Running a business isn’t easy; there can be hurdles around every corner that you need to overcome to expand your business and make a profit. If you run your business online, we have a few extra services you can offer to your customers to improve their experience and make additional income for your company.
Gift wrapping
A gift wrapping service is an easy way to open up your products to the gifting market and make your business more money. Consumers love the convenience of being able to purchase gifts online that are ready-wrapped and can be passed on to the recipient quickly. Along with gift wrapping your products, you can offer personalised gift tags and even delivery directly to the recipient's address. These are relatively cheap services you can provide as a business that offer convenience to your customers. The mark-up on gift wrapping, gift tags and delivery to the recipient can earn your business a significant amount of money.
Next day delivery
Immediacy is highly valued when buying products online. Consumers no longer want to wait a week or more for their items to arrive. Online stores that offer next-day delivery will often be chosen by customers even if the price of the delivery or item is higher. Businesses can take advantage of a consumer's lack of planning and charge a high mark-up on next-day delivery. You may be surprised how much some customers are willing to pay to get their items delivered the next day. Suppose you offer a next-day delivery service; make sure you can deliver the items on time. If you can’t, customers will become frustrated that they have paid more for quick delivery and the items do not arrive on time.
Referral programme
Many companies choose to add a referral scheme to their website. When customers refer a friend or family member, they receive a reward or discount for doing so. Gaining new customers is expensive; a referral scheme can reduce this cost and enable businesses to reach large audiences through existing customers, friends and family. This is an excellent strategy if your company offers a service with a high lifetime value per customer. The initial benefit of obtaining a referred customer may seem costly, but they will spend much more than the initial cost to bring them into the business through the referral.
Tracked delivery
Another great service businesses can easily add to their website is tracked delivery. Customers who want to ensure their items are delivered without issues will be happy to pay for tracked delivery, especially if the items are valuable. Important documents packaged in postal cardboard tubes are common items customers are willing to pay more for tracked delivery.
Subscription service
If your product lends itself to repeat buying, a subscription service is a great way to make your business more money. The regular income will help with forecasting, and consumers will benefit as they won’t need to keep coming back and buying your product. Instead, it will be automatically delivered to their door. Subscription services are becoming more popular as consumers increasingly buy online and may prefer to buy from brands they can’t find on the high street. Subscription services help improve customer loyalty, improve customer lifetime value, and provide a regular income for your business.
Payment plan
Customers may want to buy from your business but don’t have the money upfront to pay for your products or services in one payment. A payment plan can help customers get the products they want or need now but allows them to pay for them later. This is a common practice in many industries, such as car payments. Your business can choose to charge interest on the payment plan or offer an interest-free instalment plan. Adding this payment option to your website might help expand your business to new customers and help you make more income.
Loyalty points
Loyalty points are a great way to incentivise customers to keep returning and buying from your business. Many customers will choose to keep returning and using your website to buy items so they can receive a free order or gift in the future. The offer of a gift or money off after so many transactions creates consumer loyalty and increases the lifetime value of customers.