The global courier, express, and parcel markets are among the industries thriving with the sudden boom of e-commerce businesses. Since most people are staying indoors and shopping online, courier services around the world have very little breathing room in between their deliveries.
That’s one good reason why running a business in this niche is a smart move. Through both local and international courier services, physical limitations have become non-existent. Imports and exports are happening as if the packages are being sourced from a merchant down the street instead of from other countries.
Its beautiful progress has been in the making since before modern technology was invented. There was a time when people had to physically travel by sea just to reach distant ports and barter goods with other merchants. But now, buying goods from international stores is as easy as making a few taps on a phone screen.
Unfortunately, since many entrepreneurs like yourself have seen the potential of courier services, it has become a highly competitive market. To keep your head above water and stay ahead of the competition, here’s what you can do to work towards becoming the preferred courier service in your town:
Offer Reasonably Priced Rates
When almost all the factors among several couriers are similar, the ultimate deciding factor for your potential customers will be the price that they need to pay to avail of your services. One of the most common methods of setting your courier service rates is through competitive pricing.
Competitive pricing basically means that you’re setting your rates at the same prices as your competitors because doing so eliminates the weight of comparing costs between the same services. However, this can sometimes be inefficient because it fails to take the differences in operational costs into account.
For instance, if you were to set your sea cargo rates at the same price that your nearest competitor has, then you would have to make sure that this wouldn’t lead to reduced profits. While competitive pricing has its advantages, you have to gauge whether this can outweigh the disadvantages.
Provide Impeccable Service
Even if your courier prices are at a slightly higher rate than the market median, you can easily make up for it with your impeccable services. Besides, your customers will understand that they are paying for high-quality service by sending their packages through your courier service.
To do this, you will need to see what your competitors are offering and one-up them in their own game. Going the extra mile to accommodate your customers is a surefire way to build patronage among them, especially because they feel valued and satisfied with your service at the same time.
Besides the protocols already in place, you can introduce real-time updates and package monitoring, guaranteed door-to-door delivery, or seamless transactions. You can also keep up with the industry trends and see how they can benefit your day-to-day operations in the long run.
Diversify Your Market
If there’s one thing that consumers around the world prefer in a courier service, it’s that they can do everything in one place. This means that if they had to send a parcel, document, or a large box to their friends and family, your business can easily accommodate their needs.
Diversifying your market will allow you to cater to your potential customers for whatever courier services they might need. Making yourself a one-stop-shop for all things related to deliveries is a good way to attract new customers and retain existing ones because they will no longer need to find another courier service.
Of course, this can be difficult to do when you’re only starting because you might spread yourself too thin. But once you can operate smoothly day-in and day-out, scaling your business will be a piece of cake. So, start small and work your way up; it’s better to go through all the steps than to skip one altogether.
When you’re ready to go all out, widen your market by offering international courier services. Look into trends and innovations surrounding your industry about how much further you can diversify your offerings. Soon enough, you will be the preferred courier service for land, sea, and air deliveries.
The key to being the public’s choice of courier is to put your customers at the forefront of your priorities. Other courier services might be working to offer the lowest rates or produce the best advertisements, and while these factors can hold weight, they aren’t as meaningful as working on customer relationships.
If you truly want to be your customers’ first choice, then they should be your priority too. Devote your time and energy to elevating the customer experience because this can lead to satisfaction. After customer satisfaction comes brand loyalty, and the cycle will only continue from there.