An Added Touch: The Benefits of White Glove Delivery

Aug 28

As a provider of shipping services, your customers are not unlike the packages you ship. Bear with us here.

Most will only need regular shipping procedures, but some may require supplementary care or attention. The latter case is why you should offer White Glove delivery services.

White Glove delivery services include any range of additional delivery benefits for your customers, from packaging removal to item assembly to assist with carrying items into a building or home. By providing these amenities, you can access an entirely new customer base while differentiating your shipping business from competitors.

Here are some of the most compelling advantages of providing White Glove services.

Wider Customer Appeal

Moving packages can challenge even the most regular of gym-goers. So, you can imagine the extra strain this work may cause certain demographics, such as the elderly, the disabled, or those who live alone.

White Glove services make shipping more accessible to these types of customers, especially when hauling or assembly is involved. With more accessibility, your business will appeal to a broader customer base and provide additional value to those already enjoying your deliveries.

This may even push that hesitant or cautious buyer to decide that shipping with you is the right choice.

Competitive Edge

The more options you can provide beyond your competitors, the more customers will view your service as the better choice.

White Glove services present such an opportunity to distinguish your business from similar enterprises. Or, if competitive enterprises already offer these additional amenities, you’ll make sure that you’re keeping pace with them.

Heightening Brand Image

Some customers look for additional amenities not because they need them, but because they want them. They’re willing to pay extra for a luxury delivery service, and White Glove is how you can elevate your brand to appeal to this client type.

Additionally, White Glove enhances branding by providing an extra touchpoint between your services and the customer. Especially if ordering online, customers will scarcely interact with your customer service team or company representatives, perhaps leaving your operation faceless. Supplementary services, however, provide opportunities for your business to demonstrate care for the customer in person.

Smoother Returns

The last thing a frustrated customer feels like doing when making a return is to disassemble, re-package, or haul the item to get it ready return shipping. Sometimes, this hassle can prevent them from sending the item back at all.

White Glove services can mitigate the annoyance experienced by a customer and demonstrate your dedication to resolving their dissatisfaction. As a result, you’ll create goodwill for your business even under less-than-optimal circumstances.

Protection

White Glove providers typically experience lower damage rates than other carriers because trusted professionals handle the equipment, allowing for an exceptionally careful approach.

Since White Glove services reduces the risks of damage of misplacement of items, especially fragile ones, you can save big on replacements expenses with these services. This may also appeal to customers concerned about their own ability to handle their packages.

Customer Service Convenience

In the business of logistics, you rely on customer service to handle a range of issues, from broken items to missing parts to late deliveries. But while essential, these departments can drive up business costs.

Consider, then, how White Glove can serve as a proactive measure to reduce the necessary size of customer service operations. With added care and attention given to each delivery, the likelihood of a problem decreases. That means fewer complaints and less work in the area of customer quality assurance.

Meet Rising Demand

More than 60% of supply chain operators experienced an increase in demand for last-mile delivery services during 2020. Moreover, 87% of customers now consider shipping and delivery experience important to their decision to repeat business with a given seller.

From these trends, you can see that consumers as a whole have grown to expect more from their remote shopping experiences. As such, businesses will have to overhaul their delivery operations to match these rising expectations.

White Glove service will not only help you meet higher standards but even exceed them.

Alleviate Furniture-Delivery Anxiety

More than other types of shipments, furniture seems to create the most anxiety among customers. Not only do they fret about maintaining its quality, but furniture also typically involves tedious after-delivery attention, like assembly.

Offering White Glove furniture delivery accordingly helps to alleviate these stresses, which many customers will particularly appreciate. One painless experience in this area may be enough to have them coming back to you for furniture delivery for life.

Boosted Revenue

It’s a basic rule of business that when you do more, you can typically charge more.

Perhaps you’d like to offer White Glove service as a means to distinguish your business from competitors at the same price point. That’s a valid strategy, and revenue may increase simply by attracting more customers.

However, there may be an opportunity to segment your services based on price, with added amenities calling for higher fees. In this case, White Glove creates an opening for your company to boost revenue directly.

In either case, there are promising financial incentives.

Putting on the Gloves

Customers have spoken, and they’ve said they want more – perhaps to no one’s surprise. That means White Glove delivery may not only become preferable, but necessary.

See for yourself. Experimenting with White Glove services, even only a few amenities at first, will help you decide which of these extra options are right for your business.