Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - The Small Retailer's Survival Guide - Part 5 - Home Delivery Costs
The trouble with some people is, they assume that their clients are all boring, dull and have no sense of humor. Isn't it strange how most companies seem to have a charisma bypass when it comes to communicating with their clients. Which would you rather have, A client? Or, a friend who is also a client? A friend of course. Well, to have more friends in your business, you must do more friendly things.Actually, it's all about the human touch. Something that's often missing in our business dealings today. Your clients are all human beings who have a wife or husband, kids who don't listen, a mortgage that's too big, a house that's too small, a swimming pool that needs cleaning and a garden that needs weeding. They are concerned about their health, they like to laugh, eat out, go to the movies and want to be happy just like you.The more you treat your clients as friends, the more they'll talk about you and wa
Fake it ‘till you make it.This is a tag line that one of my former bosses was quite fond of. She would regularly represent our business as having capabilities that exceeded our ability to deliver. She never outright lied in her marketing efforts. She simply positioned us as a different kind of company – one that she thought our customers wanted to do business with. In the end she was setting us up for failure.Your brand positioning should be based upon your capability to deliver. This is as true for your personal brand as it is for a business brand. One of the key components in positioning yourself is determining who you want to attract as a customer. Ultimately, your brand is the sum of your customers’ perceptions of you. In order to influence the perception of your potential clients, you must achieve a high level of self-awareness.Here are a few things to keep in mind as you develop your brand:<
Home delivery was once the preserve of large department stores and some small local retailers. Now, thanks to the internet and improved global logistics, virtually anything can be delivered to anywhere. Does the fact that home delivery is now commonplace mean that small retailers should not bother with it? Well, of course, most small retailers didn't deliver in the first place, so will they be jumping on a band wagon that is already overloaded? Possibly. However, the costs of setting up home delivery may not be as overbearing as you may at first think. It may be worth at least considering the idea.
Perhaps, if you never made home deliveries in the past, you should consider making them now. And if you have always delivered, I would recommend that you try to continue the service. The fact that many others are doing it does not mean you should stop. They are doing it because there is obviously a demand for it. If others are offering home delivery then, if it is viable, so should you. Many small retailers are certainly on the ropes these days, but when it comes to delivery then I believe that the best form of defense is attack. The fact that others are doing it means you need to at least consider competing. The next article in this series looks at the benefits - and the pitfalls - of home delivery. This article considers the costs of setting up such a scheme.
Analyzing the Costs and Benefits The decision of starting (or continuing) a delivery service must, like all business decisions, be made using a proper cost/benefit analysis. What are the capital and revenue costs involved? What are the benefits? The costs calculation may be fairly straight forward but the benefits less so. If you cannot arrive at a reasonable estimate then you may need to carry out a trial.
Costs Firstly consider the outlay and running costs for the vehicle. Do you need to purchase or lease a vehicle to do the job? If you do you might have trouble justifying the project. After 5 or 6 years a delivery van will start to cost you serious money in maintenance and repairs. Even though it can be a capital cost, think of vehicles as more of a revenue cost, a week to week drain. Just amortize the purchase cost over 5 years to work out the true revenue cost of purchasing a van. If you intend to lease, then this aspect is already worked out. Add to this the running costs, which for a vehicle can be considerable. I will make a rough and ready prediction here and now: if you purchase or lease a vehicle for the sole purpose of making customer deliveries then it will not pay. Think of another way. What you must t
A Conveyor Belt is the material carrying part of the handling system. Generally speaking, it is looped endlessly over rollers and two terminal pulleys that rotate and move the belt along. The belt could be of any length that is required for a particular application. The Conveyor Belt that moves phosphate from the mines in Western Sahara to the coast is over sixty miles long!Conveyor Belts can be broadly divided into fabric/steel reinforced belts and wire mesh belts. The choice depends on the type of use.According to i-conveyors.com, modern factories use a continuous process to manufacture Conveyor Belts. Apart from increasing the manufacturing efficiency, this method provides longer lengths without splicing. This, in turn, reduces the installation and maintenance cost of the belt.Simplistically stated, a belt is manufactured by embedding the reinforcing material - textile, canvas, nylon, steel cord, or a combin
Perhaps, if you never made home deliveries in the past, you should consider making them now. And if you have always delivered, I would recommend that you try to continue the service. The fact that many others are doing it does not mean you should stop. They are doing it because there is obviously a demand for it. If others are offering home delivery then, if it is viable, so should you. Many small retailers are certainly on the ropes these days, but when it comes to delivery then I believe that the best form of defense is attack. The fact that others are doing it means you need to at least consider competing. The next article in this series looks at the benefits - and the pitfalls - of home delivery. This article considers the costs of setting up such a scheme.
Analyzing the Costs and Benefits The decision of starting (or continuing) a delivery service must, like all business decisions, be made using a proper cost/benefit analysis. What are the capital and revenue costs involved? What are the benefits? The costs calculation may be fairly straight forward but the benefits less so. If you cannot arrive at a reasonable estimate then you may need to carry out a trial.
