The pandemic upended the business landscape when it started over a year ago. After the initial round of closures, some businesses started to recover, particularly those courier and delivery services. However, when the shelter-in-place orders were issued, food delivery services suddenly found themselves in the middle of a considerable surge in demand. Similarly, grocery delivery services also became popular as the general population had to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus.
The shift to e-commerce by many businesses further increased the demand for delivery services, which made it an appealing option for people looking to start a business. Here are the things to consider if you are planning to start a delivery business.
Find a Unique Selling Proposition
While the delivery business is quite popular these days, you have to make sure you stand out in the market. This makes it important for you to develop a unique selling proposition to compete with other delivery service providers in your area.
You need to fill in what is missing in the market you are entering. Identifying an open niche is also important, and finding the thing you can improve in your local market. You can also look for the issues the market has to deal with at the moment. Once you can deal with these issues, it will be easier for you to show how unique your business is and make it appealing to your potential customers.
Highlight Customer Experience
While you may not reach the same level as your competition at the start, you can still attract customers into your fold. To increase the appeal of your business in the market, you should focus on making the customer experience pleasant. To do this, you should focus on ensuring the timely delivery of packages. It is also important to avoid damage on these packages so your customers will have no issues with your business.
When they have a pleasant customer experience, they can promote your business on their own. You will become the beneficiary of a word-of-mouth marketing campaign from customers who liked the service you provided. You’ll also have a loyal customer who will choose your business over your competitors.
Follow Safety Protocols
Even as Covid-19 cases have gone down and more people are vaccinated, it’s still important to follow safety protocols. This is particularly true for your drivers who are at the forefront of your business. You should make sure they wear the proper personal protective equipment and maintain social distancing with the customers.
You can also implement contactless payments and delivery conformations as well as barcode scanning. This makes your drivers and customers feel safe until everything goes back to normal. Additionally, it is a good idea to let the drivers take a Basic Driver Improvement Course so that they can get reacquainted with traffic rules and procedures. They may not even have to attend the course on-site since BDIC online classes are already available.
Set Up a Website
Another thing that you need to do is to set up a website. Since most people are already shopping online, it’s only practical for you to go online to connect with your market. Therefore, your website should be user-friendly, and the loading speed should be fast. You should also make sure it is responsive. This means your customers can easily access it using a desktop computer or a mobile device.
To increase user-friendliness, your website should have several features, including chatbots for customer service, an order-tracking feature, a courier-tracking feature, and various payment methods. In addition, you can increase its online presence using search engine optimization and integrating Google Analytics for you to check its performance online.
Build Reputation
You should also build your reputation in the market. Since you are a newcomer in the industry, you may find it challenging to do this. But once you establish a customer base, you should work hard to build loyalty among your customers. Establishing lasting relationships with them is possible through a positive customer experience.
You can also launch a loyalty program for your customers where you offer free delivery for your customers after they book a certain number of deliveries with your business. You can also go the extra mile for your customers to show them that they are more than just a figure on your revenue board.
Consistency in your services is also another thing that you should strive for, and if you get testimonials from loyal customers, you should publish them on your website. This builds loyalty and makes the customer feel important.
Starting a delivery business is challenging, but you can still succeed and benefit from the increasing demand in the industry.
