I was banging on yesterday about the issue with free delivery and how in the wine world of bugger all margins to begin with, it’s probably not sustainable. So what do you have to do to combat that? You’ve got to offer a service which is so good and convenient that people are happy to pay up for it. I’ve been trying to find the ones for me and I’ve found a couple of great examples. The first one is a great solution for start up businesses!
If like me, with 20h33, you don’t have any bricks and mortar yet (i.e. a shop or a bar) then you’ve got to be flexible with your timing. The lads at StreetStream have come up with a great solution. They’ve formed a community of freelance couriers who bid for your business. You say when you want it picked up, and what time it needs delivering. That delivery time can be set to within a 20 minute window. Now that’s something the punters will be happy to pay a bit for, right?
The great thing about this is that everyone wins. Couriers on their bikes, mopeds, or cars get the money directly in their back pocket. The sender gets a seriously competitive price. The client gets their stuff when they want and don’t have to sit around all day waiting for it to appear. Most importantly for wine deliveries there is a sliding scale of insurance on each package too!
There’s also a rating system where senders can rate couriers and couriers can rate senders. Everyone has to play by the rules. And when everyone’s small and growing, that’s a good lesson to learn. Everyone scratching each other’s back is the way forward.
Great idea and good luck to them
Cheers
