In this guide, we will show you 10 steps to start a home delivery business in Nigeria and anywhere in the world. If you have the mindset of an entrepreneur whose objective is identifying an opportunity and building a business around it in order to make profit and meet social needs, then a home delivery service is an option for you to explore.
Home delivery business is a small business almost everyone can start depending on the strategy at his/her disposal.
Though a minimal start-up cost is required, you need to draft a comprehensive business plan and do a thorough research on what type of deliveries you want to venture into.
You can choose to make home delivery for grocery, food, gift, pizza, among others. This is a service geared towards meeting personal errands and must be customer friendly.
On a close observation, the big players in the home delivery business are Jumia, Konga, Yudala, among others are making waves and nothing stops you from succeeding in the business.
Nigeria’s number one online retailer, Jumia, receives about 300,000 unique visitors daily. This shows how lucrative the business is if done in the right direction and appealing to Nigerians.
As a budding entrepreneur looking for a business to start, you could also consider a home delivery business. These are steps you need to take to start your home delivery business in Nigeria.
1. Business plan and Start-up capital
Home delivery business is not an expensive business to start-up; you can start with just N100, 000. You will also draft a business plan for managing and growing the business. On top of that, you will determine where your delivery boundaries will be, how much you will charge, cost of transportation and time.
A metropolitan area is best for this business to enable you to keep track of your customers and reach them in time.
Determine where your delivery boundaries will be, and the amount you intend to charge.
Consider the costs of your transportation, wages for dispatch riders and communication strategy with product owners and the amount of time it will take you to get places.
2. Create a business/brand name and logo
Jumia, Konga, Yudala, SME Markethub are the leading eCommerce companies in Nigeria today. These eCommerce retail companies have a brand and logo. In like manner, it is necessary that you have a nice business name and logo.
You can design good logos from websites like Canva- a free online graphic design tool that you can use to create good brand for your business
3. Get a company or business name
The next step is to register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission to avoid government sanction and harassment. Furthermore, registering your business enhances reliability and trust from potential customers.
4. Create an online platform to remain competitive
Creating a website is the best for this kind of business. This is an absolute must if you wish to receive a decent flow of business.
This will afford clients with greater flexibility – that you fully utilise your website (your shop window) to its maximum potential by having a proper order engine. You can set up availability rules which ensure that you never lose control over your products’ availability. Your customers also receive automatic purchase confirmations and email reminders, saving you the hassle.
To boost your efficiency and steer clear from these pitfalls, it is vital that you invest in delivery management softwares.
5. Hire capable hands
The next step is to hire competent staff to work with you. Your home delivery business involves building a website, SMS code, a possible mobile application, emails, order confirmation and acceptance sms/emails, payment gateways and delivery fulfillment.
You would need to hire staff in charge of logistics to handle ordering, payment and delivery logistics. Your staff should be given a nice look like branded shirts, jackets, helmets, among others.
6. Setup a payment method
Your home delivery business should be open for all scheduled hours, and should be known on your website.
The pricing rate for different products and different means of payment is such as QuickTeller, cash payment, POS, depending on the customers’ choice.
You must be able to accept credit and debit card payments, which is the usual method of paying for this business. You can also adopt the pay on delivery method to build trust in the beginning.
7. Build a nice customer care and collaborate with major product dealers
Listen to your customers’ complaints or requests in order to serve them better. A good customer care is a live-wire of any business.
Once you have decided what kind of products you intend doing home delivery for, you can meet major dealers and introduce your home delivery services to them.
For instance, if your home delivery service is to deliver clothes, partner with PEP to develop a customer friendly app where customers can request for various clothes and your company would make delivery on their behalf.
8. Display high degree of competence and integrity
One crucial aspect of the business is your ability to convince your customers to visit your website to make orders for delivery and this is only possible when you display competence and integrity on your first delivery.
If you give them any reason to doubt your competence or the delivered products are not satisfactory, you are likely not going to get a repeat business from them.
You must ensure that you do a perfect job (timely delivery and good products) that will make them long for service and also earn you referrals.
9. Promote and advertise your business
This is a competitive business and advertisement will go a long way to help in wading off competition.
You could place your advert online (social media), fliers, through newspapers.
Another way to gain prospective customers is a nice business card, move around offices, organisations, to inform them about your home delivery business. The business card should be informative clearly stating the nature of services you provide.
This will definitely invite prospective customers to patronize your delivery service.
10. Draft up an expansion plan
There should be good foresight for your home delivery business.
Your business can exceed the four walls of your present location to other states when you provide good and quality services to your customers.
Retail outlets like Jumia, Konga have extended their deliveries beyond Lagos State.
The onus lies on you to continually think of how to do better than the existing home delivery business in order to succeed in this business.
This could be a nice business to start.
SOURCE@ infoguidenigeria.com
