Product fulfillment tips

Gaining customer satisfaction and trust is the key to developing a strong cash flow. In order to build this trust with your customers, you must be able to find a way to reach them and you need to be able to satisfy their needs. Customers want their orders shipped early, they want them packaged properly, and they want their products to work correctly. Product fulfillment is important to the success of your business. Here are some product fulfillment tips that will make your job easier and make your customers happier.

Tip # 1 - Recognize it is an interaction
When you are dealing with product fulfillment, you must recognize that it is your final interaction with your customers. If they have already had a positive experience with your company, the only thing that will ruin it now is you packing the product wrong and causing it to break. What are you putting in the box besides an invoice? Your customers want more than just an invoice, they are going to look for a catalog, a thank-you letter or another nice thing in that box that is more than just packing material and their product.

Tip # 2 - Watch your pricing
Customers may love your products and services, but once they see the expensive price tag attached to your shipping, it can lead them to a competitor's website. Work with the best shipping services out there to try and reduce the total cost of shipping for your customers. USPS tends to be cheaper than UPS and FedEx unless you work out an arrangement with them to be your designated shipping service provider.

Tip # 3 - Make an impression
Think of the products that you have received from other companies, what did you appreciate with those products? Look for packing materials that will actually protect your products when they are shipped. Don't opt for the cheapest packing material because it will save you a few extra cents on your bottom end. Consider all of the different types of packing material from bubble wrap to foam in order to find a good price and a nice material to protect your products.

Tip # 4 - Consider outsourcing
Depending upon the number of products you are packing and shipping out, it may be in your best interest to work with a shipping service. Fulfillment services not only provide you with excellent packing services, they have all of the tools necessary to provide the customers with the best service possible. Here are some of the things outsourcing services can provide:

• Labels, barcodes, tape, packing material, boxes


• Warehousing of your products


• Packing and shipping services

A good outsourcing firm will not only be able to handle product fulfillment, they will also manage your returns as well so you aren't stuck with the expensive shipping costs to and from the facility.

Hiring a fulfillment facility is one of the best options if you deal with a number of orders each month. They can handle higher volumes of orders compared to your facility, allowing you to get your orders out to your customers faster. When meeting with a fulfillment facility, make sure you discuss their customer service needs. You need to make sure they are going to be able to easily provide your customers with the support they need if they will handle the returns.

Design product fulfillment documents to hand off to the company so they will be sure to provide your customers with the right type of service you expect them to have. Talk to the company about integrating email notices with product shipping and invoices. This is an additional step that your customers will certainly appreciate.