How to Optimize Your Reverse Logistics

 

Optimizing your reverse logistics can help you reach one of your primary business goals – increasing revenue. 

 

Done right, reverse logistics improves customers’ overall experience, minimizes wasted spend, and increases efficiency. So, choosing the right company to oversee this process (or using the right software to do it well yourself) is vital. 

 

We put together a list of eight top reverse logistics companies along with a brief description of their unique features to help you determine if they might be a good fit for your business. Plus, we’ll show you how to optimize your own system for in-house logistics. 

 

What is Reverse Logistics?

Reverse logistics is a process of moving goods or services from what is usually their final destination to another location (either back to their origin point or to another designated location). Reverse logistics is typically work that happens after a product or service is delivered. This can include product returns, recycling, and exchanges.

 

A great example of a business that uses reverse logistics is Oco Meals, which offers a “zero waste” meal delivery service to customers across the greater Vancouver area of Canada. After Oco Meals delivers meals, they retrieve their reusable food containers from customers, which drastically reduces their environmental impact (by keeping these containers out of landfills) and helps build brand loyalty with eco-conscious clientele.

 

What Do Reverse Logistics Companies Do for Businesses?

Some of the services third-party logistics (3PL) companies commonly perform:

 

• Pick up returns and bring them back to a warehouse or other location to be restocked
• Streamline and oversee reverse logistics supply chain management
• Inspect and repackage returned products or parts
• Manage inventory (store products within their own warehouse and reorder when necessary)
• Handle customer refunds
• Reverse logistics companies can manage all or just part of your reverse logistics process, depending on what you need.

 

8 Top Reverse Logistics Companies in 2020

Below you’ll find a breakdown of eight of the most popular reverse logistics providers. Each one offers unique benefits to businesses. Some are global companies that specialize in worldwide logistics, and others offer fast access to most of the United States. We’ve highlighted some of the most distinguishing features each company offers to help you determine which 3PL company might be best for your business.

 

1. XPO Logistics

According to their website, XPO Logistics is “the second largest provider in North America, with over 100 million sq. ft. of facility space in the Americas and Asia.” 

 

They offer forward and reverse logistics solutions to both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) companies in multiple countries. XPO Logistics not only processes returns, but they also handle refurbishing, disposal, and/or product recycling.

 

2. ShipBob

ShipBob is a tech-savvy 3PL focusing on forward and reverse logistics services for direct-to-consumer (D2C) eCommerce stores. They offer seamless integration with eCommerce platforms, including Amazon, Shopify, and BigCommerce (among others). ShipBob can store products in their warehouse and then package and ship them to consumers. ShipBob offers their own process for returns and also partners with Happy Returns and Returnly.

 

3. Bowman Logistics

Bowman Logistics offers a wide range of logistics and storage services, including pick and pack for eCommerce businesses, temperature-controlled food grade storage, consulting, and space for lease. Bowman Logistics offers warehousing and returns management for B2B and B2C companies.

 

4. Mercury Logistics

Mercury Logistics boasts a centrally located U.S. headquarters that is “within 1 day’s drive of more than 60% of the country’s population.” They handle forward and reverse logistics across an array of industries, including automotive, health/pharmaceutical, and alcohol/spirits. Mercury Logistics uses Microsoft Dynamics AX to provide real-time order updates and live tracking to customers.

 

5. Optoro

Optoro provides businesses with a technology-driven and consumer-focus reverse logistics solution. 

 

Their focus is on returns management and recommerce for retail stores and eCommerce businesses. Optoro also partners with Returnly to handle refunds and other aspects of the reverse logistics process.

 

6. Zipline Logistics

On their website, Zipline Logistics boasts the “highest level of customer service in transportation” based on their Net Promoter Score. Zipline Logistics provides grocery and beverage suppliers with temperature-controlled shipping options in addition to serving other industries.

