How P&P Can Make or Break Your Online Business

The rise of the internet and technology has seen the commercial market change for good. There truly is no going back. Nowadays it is no longer necessary to head into a brick and mortar store for near enough anything. You can get all of your goods online! From clothes, designer goods, tech products, and books to everyday essentials, such as groceries, and cleaning and personal hygiene products. This is E-commerce, and its success lies in more than consumers’ sheer laziness (not that we can blame people for opting to have something delivered straight to them rather than having to go to the item themselves). First, running an online business is inherently cheaper than setting up a tangible store. It also requires fewer overheads, and you don’t have to employ staff members to do things such as man the shop floor, greet customers or clean and maintain the physical store space. This means that you have fewer outgoings and can lower your stock’s price while still making a significant profit. This is great for you and even better for customers, who can now find the same product for a cheaper cost. It’s a win-win situation. Next, you are less likely to experience theft of stock or takings, as potential thieves are unaware of where you store your goods and they also don’t have access to a physical till or source of cash. Finally (for now, at least), operating online essentially ensures that your store is open 24/7. Rather than having to wait until a store is open, customers can purchase products at any given time. This will increase your overall profit, as you won’t miss out on spur of the moment purchases. So, this all sounds pretty good, right? But this is still going to require diligent, hard work to succeed. There’s one thing that you should focus your efforts on in particular when running an online store: postage and packaging (otherwise known as P&P). Here are a few ways how P&P can make or break your online business.

Go International

The type of shipping that you offer determines the scope of your products’ reach. As we are all well aware, the further your brand and products’ reach, the better. After all, you never know where your biggest consumer market might lie. There have been plenty of instances where a company doesn’t take off in its native country first but rather finds a huge fanbase overseas. So, if you haven’t considered this already, it’s time to go international. Offer international shipping options to your customers. If you are a small business, most consumers will understand that you can’t offer this for free, especially if goods are particularly heavy or bulky. Simply charge the amount that it will cost you to get a parcel from A to B. Nothing changes on your end of the deal: all you have to do is take the parcel to the post office in the same way you would any national delivery. If the customer is invested in your product and likes it enough, they will cover the costs. If not, it’s no loss to you. So, give it a go!

Make It Fast

When customers buy from your site, they will expect to have different shipping options available to them. Most will expect an economy rate and a first class, priority or express rate. The economy rate, of course, will be the cheapest option available and is most likely to be your standard option. However, giving consumers the opportunity to purchase something and receive it the next day will increase sales. Many people are very last minute and will opt to use companies who are able to deliver their goods quickly at late notice, even if it comes at a higher cost.

Prioritise Practicality

You want your goods to make their way from you to their recipient in pristine condition. Customers are likely to return goods that are faulty, broken, or damaged on arrival, so you might as well save yourself the hassle and financial cost of dealing with returns by ensuring that you get the packaging right the first time. There are endless types of packaging being offered by packaging manufacturers, and the one that you should use is entirely dependent on what you are sending. All items should be sent in a secure box, envelope or jiffy bag. If the contents of a package are particularly fragile, you will want to invest in appropriate bubble wrap or polystyrene pieces to pack it safely. You should also label the outside of the box as fragile and note which way up it should be stored. This will help to get it there in one piece, as intended.

Get Creative

Packaging can make an impact and lasting impression on a parcel’s recipient. So once the goods are packed safely and securely, you can start getting a little creative. There are plenty of ways to make any delivered item stand out from the crowd. If you are sending a letter or paperwork, consider a branded wax seal or ink stamp. If you opt for jiffy bags, see if you can get branded ones or seal them with a branded sticker. Boxes can come in your brand’s colors. You may also like to leave a personal thank you note inside or use attractive tissue papers or ribbons in your interior packaging. The sky’s the limit when it comes to making your delivery be as stand-out as possible. This is called the “unboxing experience,” something you can find out a little more about here. Remember that nowadays, social media is a brilliant form of free advertising, and people love to post aesthetically pleasing images. Images of impressive packaging are more likely to be uploaded, allowing others to be exposed to your brand and check out your products too!

These small touches may only take a few minutes to put into place, but they will allow your brand to reach out to all areas of the world and truly wow your consumers when they receive their package. So start paying a little more attention to your postage and packaging methods today. The sooner you start to improve them, the sooner you will start to see increased sales and return customers. Brilliant!