Why Outsourcing your Direct Marketing or Fulfilment works!

Running a small or medium-sized business/enterprise (SME) can be stressful. The pressure can derive from ensuring there is enough people coming through the door, there is stock on the shelves, members in your database, and a compelling offer to keep customers happy and purchasing. And all this before you even think about paying your bills, payroll or keeping the lights on.

In 2017, “the Bureau of Statistics shows there were 2.1 million small businesses in Australia… while data and analytics provider illion revealed 54,992 businesses went bust in Australia last financial year.” That statistic is staggering and an increase of over 12.7% on the year prior!

As business conditions continually become tougher for SME’s in Australia, businesses need to focus more on working ‘on’ their business, rather than ‘in’ their business.

Essentially what this means is the owners and managers of SME’s around Australia need to be working on business functions and taking actions that increase their long-term business potential, rather than serving on the front line, getting bogged down in the day-to-day operations, or driving the van to deliver orders!

Why outsource your order fulfilment?

Regardless of whether your business is an online business, a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ operation or a combination of the two, some of the most time consuming and often confusing areas for SME’s can include marketing, sales, accounting and fulfilment.

Sure, you can bumble your way through MYOB and get your BAS and tax return done. But as a small business, most people see an accountant either monthly or quarterly, but most definitely yearly.

But, when it comes to fulfilment, in particular, why do SME’s often take it upon themselves, rather than outsourcing and sticking to what they do best?

Sure, you can do it, but basic economic theory suggests the ‘opportunity cost’ of you doing so, rather than focusing on sales, marketing, product sourcing, launching new products, etc. is not an effective way to do business, and one of the core reasons your business may be going out the window.

So, what are the benefits of outsourcing your order fulfilment?

As mentioned, it isn’t just about passing the work to other people; it’s about what you are doing with your time.

If you are running an eCommerce store, for example, why not have your order fulfilment outsourced, allowing you to add a small cost to each order to cover it, and then you can focus on growing your sales? Or even better, taking that Yoga class you were thinking of doing, spending time with your kids off your phone, or seeing a movie? This is the beauty of outsourcing from a time perspective, but what about customer service and cost?

– Reduce Costs – With outsourcing, you only pay for what you use such as warehouse storage fees for the space your products take up or the orders that are picked, packed and mailed. Not only that, but fulfilment companies such as First Class Consulting & Mailing (FCCM) have large volumes of products – just like yours – they ship every day – saving businesses time and money. Better still, postage costs will be generally cheaper through bulk discounts and shipping arrangements!

– Improved Customer Service – orders are fulfilled efficiently and promptly, improving end-to-end customer satisfaction. In other words, FCCM are in the business of customer service and order fulfilment. Any issues, their expert team are trained, ready and able to take care of it. Meanwhile, you can get to the hard work of growing your business.

The FCCM customer service team can take orders and deal with enquiries over the phone, handle orders received via email and even make outbound calls as necessary to complete the loop.

So, why not spend more time growing your business? Generating new customers, products and incremental revenue streams is simple when you partner with a fulfilment professional.

Outsourcing your fulfilment will allow your business to work while you are doing what you do best – or more importantly, what you want to be doing.

Contact the FCCM team today on 03 9553 2888 or email davidg@fccm.com.au and work together with the fulfilment professionals to create a more sustainable and profitable business.