Kickstarter campaigns are becoming increasingly popular as Americans seek out new innovations to enhance and enrich their lives. Everything from a smartphone compatible wallet to a funny board game has been sold Kickstarter and similar startup ecommerce sites. If you are planning to launch a product there in the near future, you need to plan for the aftermath of the campaign. What will you do when the sales finally come in? How will you handle the storage and shipment of your products?
This guide will provide valuable distribution and order fulfillment tips for Kickstarter sellers to help you have a successful launch.
Order Fulfillment Is Just as Important as Product Development
We have seen the same scenario far too many times over. People will spend years developing their products to put Kickstarter without planning for the follow-through. If the shipping and processing is delayed for too long, people will start to have a negative impression of a product before they ever receive it. This will not bode well for your business moving forward.
A prime example of this is with the all-in-one card Coin. The card received a tremendous amount of support when its campaign started in November 2013. However, the company experienced severe delays in shipping, with most customers not receiving their orders until April 2015 – or later. Even when the product shipped out, there were so many issues with it that people practically discredited all of the good services Coin was providing. You don’t want the same to happen to your Kickstarter campaign. As long as you realize the true value of order fulfillment in your business growth, you will be setting yourself up for success.
Know Your Shipping Costs and Processing Times
Before you set a price for your product, you need to know how much it will cost to produce and ship out. You may have the production costs down by now, but you need to also think about how much it will cost to send the item across the country. Another important factor is the processing time – how long it takes the product to be labeled, shipped, and delivered once a customer places an order. Knowing this will give you the best chance at communicating with your customers. It would be better to deliver faster than your turnaround projection than it would be to leave people disappointed.
Other Services Used in Addition to Order Fulfillment
It often makes more sense to store your products in the same warehouse that is processing the orders for you. That way, everything is easily available to the pickers and packers that are conducting the fulfillment. You can usually save money by combining these services because the products do not have to change hands as much. This also reduces the risk of human error and makes it easier for you to keep track of your shipments.
Get Flexible Order Fulfillment Terms
Your campaign may go great, or it could be a complete disaster. That is the reality of any product sales in the modern world. You need to be prepared for both scenarios. When selecting a third party logistics provider to handle your warehousing and distribution, make sure you get flexible terms that can accommodate your potential sales changes. If you end up selling far more products than you expected, make sure the warehouse is large enough to accommodate that. Here at Overflo, we offer adjustable storage solutions to fit any business’s needs, no matter how small. Ask us about your options today.
Maintain Strong Communication throughout the Process
Communication is the key to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Backers want to know where their products are in every stage of development. If you make a change that delays production, let people know about it. Show them the advantages of the switch and how it will ultimately provide a better value for their money. Provide the best shipping approximation possible, and let people know if something changes to that timeframe. In the end, your backers will appreciate all the information you give them.