The 3 Steps to Moving Your Business Online and Starting a Delivery Service Today

Ordering goods and having them delivered to your home is second nature to most consumers. It’s one of the biggest changes to shopping habits that the digital age has brought about – whether it’s purchasing groceries, pet supplies, or meal kits. But, how do you take that first step towards moving your business online?

How do you let your existing customers know that you’re open for deliveries? Where do you get your drivers and delivery vehicles? How do you keep track of all your deliveries and make sure your drivers get to where they are going, and on time?

 Go From On-Premise to Online in 3 Steps

Here are three easy steps you can take today to successfully transition your business from on-premise to online.

Step 1: Let customers know you’re open for delivery

●     Start with a Facebook business page and/or Instagram business page

○     Publish your menu or price list and post it

○     Include delivery information with each post

●     Use Wix, Squarespace, Shopify to make a landing page at a later stage

○     Add an online ordering form

○     You can also use Google forms to start

●     Open communication channels with clients

○     Direct messages over social media

○     A dedicated phone number

○     Email

○     Text messages

●     Advertise delivery with a poster in your store window

●     Delight customers with accurate and timely delivery

○     Notify customers with exact time of day or day of the week delivery windows

Step 2: Set up a delivery workflow

To begin with deliveries, consider setting up some of the following steps to your planning process:

●     Determine your optimal delivery strategy

○     Work out the cut-off time for ensuring same-day deliveries

○     Or, only offer next day delivery:

■     Your routes will be more packed with orders

■     Meaning fewer drivers, less driving, fatter margins

○     Make weekly deliveries available for bulk orders

■     Scheduling several days in advance vastly improves the number of orders a single driver can serve. This is doubly true if you use powerful route optimization software like OptimoRoute

●     Bag items ahead of time

○     Disposable cutlery in delivery bags

○     The most popular grocery items

○     Offer ready-made ‘essential groceries’ packs

●     Organize delivery personnel

○     Use existing staff

○     Hire drivers

●     Keep customer data organized in a list

○     Phone numbers, emails, and delivery addresses

○     Previous orders, favorite meals, etc.

○     Use this Excel template to keep things organized

●     Arrange deliveries based on vehicle size

○     Use bikes or motorcycles for small packages

○     For big orders and rush deliveries, use cars and trucks

●     Establish a maximum service distance from your store or restaurant

Once everything is ready to be delivered, learn how to manage delivery routes and keep efficiency high.

Step 3: Taking payment from customers

There are many payment methods available, the following are some best-case practices across different businesses:

●     Use a POS (Point of Sales) system

●     Or online payment platforms like Amazon Pay, Checkout, 2Checkout or PayPal

●     Ask for credit card information over the phone  

●     If you’re using cash – make sure your drivers have enough change

This article originally appeared on optimoroute.com.