 

7. ShipWizard

ShipWizard provides “end-to-end 3PL services” to a variety of eCommerce stores and other businesses. One of their key offerings is reverse logistics management, with a focus on customer experience. ShipWizard offers integration with an array of eCommerce marketplaces, including Amazon and eBay.

 

8. GEFCO

GEFCO provides logistics solutions by land, sea, and sky to businesses across 47 countries. 

 

They serve businesses in vastly different sectors, including fashion, aerospace, and healthcare. In addition to forward logistics services, they provide reverse logistics and urgent deliveries management.

 

Choosing between a 3PL and In-House Logistics Management

Outsourcing reverse logistics to a 3PL provides considerable benefits, especially to businesses that have a spread out client base or are shipping internationally. For small businesses with limited space, stocking products in a 3PL warehouse can be a great solution as well.

 

The major drawback to using a 3PL is that you may lose control over your customers’ experience. Anytime you hire a third party, whether it’s for delivery, shipping, or logistics, you run the risk of subpar customer interactions. When you don’t oversee the quality of the product or service provided under your brand name, you need to be 100% sure the third-party company you’ve hired will deliver up to your standards. 

 

In the end, the choice to either work with a 3PL or keep logistics in-house comes down to a question of profitability for most companies. Depending on the size of your company and the territory you cover, 3PLs can either help you save money or wind up costing you more. In their article about the pros and cons of outsourcing to a 3PL, Handshake explains that “A 3PL firm may be cheaper up front, but over time will likely be more expensive than handling the shipping functions in-house, provided those in-house functions are operating efficiently.”

 

So, how do you manage forward and reverse logistics efficiently in-house? With the right software.

 

Fulfill your own reverse logistics

Managing returns, exchanges, and other types of reverse logistics doesn’t have to be difficult. Many small and medium-sized businesses handle their own pickups and returns using route optimization software. Businesses can improve their reverse logistics efficiency dramatically by simply incorporating robust software that is capable of planning pickup routes in seconds.

 

For businesses that rely on both forward and reverse logistics like Oco Meals, OptimoRoute is able to seamlessly combine pickups and drop-offs for maximum efficiency. Oco Meals delivery personnel pick up food containers along their delivery routes on Sundays and Mondays to cut down on fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact.

 

Using Reverse Logistics to Stay Ahead of the Competition

The reverse logistics process is a source of untapped potential for many businesses. Returns, exchanges, and remanufacturing possibilities can get overlooked as they are sometimes perceived to be drivers of cost rather than revenue. 

This article was originally published at OptimoRoute.com

Increase Web Site Traffic And Your Search Engine Rankings

 

In this article, you’ll Learn How you can Increase web site traffic at your site. This article will assume you understand Search Engine optimization terms (SEO). Over the last few years, search engine optimization (SEO) has been needed and used more and more, although it has been around for much longer than most people think.

We’ll be discussing SEO techniques and other Free or Paid search methods to generate traffic.

Search Engine Optimization Techniques

1. On-Page Optimization:

Though these days, on-page optimization will not help you much, But still it is important for any website to rank high.

Meta tags, keywords, descriptions, and titles. They’re all important elements, even if they’re not what will make or break your site – they’re just one part of your strategy. These elements need to be compelling and sprinkled with your keywords, as this will entice users to click through from the search results page to your website. It’s best to start off slowly, gradually adding things in as you learn.

The basics are Optimizing Title, Meta tags, H1 tags, and optimizing Paragraphs with 3-5% of keyword density. You should also include outgoing links with proper keyword anchors.

Another thing most people forget is updating site content regularly. Search Engine loves Fresh and related content. You should be updating your site at least 2 times a week.

2. Off-Page optimization:

There are many ways you can optimize your site with off-page optimization methods. We’ll be discussing Press Release and Linking techniques

2a. Press Release:

The press release is one of the effective ways to get noticed by media, plus an effective way to get noticed by Search Engines fast. You need to write an effective press release and distribute using any of the Press release Services like www.prweb.com or www.prleap.com.