Costs Firstly consider the outlay and running costs for the vehicle. Do you need to purchase or lease a vehicle to do the job? If you do you might have trouble justifying the project. After 5 or 6 years a delivery van will start to cost you serious money in maintenance and repairs. Even though it can be a capital cost, think of vehicles as more of a revenue cost, a week to week drain. Just amortize the purchase cost over 5 years to work out the true revenue cost of purchasing a van. If you intend to lease, then this aspect is already worked out. Add to this the running costs, which for a vehicle can be considerable. I will make a rough and ready prediction here and now: if you purchase or lease a vehicle for the sole purpose of making customer deliveries then it will not pay. Think of another way. What you must
We all live and work in a constellation of relationships based on service. You can see this with the customers you serve and the suppliers who serve you. But this is also true with colleagues, employees, managers, family, friends, government agencies and community members.When you improve service in every direction of your life, you’ll find new ways to connect to your customers, through your customers.Paul in South Africa explains:‘Passing on supplier benefits to our customers’ employees creates a deep-rooted loyalty that is hard to break. We supply fuel to a company with a large fleet of trucks on commercial contract. But we also give the truck drivers a special deal on fuel for their personal cars and on any purchases they make at our convenience stores. This creates brand familiarity and appreciation that are part of their daily lives.’What a positive and productive idea. But how many suppliers are do
Analyzing the Costs and Benefits The decision of starting (or continuing) a delivery service must, like all business decisions, be made using a proper cost/benefit analysis. What are the capital and revenue costs involved? What are the benefits? The costs calculation may be fairly straight forward but the benefits less so. If you cannot arrive at a reasonable estimate then you may need to carry out a trial.
Costs Firstly consider the outlay and running costs for the vehicle. Do you need to purchase or lease a vehicle to do the job? If you do you might have trouble justifying the project. After 5 or 6 years a delivery van will start to cost you serious money in maintenance and repairs. Even though it can be a capital cost, think of vehicles as more of a revenue cost, a week to week drain. Just amortize the purchase cost over 5 years to work out the true revenue cost of purchasing a van. If you intend to lease, then this aspect is already worked out. Add to this the running costs, which for a vehicle can be considerable. I will make a rough and ready prediction here and now: if you purchase or lease a vehicle for the sole purpose of making customer deliveries then it will not pay. Think of another way. What you must
If you're looking to grow your business, then a BLOG is a great tool to add to your tool chest. In this article we will discuss BLOG basics and how you can use them in your business.1. What's a BLOG?What's a BLOG you ask? Well, let me tell you. According to Wikipedia.com:A blog (short for web log) is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order [newest entries are at the top].So, its really just an online journal or diary that is written by anyone who wants to tell the world what's on their mind. (Side note: When I say "the world" I really mean it, so be careful what you write.)Ok, so how can this help you grow your business? Great question. To understand the answer you have to know just a bit about how search engines work.2. BLOGs and Search EnginesSearch engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and all the others use wh
Costs Firstly consider the outlay and running costs for the vehicle. Do you need to purchase or lease a vehicle to do the job? If you do you might have trouble justifying the project. After 5 or 6 years a delivery van will start to cost you serious money in maintenance and repairs. Even though it can be a capital cost, think of vehicles as more of a revenue cost, a week to week drain. Just amortize the purchase cost over 5 years to work out the true revenue cost of purchasing a van. If you intend to lease, then this aspect is already worked out. Add to this the running costs, which for a vehicle can be considerable. I will make a rough and ready prediction here and now: if you purchase or lease a vehicle for the sole purpose of making customer deliveries then it will not pay. Think of another way. What you must
Branding alone isn’t enough these days, people want experiences, they want magic moments and memories to enrich their lives with. To create these experiential moments requires you to identify and appreciate what creates the magic for your consumer and enhance it at every ’touchpoint.’So how do we go about the daunting task of packaging experiences? Job number one is taking an honest unbiased look at your brand offering to define the experience opportunity that makes the most sense. You will need to assess your brand and how it fares in each of the five core brand components (your brand should have at least one of these components):TransformationOptimismIndividualityInvolvementAdventure Transformation Transformation occurs when a brand takes you from one state of mind to another. The health and beauty c
- Share the delivery service with others: if you are a food grocery store and wish to deliver to some of your customers, then ask the other nearby stores if they would also like to take part in the scheme and send their goods out to customers on your vehicle and share some of the costs. Alternatively you could piggy-back the video rental delivery van and simply pay them a modest standing charge or pay for each delivery. Of course, many jurisdictions have regulations governing the manner in which foods and non foods, cooked and raw foods, foods and drugs etc should be separated. You must also take into account the need to keep certain products refrigerated. You may need to use a cool-box or roll cage cover in order to keep products at the right temperature in a van with an ambient temperature. There are also regulations in some areas about who is authorized to handle certain goods such as drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. So make sure you check first.
- Use your own vehicle: Once again, attention must be paid to the needs to protect foods and other products from contamination or temperature abuse. If you can transport the goods using your own vehicle and not violate any regulations and you can ensure the products are well protected, then why not do it. At a swipe you have a delivery service with no capital outlay. You may also be able to persuade your own staff (if you have any) to drop products to customers' houses on their way home where the route fits the direction of their journey. Even if you have no staff, you probably need to travel to the wholesaler, bank or your favorite aunt on occasion. Try to use the vehicle for more than one purpose on each trip, where this is practical.
- Consolidate deliveries by area and time: if your catchment area is spread out quite wide and far,
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/14819/casualarticles-The-Small-Retailers-Survival-Guide--Part-5--Home-Delivery-Costs.html">The Small Retailer's Survival Guide - Part 5 - Home Delivery Costs</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/14819/casualarticles-The-Small-Retailers-Survival-Guide--Part-5--Home-Delivery-Costs.html]The Small Retailer's Survival Guide - Part 5 - Home Delivery Costs[/url]
Related Articles:
How to Use Event Marketing to Help Your Business
Recruiting And Hiring Young Workers - Six Steps for Success
Opportunities Abound for Those with Medical Degrees
Bookmark it:
|