How to successfully market logistics and increase KPIs

Clearly, free or next day delivery always works, but in cross-border e-commerce, another factor is more decisive for many customers. In this blog post we’re going to explore what it is and how you should advertise it..

This practical guide is aimed at all online retailers who ship their goods internationally or are planning to do so.

What do we mean? Here's a little anecdote.

Let's say you are a hotelier or marketing manager for a hotel. If you take your job seriously, you will constantly try to improve the service and experience you provide to your guests.

So, you identify the needs of your potential hotel guests before investing in and implementing the improvements.

What comes next? Right!

You will announce through all marketing channels that your hotel offers the greatest experience and outshines the competition.

However, what we regularly see with online retailers is this:

Retailers are investing in DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) logistics. This means nothing other than that they take care of the needs of their international customers. In concrete terms, they ensure that their goods are delivered without their customers having to pay customs duties, VAT and fees.

By the way, if you want to know more about optimising logistics for cross-border e-commerce merchants, we recommend our blog article about optimised logistics.

So far so good…

However, what they forget is to make capital out of their investment.

However, what they forget is toThey have spent money on IT resources, project management resources and customs clearance services, but they forget to point out to their website visitors that they can basically shop with them as if they were ordering something in their neighbouring town. 

Let’s make this clear by looking at an example where Switzerland is the destination for goods from a German or Austrian trader. Why did we choose this example?

• Switzerland is an extremely interesting and often underestimated market from a German and Austrian perspective. 
• Switzerland has a customs border. If cross-border e-commerce merchants operate a sub-optimal setup, this has consequences for their customers. As a merchant, you must know what they are.
• Your customers have to pay at the front door, if the goods are subject to customs duties, customs duties (depending on the goods and weight), VAT. (usually 7.7 %) and pay the customs fee (11.50 CHF). This is called COD or Cash on Delivery process (this is not only common in Switzerland).
• If your customers are not at home, the goods will be taken back and notified!

This COD process is so unpopular that Swiss shoppers, unlike German consumers for example, are much more concerned with delivery conditions and will search for the relevant information!

According to the International Postal Corporation, conversion rates drop significantly if Swiss buyers are unsure of the full delivery costs or know that they would have to pay customs and taxes (and an additional fee) at their doorstep: 83% of customers indicated that they would no longer order in a store if they had a poor delivery/customs experience.

This is your chance!

If you deliver DDP ;-)

Have you invested in DDP logistics for the benefit of your customers? Then let them know! This will improve your conversion rates with the Swiss market.

You have to make it clear at all touchpoints of the customer journey that your Swiss customers have nothing to fear in regards to inconvenience.

Modern customer journeys can be very extensive and detailed, so to simplify it for the context of conversion optimisation via logistics promotion, we’ve divided the customer trip into three steps and added the point analysis.

Here’s an example of how marketing your logistics process can have an impact at different touch points.

How can I optimise my click-through rates with logistics?

Remember: Swiss buyers hate to pay VAT and customs duties at their doorstep. If you tell them in the search results that this isn’t going to happen, your click-through rate will go up significantly.

How can I use my homepage to push my conversion rate with my logistics?

Use your homepage to communicate your logistics process. Potential Swiss trade can be identified with geotracking, so you can provide tailored content straight away and explain that you are sending via DDP.

Note: We use DDP here because it is the technical term for logistics, but you should never use it without any explanation. It’s better to explain what your customer actually gets out of it - something like:

• “Duties & taxes included“
• “With us it's all inclusive - no more payment at the door”
• “Duties & taxes included - shopping like in the neighboring town”

We’d suggest you display this text as a static banner at the top of your homepage or, an even clearer approach, would be to use a pop-up to highlight your great service for Switzerland.

How can I use the FAQ page to rank my logistics information organically?

Put the logistics information in the FAQs and be sure to use the keywords relevant to trade in Switzerland, for example ‘DDP’, ‘customs duties included’, ‘value added tax and duties’.

This will give you SEO power. For example, if someone searches for "Do I have to pay customs and taxes for the brand XYC in Switzerland", he could end up in the FAQs of your shop and get the answer immediately.

How can I use my blog to promote my logistics process and rank organically?

You have a blog, great!

Use a blog article to promote the smooth DDP approach your shop has invested in. For example:

"NO more VAT and customs payments at the front door!

We are proud to announce that we now deliver headache free to Switzerland. We have invested in our logistics to make your shopping experience even smoother.”

Again, use many DDP keywords related to your products - for example:

"Don't pay customs duties and taxes for protein at your front door anymore. We now deliver DDP - this means that customs duties and taxes are included in the price".

How can I use my Terms of Delivery page to promote my logistics process and rank organically?

Advertise your customer-oriented logistics on the Terms and Conditions page. You should also promote your DDP service in the terms of delivery and in the general terms and conditions. Again, use this text-intensive part of your website to optimise for logistics.

How does advertising logistics optimise your checkout?

The checkout is the most important stage for all retailers, so keep it in mind when promoting your logistics! Make it clear to the buyer that he does not have to pay any duties, taxes or fees at his front door.

As a best practice example you can take a look at the Case Study iHerb. 

iHerb indicates with a mouse-over effect that Swiss customers no longer have to pay customs duties and taxes.

Of course you can also solve the whole thing with a static hint:

Analyze the results of optimisation to become even better

The correct choice of words varies greatly depending on the target group. That's why we would advise you to A/B test.

For example:

• Variant A: ‘Duties & taxes included’
• Variant B: ‘No more paying customs duties at the front door’

You can also vary the format of the messaging:

• Banner vs. text elements
• Static vs. dynamic
• Black and white vs. coloured
• Exit-intent popups
• etc.

In summary, how you can optimise your KPIs with the right logistics

What you should take from this blog article is this:

• Logistics has an impact on your Swiss trade KPIs.
• If you offer good cross-border e-commerce logistics, you should definitely advertise it.
• With your logistics setup you can improve your click-through rate and conversion rate.
• You can highlight your great logistics at various touchpoints of the customer journey.
• There are many options for highlighting your great logistics at these touchpoints.

You would like to export to Switzerland, but the costs are a thorn in your side? In our white paper, we show you in 6 steps how you can save costs efficiently - simply and easily!

We look forward to helping you. We are very keen to give our customers continuous support, and this includes communication on your website.