If you own a business where you need to ship packages to your customers, it is important to know a few things. The following tips will help you package the products, provide the right types of labels, and streamline the shipping process.
Use Custom-Made Labels
When you are shipping packages to customers, it becomes another branding opportunity. Every hand that looks at the package from the time you ship it to when the customer receives it, becomes an opportunity. You can increase your brand awareness by adding your business name and logo to the outside of the package. This can be done by having package and address labels custom-made with your business logo. However, if you ship items that are highly valuable and at high risk of theft, keep your business name off the outside shipping box.
Get a Postage Meter
It can become a hassle when you are visiting the post office every day and waiting in line to have your packages shipped. A better option is to get a postage meter for your office that lets you weight the packages yourself. Each time you pack a box, you can then get the accurate weight and calculate the amount of postage that is needed. This eliminates guesswork and lets you print postage right in your office. You can then have the local post office pick up the packages and ship them without ever stepping foot in the post office.
Track and Insure Your Shipments
There is a lot that can potentially happen to a package while it is being transported, so tracking the packages is essential. This is not only beneficial to you, but to your customers as well. After you have an item shipped, let the customer know what the tracking number is. That way, if they are wondering where it is, they can check the tracking status instead of calling you repeatedly. It also lets you know where or not packages are arriving as scheduled, or if you need to send another package that got lost. With high-valued items, consider insuring them as well.
Know How to Tape Boxes
Securing the shipping box with tape may seem like an easy task, but it helps to know the right way to do it. You don't want to waste tape by using too much, but you also need to make sure you are using enough. Only use packing tape for shipping packages since it is nice and secure and can handle the shipping and transporting process without coming loose. When applying tape, place it in a capital "I" shape. This means you add tape to the middle seam, then one long piece of tape on each end where the flaps close.
Contact a local printing service, such as Fotorecord Print Center, for further assistance.
