What is Expedited Shipping?
Expedited shipping, or express shipping, is a faster shipping option that allows customers to receive their orders in fewer days or even hours compared to regular shipping. It’s an excellent service for eCommerce businesses to offer, as it not only increases customer satisfaction but can also help you increase profits.
But first, let’s review the basics of expedited shipping.
The Benefits of Offering Expedited Shipping
In today’s fast-paced eCommerce landscape, offering expedited shipping can provide several benefits for businesses looking to improve customer experience and drive growth. In this section, we’ll explore five key advantages of expedited shipping. By understanding these benefits, your business can better prioritize fast, reliable shipping options to achieve your eCommerce goals.
1. Faster Delivery Times:
The most obvious benefit of expedited shipping is it allows customers to receive their orders faster. This speedier delivery is important for time-sensitive items like gifts or perishable goods. Expedited shipping can also be a selling point for customers willing to pay a premium for faster delivery.
2. Improved Customer Experience:
By giving customers the ability to receive their orders sooner rather than later, you are offering them convenience and reliability, which can increase customer loyalty. Additionally, offering expedited shipping can help attract new customers by showing that your business knows how to keep up with current trends in order fulfillment speed.
3. Greater Profits:
Another significant benefit of offering expedited shipping is increased sales revenue. By allowing customers to pay extra for faster delivery times, you make more money on those orders and increase overall sales volume since more people are likely to purchase if they know they can get their orders quickly. All this equates to greater profits for your eCommerce business.
4. Competitive Advantage:
In a crowded eCommerce marketplace, offering expedited shipping can help your business stand out. This distinction is helpful for companies that operate in niche markets or sell unique products.
5. Improved Revenue Cycle:
Suppose your business waits to collect payments until customers receive their orders. In that case, shorter delivery times can help minimize your revenue cycle by reducing the time between when a customer orders a product and when they pay for it. This improvement to your revenue cycle can also lead to fewer late payments or unpaid orders because of delays in delivery times.
How To Market & Promote Expedited Shipping Benefits
When you’re looking to promote your expedited shipping options, there are several key strategies to remember. This section will explore five effective ways to maximize the benefits of expedited shipping. By implementing these strategies, you can effectively market your expedited shipping options and drive eCommerce growth.
Highlight the Benefits
When promoting expedited shipping, focusing on this service’s benefits is essential. Your promotional strategy should include an explanation on your website of what shipping options are available and how much additional cost might be associated. These upfront details help potential customers know what they’re getting when they choose a shipping option while placing their order.
Create Infographics & Banners
Visual elements such as infographics are a great way to show potential customers how much time they could save by opting for an express service instead of standard delivery options when shopping online at your store or website.
One way to design a promotional infographic for expedited shipping is to show the difference between regular and expedited shipping. Such visuals should display expected timelines and prices associated with both choices, so shoppers can understand the value they are getting when selecting either option. In addition, comparing different scenarios side-by-side helps drive home precisely why investing in an expedited option might prove beneficial in terms of convenience or savings – even if it costs slightly more upfront.
Additionally, consider adding promotional banners on your website that showcase discounts or promotions related to expedited delivery services. These images can entice visitors and encourage them to choose express shipping over regular shipping. You can easily add your product photos to banner images with help from free design tools. For example, Pixelcut’s AI Photo Shoot tool helps you turn a regular picture of your product into a professional, banner-ready image.
Prospect High-Volume Customers
Businesses should consider prospecting high-volume customers who would benefit from expedited shipping. This target market could include companies that rely on time-sensitive products or require fast turnaround times. These customers are likely to value speed and reliability the most.
By targeting these high-volume customers, your business can cater to their specific needs and build a loyal customer base that prioritizes fast shipping. Additionally, high-volume customers are more likely to place repeat orders, which can help you achieve a steady revenue stream and improve your bottom line.
Keep Track of Invoices
Implementing a reliable invoice tracking system is essential when offering expedited shipping. This tracking process can help prevent errors and ensure your business delivers timely orders. In addition, keeping track of invoices generated after each purchase also helps track any returns or refunds necessary throughout the order’s journey.
Overall, effective invoice tracking helps maximize operational efficiency over time while minimizing costly mistakes due to errors during transactions, which is increasingly crucial when you’re dealing with shorter delivery windows and customers who have higher expectations.
Offer Advanced Shipping Innovations
Businesses should consider offering international expedited shipping, on-demand delivery, and dropshipping to reach a broader customer base.
- International Expedited Shipping: International expedited shipping is especially beneficial if your business is looking to cater to international customers who may have more urgent needs due to longer shipping times and potential language barriers. However, there are certain considerations you should take into account when offering international shipping, such as duties/customs and currencies. To navigate these challenges, Shippit offers helpful tips for businesses considering international shipping.
- On-Demand Delivery: On-demand delivery is a service that allows customers to receive their orders within a few hours. This added service can be a great option for businesses operating in large cities or offering time-sensitive products. For example, florists and edible arrangement eCommerce companies offer on-demand delivery so customers can send same-day gifts to recipients, fresh and dropped off the same day. But you don’t necessarily have to specialize in time-sensitive products to benefit from on-demand delivery. No matter what you’re selling online, your customers may be interested in taking advantage of in-store on-demand delivery. For more information about this shipping option, Shippit has a helpful blog post that covers the basics of on-demand delivery.
- Dropshipping: Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method that allows businesses to sell products without holding inventory. Instead, the manufacturer itself (or another supplier) maintains the stock. Then, when your business receives an order, you request a shipment from that third-party supplier directly to your customer. This shipping method can benefit businesses that want to offer expedited shipping but want to avoid managing inventory. It’s also handy for managing large, high-value items that may only sell occasionally. For help deciding whether your business should offer dropshipping, check out Shippit’s blog post on what businesses need to know about dropshipping.
Maximizing Your eCommerce Growth with Expedited Shipping
Expedited shipping helps you stand out in a crowded eCommerce marketplace and provide a better customer experience. By highlighting the benefits of expedited shipping and effectively promoting these options to your customers, you’ll help your business increase order values and build brand loyalty. With the right strategy, offering expedited shipping can be a powerful tool for driving eCommerce growth.