Write a press release that can be termed as news for press reporters. Ask Yourself before submitting your Release. Is your news “newsworthy?” The purpose of a press release is to inform the world of your news item. Do not use your press release to try and make a sale. If your press release reads like an advertisement, rewrite it.

The best way to issue an effective press release is to Time it according to current affairs. Pick an angle to make your release more attractive.

Simple tips for an Effective press release.

Strong Headline: If your headline doesn’t entice news reporters then your efforts are going to waste. Your headline and first paragraph should tell the story.

Write for Media: Write in the third person. Avoid Jargon, clichés, and hype. If a reporter wants to add your release to the site or newspaper, he should be able to do it without minimal editing. Avoid clichés such as “customers save money” or “great customer service.”

Another tip that I’d like to share with you is paying press release services to distribute your release to sites like Google news, Yahoo news. You can do it with a minimum of 50$ expenditure. Another resource which I prefer to distribute my releases with is http://www.lifestyledecision.com/press

With this, you’ll be able to write an effective release and bring loads of free traffic to your site.

2b. Linking Techniques:

One Way Links:

Submitting Press releases is the first step towards building long term plans for One-way links. For one way links, I prefer to Buy a link on PR 6 website for one year or so. If you can find a site in your own niche, then you can bring traffic as well as get noticed by Search engines too.

Links Exchange:

Though You must have heard recently about Google ignoring sites who are exchanging links. This is far from the truth. Remember, A link is a Link. If you are building links from related niche sites, Your position will increase. Every Link counts, doesn’t matter if you have some unrelated sites linking to you.

2c. Submitting Articles:

Submitting articles is just like a press release. If your article is not strong there is a chance that it won’t help you as you expect. Write down an article which people want to read, another “10 tips for weight loss” won’t do you any good. Make sure you have at least 500 words article and submit it to sites like www.ezinearticles.com and www.goarticles.com.

Let us Summarize everything again in step by step of What procedures You should Do.

1. Build a Site with properly Optimized keywords and content.
2. Find One way Link Exchange as partners.
3. Issue a Press release to bring attention to your Site.
4. Submit articles to articles directories.
5. Work on Link exchange with related niche sites.
6. Update Your Site every week with new content.

Original Post: http://textforless.net/blog/increase-web-site-traffic-and-your-search-engine-rankings/

Social Media Marketing Ideas

With the recent corona outbreak, everything has come to a halt – except social media marketing. 

The global economy has been thrown into recession, but fortunately, working from home through online channels is saving businesses from a complete shutdown and major losses. 

This just proves what an important part of our lives social media is – as consumers, its something we cannot live without and as marketers, we need to take advantage of that. 

2020 is the year of social media– with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and so many others aggressively competing to come out on top. 

However, you need to invest in the right social media marketing ideas for your business.  

Check out these social media marketing ideas to incorporate into your strategy: 

#1. Know which platforms your target audience is active on

The first thing you need to do is pick out the top 3 platforms your target audience uses. 

For this, you need to team up with your R&D department. An older target market over the age of 40 is most likely active on Facebook. 

Busy, working individuals of all ages are active on LinkedIn and Generation Y is most active on Instagram. 

Once you have this information on hand, use the STP model:

Every target market has multiple segments that businesses can focus on. 

A shoe manufacturer like Nike can target business individuals, athletes, school kids and many more segments. 

Use your research to find out which segment requires your product or offering and then target those segments. 

To effectively convince customers to try out your brand, position yourself by establishing a unique selling point. 

Coca Cola and Pepsi sell carbonated beverages that are almost exactly the same in taste with similar pricing, yet Coca Cola shares a much larger market share globally. 

Why? Because Coke sells happiness. It’s an intangible, perceived benefit but the only reason it works is that Coca Cola markets it right. 

Check out these 10 social media marketing statistics to help you make a decision about which platforms to opt for. 

