be delayed for weeks on end. These delays often result in missing packages as they’re moved between trains and various depots. With a courier service, the package is loaded into the carrier van and only removed once it has reached its destination.
Courier services are the more secure option when it comes to delivering packages, meaning you can easily opt for insurance on the declared value of the package.
Overall Cost-Effectiveness
It might seem counter-intuitive, but partnering with a courier service will actually save you money. As long as you offer clients the option to have their packages delivered, they will be willing to either foot the bill themselves or order enough products to get free shipping. So you’ll never lose money on shipping fees.
Shipping will also be more cost-effective because you’ll have to deal with fewer refunds or returns due to damaged goods.
Using a shipping service will free up your time since you don’t need to worry about your packages as much. This will give you the time and energy to focus on growing your business.
Better Reputation
Courier services are known for their reliability. If they gain a reputation for damaged parcels or unexplained delays in deliveries, people will stop using their services. So courier services work hard to maintain their reputation.
When you tie your reputation to a reputable courier, you’ll find people are more likely to order from you. New customers might be wary of buying from an unknown store that uses an obscure courier service. By using a reputable courier service, you put people’s minds at ease that they’ll receive their package.
You’ll also gain a better reputation as people start to notice your packages are always delivered on time, and they don’t need to wonder where their package is. As your reputation grows, you’ll be able to land more customers.
Make Your Craft Business a Success
When it comes to running a successful craft business, you can’t just rely on the local market. The world is constantly shifting to an online-first mentality, so you need to keep up. Offering various shipping options for local and even international clients will open many doors for you.
Are you in the Ottawa-Gatineau region and in need of a courier service, contact us today! At 10-21 Sunrise, we will not undercut our competitors’ prices at the expense of our drivers’ earnings. We believe that drivers should be able to earn a living, and this mindset resulted in us having the lowest staff turnover in the region.