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Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting "The Perfect Speaker"
Today, more than ever, the success of meetings relies heavily on the strength of program content and presentation. Nothing can spoil a meeting more than hiring the wrong speaker. That’s because speakers do more than just convey the overall meeting...
Creating A True Collaborative Environment By Honoring Your People
Creating A True Collaborative Environment By Honoring Your People by Carole Nicolaides © 2001 http://www.progressiveleadership.com We all know the benefits of creating a collaborative teamwork environment. Where we often fall though is in creating...
Mission-Critical Public Relations?
As a business, non-profit or association manager, any tool that helps you reach your department, division or subsidiary objective IS mission-critical.
And particularly so when that tool helps you persuade your most important external...
Successful Small Businesses Use PR
It’s obvious when a small business has accepted the fact that its most important outside audiences need lots of care and feeding. They do something about it.
There’s a sense of urgency and a recognition that those “key target publics” have...
The Ten Pillars of Leadership and Business Development
Leadership is any influence relationship that brings about change…this can be a teacher/student relationship, a parent/child relationship, a politician/citizen relationship, a business owner/employee relationship, a community leader/volunteer...
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Tips for Reducing Shipping Costs
If shipping and handling is one of your profit centers, you already know that this can be an expensive and time-consuming aspect of your business operations. Try these tips:
Mind your Inventory
By keeping sufficient inventory on hand, you'll avoid the high expenses associated with making a second mailing to cover back-ordered items. Your customers will be happier, too.
Select a Shipping Carrier
Before choosing a shipping carrier, do a price and feature comparison. Remember to check out your postal service as well as the courier companies. Different shipping companies have different pricing schemes. It might be to your benefit to use more than one service, depending on the nature of the shipments.
Pricing options can be confusing. The physical characteristics of your products will influence the shipping costs. When doing your comparisons, consider issues such as minimum and maximum weights, package dimensions and package density.
Be sure to ask about refund policies for late deliveries, setup fees and discounts for frequent shippers or for memberships in various organizations.
Shipping Documentation
You will need a good system in place to keep track of shipping documentation. Ask your shipping service what documents and forms they can provide.
If you're doing the shipping in-house, be sure your shipping management software can be integrated into your database. If you're planning to out-source your shipping, you might look for a service company that allows you to download your information into its database. You'll have the strength of a corporate database but without the cost.
Know your True Costs
Be very familiar with the true costs of shipping and handling. Analyze the weight, size and dollar amounts of an average size order. Add in costs for packaging, labor and shipping carriers or couriers. When you have a picture of the costs associated with an average order, create a chart of costs of orders of various sizes. Finally, build a buffer into your estimate. Be mindful of what your customers will be willing to pay, however. Higher than average S&H rates will result in customers taking their business elsewhere.
Insurance
Shipping companies typically offer insurance options. You will want to consider the value of your shipment to be certain that you use the best insurance coverage for your needs. It's also a good idea to ask about the various forms of protective packaging materials that are available.
Pack Carefully
If an item arrives broken or damaged, you'll have to replace the damaged item or refund
the customer's money. If you replace, you'll incur the costs of additional shipping and handling.
Pack at least two inches of filler material around each item. Use more if the items are delicate. Place your items in robust boxes. For international shipments, seal your packages with pressure-sensitive or water-activated tape.
Negotiate Better Rates
Once you have an established relationship with your carrier, negotiate better rates for shipping and handling. Tell them you're comparison shopping for best prices. You'll get their attention if you're a regular customer. You can pass the savings along to your own customers. Be sure to present your good S&H rates as a benefit.
Check out the Competition
Try to discover the S&H rates that your competition is charging. If you can come in under their price, you'll want to make sure your customers know the savings they'll enjoy by ordering with you.
Reward Good Customers
Offer a discounted price in S&H to customers who place large orders or to customers who buy regularly. One online company, for example, offers 15% reduction in shipping and handling costs to customers who make a monthly purchase for four consecutive months.
Pick the Best Payment System
Shipping companies typically offer a variety of payment methods. You might choose among pre-paid shipping, online purchasing or payment by credit and debit card. Your businesses' bookkeeping system will influence your payment decision.
Avoid Overnight Shipping
If possible, avoid overnight shipping. Be sure your employees are aware of the costs associated with overnight shipping so they don't promise overnight delivery unless necessary.
And lastly, if you are taking orders over the Internet, your customers have come to expect order tracking to be available. Consider adding that feature to your web site. If you're outsourcing, you might add a link to your service's web site.
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About the Author
June Campbell is a self-employed writer. Her work has been published internationally in a multitude of print and electronic publications. Prior to making a career change in the mid-nineties, June spent close to twenty years working as an addictions counselor and clinic director in Canada.
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| PR.com: Directory of Businesses Jobs Press Releases Products ... |
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| PR Week Magazine |
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| Public relations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| Puerto Rico - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| CIA - The World Factbook -- Puerto Rico |
| Profile of Puerto Rico by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). |
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| Edelman |
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| Online Public Relations Home Page |
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| Chartered Institute of Public Relations, CIPR, the professional ... |
| The CIPR is the professional body for the UK public relations industry, providing PR training and events, PR news and research, and a PR jobs board. |
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| PR News Online — Trusted Source for Public Relations News, PR ... |
| The latest news on public relations delivered FREE right to your inbox. ... Psycho-Geometrics Help You Know What 'Shape' Your PR Team's Personality Is In ... |
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| O'Dwyer's Public Relations News - odwyerpr.com |
| Features breaking news about the public relations industry, a database of PR firms, listing of PR service firms, client search tool and job postings. |
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| PR News Online — Trusted Source for Public Relations News, PR ... |
| E-letter. The latest news on public relations delivered FREE right to your inbox. ... Share ideas with your peers in PR News' just-launched Forum ... |
| www.prandmarketing.com |
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| Linux PR: |
| Comprehensive Press Release and Public Relations resource for the Linux community. |
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| Escape to Puerto Rico - Your Internet Guide to Puerto Rico |
| Internet guide to everything Puerto Rico. Offers lots of photos, accommodations and travel information from around the Island. |
| escape.topuertorico.com |
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