#2. Hold engaging social media contests 

If you normally look up social media marketing ideas, contests are one of the most common suggestions. 

However, it’s time to move away from the typical like and win a free item contest. 

If you want your brand to be noticed, come up with a unique and engaging idea. The best way to do that is to incorporate user-generated content. 

Kelloggs recently held the ‘Great Eggo Waffle Off’, a two-part Facebook contest. 

In the first part, participants were required to submit their best waffle recipe and in the second, fans voted for their favourite recipe. 

Not only was this extremely fun and engaging but there was a great prize for motivating participants to make the effort – a $5000 prize bond! 

Similarly, Colman’s Mustard also got creative with their contest on Instagram. 

We all know how hard it can be for customers to leave positive reviews after an experience. 

Many of them only make the effort if they get something in return and that’s what Colman’s Mustard did. 

Not only did they motivate customers to leave reviews by offering free products, but they also created the hashtag #HotMessSquad which participants were required to add in their reviews. 

Instagram’s algorithm is curated in a way that hashtags categorise content and make it more discoverable:

That’s why using hashtags improves engagement on posts and help in making your content go viral faster. 

To create your own engaging social media contest, complete the following steps: 

1. Decide on a prize or a giveaway: This could be your brand’s product, a free service, cash or even a chance to meet and greet with a famous celebrity 
2. Set up a list of terms and conditions: There are a lot of followers willing to play dirty, for example, creating fake profiles to participate multiple times in order to increase their chances of winning – so make sure you draft up a set of rules to minimise any loopholes 
3. A point of contact: A lot of the times, contests can be complicated and difficult to understand for participants. Offer a point of contact such as a phone number, email address or website chatbot where interested participants can leave queries 
4. A creative way to enter: You need both logic and art to be successful as a business. If you play by the book, you’ll be good at what you do but you won’t be the best until you get creative, so brainstorm an come up with the most unique ideas that you can think of! 

#3. Interact with your followers 

Because there is so much competition in every industry, customers expect the best of service from businesses – whether small or big. 

That is why one of the most trending social media marketing ideas is increased communication with customers. 

Smaller businesses, especially startups, have the advantage of direct communication with their customers. 

Due to limited employee personnel, business owners deal with the major aspects of the business which is why it is easier for them to address customer concerns. 

However, as I said, customers expect the same attitude from all businesses so even larger businesses need to appoint PR heads and customer representatives than do more than just customer support: 

• Host an AMA 

As you probably already know, AMA stands for ‘Ask me anything’. 

It’s a great social media marketing idea and a very popular feature on Instagram that a lot of celebrities use for interacting with their fans. 

As a business, you can take advantage of as well. 

For business profiles, the feature is also referred to as AUA i.e. ‘Ask Us Anything’:

AUAs could be used by the head chef of a restaurant to offer tips and hacks to customers on how to cook better. 

A lot of freelancer makeup artists also host AMAs to give tips for glowy skin, using the right brushes and other makeup tips to look great. 

• Go live 

Live videos are one of the biggest marketing trends of 2020 as interactive content is replacing text and traditional marketing channels. 

Even if you’re the CEO of a multinational firm, interact with all of your customers once in a while. 

Customers trust brands that are transparent, honest and make an effort to show that they care. The cosmetics manufacturer MAC often hosts live videos of their makeup artists teaching followers makeup hacks, tips and full looks:

Host a live video once in a while to share the reasons behind your success, how you can build a business from the ground up or just answer general questions from your customers in the comments section. 

A live video is great because it allows for instant, two-way communication between businesses and customers; thus, making it the most interact channel of communication currently. 

You can also live-stream exclusive events to share updates with your followers and make them feel more included:

This is a great tactic to improve customer loyalty. 

• Don’t miss out on the smallest contact points 

There are so many different communication channels now and businesses are expected to be responsive and active on each which is why I advised you to pick only the top 3 social media platforms that your customers use for effective communication. 

