Christmas is less than two weeks away, but until then you’re
going to be busy packing and shipping. We’ve talked about preparing for the
holidays, but today we’re going to give our best advice to help you get through
the next two weeks.
The first thing you need to do is keep track of shipping deadlines. You have no control over when
orders will come in, but by knowing the shipping deadlines you can get prepared
now. Customers will want items to arrive before Christmas, so make sure you
have plenty of shipping options that will make that happen. You always want to
stay updated on shipping news. UPS,
for example, is reporting delays. This should factor into how you ship.
You can’t control your package once it is in transit, but
you can control how soon you ship it. Try to ship orders the same day as the orders come in. You want to mail as
quickly as possible to keep your customers happy. One of our holiday hacks for
this is to package popular items now,
even if you don’t have orders for them. You’ll probably get them, and this can
save some time.
And while you are packing up your products, make sure you package them to avoid damage. This
means use void fill, don’t skimp on shipping supplies, and make sure each item
has the proper padding. And if your
product is damaged during shipping, replace it. Customers will appreciate
it, especially if you make it easy for them.
Go the extra mile to make sure your products make it to
their final destination. Add an address
label to the inside of packaging in case the label on the outside of the
box is damaged. Use extra tape or even multiple boxes to reinforce your package.
You can also make yourself stand out by making your packages
more personalized. Include a generic
holiday card with all shipments, a free sample, or something else that your
customer won’t be expecting.
Most of all, remember that the madness will end. You can do it!
