Over the past year, PACK & SEND North Sydney experienced a sales growth of 25% and PACK & SEND Crows Nest had a sales growth of 14%. They have also maintained a reasonable margin and achieved a strong Gross Profit. They have been crowned PACK & SEND’s Franchisees Of The Year 2017. We sat down and talked to the owners Raman Swaminathan, Shankar Arunachalam, and Uday Shankar Sethu Raman, to discuss what they did to make this happen.
No Limits: Capturing Different Markets
Instead of limiting themselves to the domestic market and operating within the “safe zone”, they have worked to capture different markets. This has paid off for them and they are experiencing a growth in their import orders. They currently have a strong network of markets in the US and UK, and are looking to enter the market in Ireland. They view this as a big market with lots of potential as there are many Irish expats living in Australia.
Shankar explains that they are not afraid to tread into “risky” markets or those that other companies avoid. For instance, PACK & SEND North Sydney are heavily involved in the art market, which involves packing expensive and fragile artwork and potentially complicated international customs clearance. Also, while many companies steer clear from removalist jobs, the trio readily take on corporate and furniture removals involving difficult and tedious tasks.
Raman, Shankar and Uday embrace PACK & SEND’s no limits philosophy completely and prove that are no limits to what they can do.
Raising Awareness: Complete Solutions
PACK & SEND isn’t just your average courier company; they can manage your whole experience from start to finish. Raman, Shankar, and Uday ensure that their customers know that! Upon realising that many customers were unaware of the complete solutions that PACK & SEND offers, they made an active effort to let their customers know about their various choices and services whenever possible.
Shankar tells us, “We have achieved the ‘First Choice’ status with many of our customers, and are now the one-stop-shop for many businesses and consumers for their logistics solutions.”
Customer Retention & Trust: Growing with Customers
Raman, Shankar and Uday attribute their success to the key factor of customer retention. They place huge focus on their existing customers, spend time developing relationships, and ensure their customers are always satisfied.
With regular customers, they often do their pick-ups personally instead of delegating the task to a third party. They explain that seeing a regular face helps the customer develop a sense of belonging and increases their confidence in their service providers. They have even been given entry passes into some customers’ buildings so they walk in just like employees. This demonstrates the level of trust that their customers have towards them. With such confidence and foundations laid with existing customers, they can then build their relationship further which will be beneficial for business.
By going to their offices personally, they also get to meet other employees in the process, who often give them business in turn. Whenever they have the chance to, they will introduce their other services such as arranging logistics for events and international freight.
Raman, Shankar and Uday emphasise the importance of having a warm, friendly and approachable demeanour when interacting when customers. Also, the importance of good communication and demonstrating to their customers that they are always working. For instance, they have many international customers and often receive emails from Germany and the US. They always strive to respond to them instantly, despite the time difference, and this often results in a positive outcome.
Some of their customer retention tactics involve offering extra service at no cost, knowing that it will benefit them in the longer-term. They are not afraid to go the extra mile and focus on the big picture.
As existing customers continue to place repeat orders, PACK & SEND North Sydney and PACK & SEND Crows Nest have grown along with their customers as their offices multiply and expand interstate and worldwide. Existing customers who have gone on to join new organisations have also introduced them to their new companies. Through word of mouth, they have gained many new customers. For instance, they have many customers in China and Hong Kong that they gained purely from word of mouth. They have also gained some new customers who were led to them by their positive online reviews.
Every Job Counts
Raman explains that it is important not to shy away from simple jobs, for example, those that only cost $20-$30. He says that they focus on the Live Chat and Web Enquiries and respond immediately, especially if they’re from corporate clients. Their strategy is to do the first job well, gain the client, and add them to their customer base. “You never know how a small job can turn out in the next year for you!” he says. One of their biggest clients, a marketing agency, started with a $50 job!
Staff: Sense of Belonging and Passion
Their staff have played a significant role in contributing to their success. Uday explains that their staff are more like business owners than employees, and always go the extra mile to keep their flag flying high. Raman agrees that it is important to ensure that staff have a sense of belonging and passion towards the business. Staff should be constantly updated regarding all changes, and should be able to offer the same thing to the customer in the owner’s absence.
The trio now plan on carrying on their momentum and not only focus on existing customers to maintain and possibly increase their growth, but also acquire new customers. As they personally evaluate their performance on a quarterly basis, they identify areas where they should change and areas they should maintain. Their aim is to continue keeping their customers happy and they are excited to tell their existing customers about their Franchisee Of The Year award!
Congratulations once again to PACK & SEND North Sydney and PACK & SEND Crows Nest for winning Franchisees Of The Year 2017!