Even the biggest corporations like Macy’s, H&M, Pepsi and others are making the most of customer interaction. 

You’ll notice that these businesses are now responding separately to thousands of customers in the comments section of social media posts:

By paying attention to each and every customer’s concern, brands can manage to improve customer retention, loyalty and avoid negative reviews and word of mouth. 

However, this is not an easy task especially for larger businesses with a huge fan following on social media. 

With over millions of subscribers, it can be difficult to respond to each and every customer which is why you need to incorporate automation into your strategy. 

Check out these tools for online marketing that not only allow you to respond with pre-written messages to deal with customer queries but also provide you with detailed analytics to help you improve your social media marketing performance. 

You can also check out ManyChat, a platform that provides you automated chatbots integrated with platforms like Messenger so that your customer representatives are relieved of some of their job’s burden:

#4. Take advantage of partnerships and alliances

There’s a business term called ‘co-opetition’ which refers to brands co-operating with their direct or indirect competition. 

It may seem unusual but partnerships benefit both parties – it reduces competition as customers double up and it offers a stronger position in the market. 

A very famous example of this is Taco Bell and Doritos co-branding campaign, ‘Doritos Locos Tacos’. Frito-Lay used Taco Bell’s crunchy taco recipe to create the Locos Taco – a taco with a Doritos shell. 

The campaign was a huge success: it sold an estimated 1 billion tacos within a year:

Similarly, the podcast industry is a hit with millennials and one of the most popular shows is Impact Theory. 

The host Tom Bilyeu recently invited Marie Forleo, an entrepreneur who hosts a similar podcast, to tell the audience the secret behind her success. 

The point is, none of these co-opetitions would have been successful without the use of social media marketing to create awareness and promote the campaign. 

You can also partner with brands in the industry that sell complementary offerings. 

Sprout Social, the social media management platform that provides analytical tools to help businesses measure performance, recently partnered with Moz, a platform that provides link metrics, to conduct a webinar. 

The result? The two allies were able to sign up with over 40 new companies and a spokesperson from Sprout Social said that the partnership boosted webinar reach more than the two companies could have managed on their own. 

#5. Opt for Social Media Takeovers 

Often, during an event, you’ll see firms giving control of their social media accounts over to influencers, celebrities, experts and other personnel. 

This is similar to a partnership except the brand compensates the individual and the period of time for a takeover is usually 24 hours. 

So how does it help your brand?

Your influencer’s followers will automatically be following you – keeping up to date with events, offers and your brand’s offerings in general. 

This means awareness and potential clients, but that’s not it. 

Another very important reason why you should opt for social media takeovers is exposure, or as Sprout Social puts it, ‘a new way to inject life into your business’. 

It’s a change away from the normal routine so you should go for it when you need to improve engagement and reach for your posts. 

Conclusion 

So that wraps up the top social media marketing ideas of 2020. However, it’s important to understand that different ideas work for every business. 

Following your competition will not help you come out on top. 

Even if you utilize the same ideas, make sure you put a creative and unique spin on them to ensure success and ROI. Did you enjoy this article? if so here are another 5 ways your business can benefit from social media.

The original article: Expresstext

How Can I Grow My Electrical Contracting Business

As an electrical contractor and business owner, you want your electrical business to be as successful and lucrative as possible—and that means leveraging different strategies to connect with potential customers, get the word out about your company, and drive business growth.

 

But how, exactly, do you do that?

 

Let’s take a look at a few actionable tips you can take to increase your exposure, build your customer base, and grow your electrical contracting business:

Develop your marketing plan

It doesn’t matter if you’re in start-up mode and trying to get a new business off the ground or looking for ways to expand a well-established electrical contractor business—if you want your marketing to be effective, you need a plan.

Your marketing plan is like a road map; it outlines where you are now, where you’re trying to go, and—most importantly—how to get there. 

