Yeah, I know this got you thinking- what sales marketer in his right senses will want to deliver services to people who probably might not even live without the services; much more, free? I must tell you, if you are thinking that, then I got to give you the thumbs-up; why? Well, because I think only a smart and a very experienced business person will think the way you think. Yes, you didn’t just start doing business yesterday; you never hesitate to tell anyone who cares to listen that you are no novice or child in business. Of course, you couldn’t be; because if you were, where then did you get so much wisdom and knowledge about business? Your query is probably right and wrong; I’ll tell you how.
21st Century Marketing (‘Good Old Days’)
You see… marketing a business is a feat that used to be easy back in the days when all you had to do was tell people you had a very effective product and that if only they try it will they be convinced. This might sound like a shock to you but it’s true; THAT STRATEGY NO LONGER WORKS! Yes… it’s true; one could conveniently say that you only got away with that strategy primarily because you were dealing with myopically minded and ignorant 20th-century folks. Alas! We are in the 21st century and whether you admit it or not, a lot has changed since the last century. After all, it is said that the only constant factor in life is CHANGE!
Now, business marketing entails a great lot than meets the eye. You have to be smart, wise, tactful, strategic and even at times; illogical. There are a lot of strategic schemes (or methods as you might prefer to call it) that you can effectively use to boost sales in your business niche. I could go on and on to highlight these strategies but I will just concentrate basically and more elaborately on one of them which is Free Delivery.
The ‘Free Delivery’ Strategy
Although this method has been in existence even as far back as the good old days; marketers have ignorantly turned a blind eye to it. What most modern marketers now want are easy systems that will enable them to make more output even without putting in much effort. They fail to realize that the era of those kinds of methods has long gone into extinction. The order of the day in this modern world of ours now is what philosophers and religious leaders call the Law Of Karma. This law postulates that a man reaps only what he sows. The level of input you offer determines the degree of output you get.
So, if you want the business to offer you dividends and you are not ready to give what you have to get what you want; I might as well tell you that you are on a wild goose chase. This free delivery strategy entails that you foot the transportation expenses from your purse; I know this might sound a bit off but you just have no choice. After all, sacrifices have been made, you get to enjoy the dividends of swarms of customers. I wouldn’t want to confuse you with this analogy, so I’ll just as well make it more precise and concise. I will analyze the merits of this strategy to you in a more comprehensive form.
Merits Of The ‘Free Delivery’ Strategy
I think the most basic thing you stand to gain from offering free delivery for your services is that it will immediately boost sales, leading to more orders and eventually, more profits. Free delivery also leads to larger orders, particularly when retailers set minimum thresholds. Also, in the long run, a large base of consumers will only want to buy from salesmen that offer free delivery even to their doorstep. Beyond any profit gained on a short-term basis, it’s important to consider repeated purchases made by customers and the overall lifetime value of these customers that you wouldn’t even have had if it weren’t for free delivery.
Furthermore, the survey has it that while over 50% of salesmen have claimed that this free delivery strategy did actually increase profit for them; most (the remaining 50%) still claim it doesn’t. With this survey, however, there was no sign of the period in time the respondents were considering when drawing their conclusions. Merchants are often forced to look beyond the short-term to justify free delivery, meaning that it doesn’t always have to be about what surveys and researchers say; it should be about what you think is healthy for your business.
If you think taking out money from your purse to gas your delivery van and pay for other transporting expenses isn’t possibly going to make business any better for you, then you could as well opt out of the method. But for those who believe that making sacrifices for the betterment of the future is the best, then you sure are on the right path. I wasn’t going to share this with you but I think I should.
Some time ago, I came across this marketer who was promoting women hair products. Hairs of all kinds but was only receiving peanut as commission (less than 10% on every sale income). You know what this guy did? He bought a delivery van on loan and included in his marketing message that he was also offering free delivery to anyone who purchased from him. I saw this message and helped him put the word out. You won’t believe it if I told you that in less than a week after we put the word out, this dude had gotten more than 50 customers who were even willing to pay in advance in fear that the product would be exhausted before it ever reached them. My marketer friend was confused about what he would do, so he went back to the manufacturers and demanded that more products should be accrued to him and of course that his commission should be hiked. In less than a month of sales, he upset the van loan and got himself two other bigger vans with drivers. Now, he runs his own free delivery business on every product he sells; and almost all businesses in his town want him to help market their products.
What was his gain? MORE CUSTOMERS! On the last note, I have to tell you that this method will guarantee that you stay competitive and on top in the modern business sphere. You will discover that after doing this, you would have gained more than you even put in at first. It’s simple logic that even beats the Law Of Diminishing Returns in a good way.
