Top Shipping Considerations

Is the way you handle shipping losing your business money without you even knowing it? Managing products, marketing, and customer service is likely on the forefront of your mind, but ignoring shipping can be a costly mistake. Read on for our tips to keep the costs of shipping down, as well as small ways to make your business actually profit from your shipments.

•         You don’t have to settle for a standard corrugated box or bubble mailer. There are so many options when it comes to shipping supplies now! For example, computer packing boxes are specifically designed for shipping computers and computer accessories. CD mailers are perfect for sending out CDs. There’s so many options out there that will show your attention to detail, and make your products safer during shipping. A product that arrives in perfect condition due to the perfect packaging will receive better reviews, and lead to better business.
•         Consider packaging your items in a way that will help them stand out. You may choose to order custom boxes with your company logo. If you can’t afford custom boxes for every product, why not use some type of custom label? There’s a lot you can do to stand out, which leads to more repeat customers.
•         Keep in mind ways to save money on your shipping supplies. This has to go beyond just sales online, though they certainly help. Consider the shipping supplies themselves. Using the same sized box for every product actually loses money, because you are charged for shipping based on the size, weight, and destination of the package. Having a variety of supplies allows you to always choose the most economic box or mailer for your product.
•        But no matter the price, never skimp on void fill and other cushioning items. It will be you that loses if your products are arriving to the customers in damaged condition. Make sure to budget for bubble wrap, loose fill, newsprint, or whatever type of void fill you choose to use!
•         Use an inventory management system to keep track of how many shipping supplies you currently have. You don’t want to have business thriving, instruct a product to be packaged, and discover you’ve run out of the necessary supplies. Have a system to track the quantities of your supplies so orders never get backed up.

While it is important to monitor products and marketing, it is equally important to monitor your business’s shipping habits. We hope this post was able to help! 

Use Shipping to Build Your Brand

If you do a lot of shipping, it is likely that you have a lot of online customers. It is possible that you have no brick and mortar location and rely on the internet for all of your sales. This is great, but customers can be quick to switch between online businesses. There are many strategies you can use to keep their attention on you, but you may not have considered how your shipping can be a big impact as well.

Be sure to package everything well. This is, of course, your biggest priority when it comes to items you are shipping. We already wrote a blog post about packaging properly, so check that out if you need a refresher. So why is this important? It’s not just important because you need your products to arrive in good condition, but because you want your customers to see that you know what you’re doing. If you ship out a product using the wrong packaging materials, customers may not trust you to ship them products again, even if the product arrived safely. Check out our packaging supplies guide for more details about choosing the right supplies for the job.

Make your packaging stand out. This doesn’t mean that your box or mailer has to be a bold color, though it certainly can be. Glamour bubble mailers, for example, are sure to grab your customer’s attention. But you can also add a company label that clearly showcases your brand. Ideally, your customers will receive a package and know it is from you.

Make it easy. Have a receipt printed and easy to spot inside the packaging. Include a phone number your customers can call if they have any concerns. You may also choose to include information about returns. While this may seem like it is encouraging customers to send something back, it is the opposite. Customers will appreciate having the information right in front of them in case something is wrong, versus having to check all over your site or give customer service a call. You really don’t want negative reviews due to issues with your products.

Add incentive to return. There is a multitude of ways to do this. The easiest way to do this is to include some type of coupon for a future purchase. This can be a general coupon or, even better, specified to the type of product your customer just bought. Including information leading to a survey, with a chance at a prize, is another great way to get feedback and keep your customer’s attention. Drawing a customer back in is incredibly important, especially in e-commerce.

Include information about your website, social media presence, etc. This may be included on paperwork or some type of flyer. It will remind your customer of your website and point them towards social media. This is also a great way to ask them to sign up for an email newsletter. Making a connection in the digital world is extremely important, so use this opportunity to do so.

Make it personal. This is probably the easiest step of all. Simply including a note, handwritten or not, is a great way to show you appreciate your customer’s business. Depending on the industry you may even choose to include a free sample. This really stands out and will make you stand out as a company.

Packaging Supplies Guide

Shipping products sounds fairly straightforward. You receive an order, you pack up the product, and send it on its way. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. When packing and shipping products, you must do it with care. No customer is going to be happy if they receive a damaged good. Even if the items you ship arrive in perfect condition, if your product is shipped poorly and sloppily, the customer will likely think you are unprofessional and may not shop with you again. For both these reasons, shipping must be taken very seriously, and you must always choose the right packaging materials for the job.

We’ve put together this quick guide to help you find which packing materials go best with what type of products. The right materials can make a big difference when it comes to how your company is viewed.

Boxes

When it comes to boxes, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First off, you need to choose the correct size of box for the job. You do not want there to be too much void space for filling, but you also don’t want it to be such a tight fit that there’s no room for void fill at all. Another important tip to keep in mind is that there are many shapes and strengths of corrugated boxes. Some boxes are designed for specific types of goods, which can be a great asset to you. Corrugated boxes also have different levels of strength. Heavy duty boxes, for example, are much stronger than the standard carton and are ideal for heavy weight products.

Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrap is arguably the first thing that most people think of when they think about packing materials. Bubble wrap can be used to pack your most fragile items safely. It protects against shock, vibration, and abrasion. Examples of products you certainly want to use bubble wrap for include china, mirrors, artwork, glass products, electronics, and more. There’s multiple variations of bubble wrap so you can get the packaging that is best for your product. For example, anti-static bubble wrap provides static protection for your electronics.

Foam

Foam can offer much of the same protection as bubble wrap with several differences. The first is that it is thinner, so there will be a smaller cushion between your product and the carton it is being shipped in. Foam is also very flexible, so it can be wrapped in strange and unusual shapes easily. This also makes it great for fill around the edges and corners of boxes. It can be harder to wrap foam around products, though, but its protection is still ideal for a wide variety of delicate items.   

Loose Fill (Packing Peanuts)

Loose fill is designed to protect products from all sides during shipping. The even distribution of loose fill is great for impact resistance and shock absorption. The biggest problem you’ll run into with loose fill is that it will not secure your items within the box. Products may still shift during shipping. For this reason it is best to use loose fill for products that still need protection, but are not very fragile.

Kraft Paper

Kraft paper does not offer the same shock absorption of other packaging materials, but it is still useful when it comes to shipping. It makes for great void fill to stop products from being jostled against the side of corrugated boxes. Strangely shaped items can benefit from being wrapped in Kraft paper, as can less fragile items such as movies, CDs, and more. As with many types of packaging supplies, there are multiple options available when it comes to Kraft paper, including options that are made only from recycled materials.

Make sure next time you’re shipping you’re shipping using the correct materials. It only takes a few negative reviews for you to start seeing a dip in your sales. Invest wisely!