 Marketing plans will vary from business to business, but every plan should include:

             ·        Your marketing goals (for

example, landing 100 new clients before the end of the year)

·        Your marketing budget

·        Any necessary marketing tools or materials you’ll need to implement your marketing strategy (for example, a social media management tool, marketing brochures, or business cards)

·        The different marketing strategies you plan to focus on in order to grow your business and reach new customers

 Like the old saying goes,failing to plan is planning to fail—so if you want to successfully grow your

electrical contracting business, make sure you invest the time in planning your marketing strategy.

Focus on your digital presence

One of the cardinal rules of marketing is to target your customers where they already are. And in 2020, where your new customers are is online.

 Having a strong digital presence is a must when building your electrical contracting business. There

are a few different areas you want to focus on when building your digital presence:

 

·        Website. Your website is often a potential customer’s first experience of your business and your brand—and you only get to make a first impression once. Make sure your website is professional, well-designed, and clearly outlines your electrical services.

·        SEO. You want your website to look professional—but you also want it to drive growth. Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your website become more visible in search engines like Google or Bing—and makes it easier for new clients to find and hire you. Depending on your website and budget, you can either find an SEO plug-in to optimize your site or hire an SEO expert to help you rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

·        Social media. No matter what customers you’re going after, chances are, they’re on social media. Building a presence on relevant social media platforms (like Facebook or LinkedIn) can be a great way to connect with potential customers, have relevant conversations, build trust, and ultimately drive new business.

·        Online advertising. Online advertising (like Facebook or Google ads) allows you to target your ideal customers and send extremely targeted messaging at key times during the sales cycle—so if you have the budget, it’s definitely a marketing strategy you should consider investing in.

·        Reviews. Social proof is an incredibly powerful marketing tool—and, as such, there are few strategies more powerful for growing your electrical contracting business than generating a host of glowing online reviews. Ask your existing customers to leave positive reviews on sites like Yelp and Google Reviews; that way, when new customers search your business, they immediately know you have a reputation for doing high quality work—which will make them more likely to reach out and hire you.

Leverage existing customers for referrals

One of the best opportunities for finding new customers and growing your business? Tapping into your existing customer base.

 

Word of mouth marketing can be one of the most effective ways to find new clients and grow your business. Because the potential customer was recommended to your business by someone they know (like a friend or family member), there is already a baseline of trust—which makes it easier for you to convert them from “potential customer” to “paying customer.”

 

Ask your existing clients if they have any friends, family members, or colleagues who might need an electrician—and, if so, if they’d be willing to refer that friend, family member, or colleague to your business. If you really want to drive your word of mouth marketing, incentivize your existing customers to send new clients your way (for example, by offering them a discount on their next service).

 

Bottom line? People feel more comfortable doing business with a new company or service provider if they hear about it from someone they trust—so ask your existing clients to help spread the word.

Partner with other local businesses to increase your exposure and expand your customer base

If you want to grow your electrical contracting business, you need to get in front of as many potential customers as possible.

 

And a great way to do that? Partnering with other businesses that have a similar customer base.

Look for other businesses in your area that do another type of work that your potential customers might need—and see if you can join forces to increase the exposure for both of your

businesses.

So, for example, as an electrical contractor, you would want to partner with other businesses in the home services category (like plumbers, home improvement retailers, or landscape architects). There are a variety of ways you can work with other businesses, including:

 

·        Leaving flyers or business cards in their retail space

·        Offering an exclusive discount to their customers

·        Cross-referring business

Bottom line? Partnering with similar businesses in your area can help you get your foot in the door with their customers—and can ultimately help you grow your business.

Go and grow your electrical contracting business

Knowing how to find new customers, expand your reach, and drive revenue can be challenging. But with these tips, you have everything you need to effectively market and grow your electrical contracting business—and take your company to the next level in the process.

 

This article was contributed by Deanna deBara and originally posted on Hourly.io