Fix Shipping To Boost Profits

🚀 Spot and fix the small mistakes that are eating big on your profits

July 09, 2024

Howdy Readers đŸ„° 

In this newsletter, you’ll find:

🚚 Common Mistakes That Increase Carrier Costs and How to Avoid Them

đŸš« TikTok Tightens Ad Targeting for Teens and Introduces AI Disclosure Rules

📈 Meta’s Growing Share in Marketing Budgets

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TOGETHER WITH MODASH

Everyone: Run authentic influencer partnerships

Not a single person: Wow, that’s so helpful. 

Authenticity is the heart of influencer marketing. But there isn’t any good advice about how to do that. How can marketers ensure they form real relationships and get authentic content from creators? 

By speaking with senior influencer marketers, Rochi Zalani from Modash got some practical advice. 

The first tip: Find authentic creative angles  

Find a link between an influencer's personal story and your product. 

Look at what they talk about often, what advice, preferences, and values they share in their posts & stories, and what they struggle with or dislike?

If you can’t find a way to fit your product from all those prompts, choose a different influencer because this one will most likely feel forced and fake. 

CARRIER COSTS

🚚 Common Mistakes That Increase Carrier Costs and How to Avoid Them
Insights from Portless

Whether you’re in the logistics industry or running any business that relies on shipping, minimizing carrier costs is crucial for maintaining healthy profit margins. Unfortunately, some common mistakes can inflate these costs unnecessarily. Here’s a look at mistakes that can increase carrier costs and how to avoid them:

1. Invoice Errors

Errors in invoices—whether due to inaccurate billing information from the carrier or incorrect payment details from your side—can lead to overcharges. This not only increases your costs but also adds administrative burdens to correct these errors.

Solution: Implement an automated invoice auditing system to cross-check invoices against your carrier contract and identify discrepancies. Regular staff training on accurate invoicing practices is also essential to prevent these errors from occurring.

2. Inefficient Packaging

Improper packaging, whether it’s overpacking or underpacking, can lead to increased shipping costs. Overpacking increases the shipment’s weight and dimensions, while underpacking can cause product damage, leading to additional replacement costs.

Solution: Optimize your packaging strategies by using the right-sized boxes and high-quality materials. Training your staff on effective packaging techniques or consulting with packaging experts can also help reduce these costs.

3. Relying on One Carrier

Relying solely on one carrier can lead to higher costs due to a lack of competitive rates and increased vulnerability to service disruptions.

Solution: Diversify your carrier portfolio to ensure you’re always getting competitive rates and have backups in case of disruptions. Regularly review and negotiate contracts with multiple carriers to maintain flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

4. Incorrect Address Listings

Listing the wrong address on shipments can lead to delayed deliveries and additional fees for address corrections, resulting in unhappy customers and increased costs.

Solution: Use address verification software to check and validate addresses before shipping. Integrate this software with your e-commerce and order management systems to minimize errors.

5. Bill of Lading (BOL) Inaccuracies

Inaccuracies in the Bill of Lading can cause shipping delays and regulatory issues, leading to higher costs.

Solution: Double-check all information on the BOL before shipment. Implement a thorough review process and conduct regular audits to identify and rectify common errors in your shipping documents.

So go on and fix these mistakes and do it easily get expert assistance in managing your logistics, from Portless! They offer comprehensive 3PL solutions to ensure seamless and cost-effective shipping. Get in touch with them today to optimize your logistics operations!

TIKTOK

đŸš« TikTok Tightens Ad Targeting for Teens and Introduces AI Disclosure Rules
Insights from Social Media Today

What’s Up? TikTok has introduced new restrictions on ads targeted at teens and updated its ad transparency measures to enhance user privacy and control.

The Breakdown:

  • Ad Targeting Restrictions: Advertisers can no longer use personalized targeting and campaign selections to reach teens in the U.S. They can only use broad targeting options like location, language, and device-related information. This move aims to protect teen user data from exploitation.

  • Data Controls: Users now have more control over the ads they see, with options to customize ad topics based on their interests, such as “Outdoor Sports” or “Racing Games.” The new “Disconnect Advertisers” feature allows users to stop specific advertisers from using off-TikTok data for personalized ads. The “Clear My Activity” feature lets users disconnect any off-TikTok activity data associated with their account.

  • AI Disclosure Requirements: TikTok is introducing a self-disclosure toggle in TikTok Ads Manager for advertisers to declare AI-generated ads. These ads will feature an AIGC (AI-generated content) label, ensuring transparency and user awareness.

With about 25% of TikTok’s audience under 20, these changes significantly impact ad targeting strategies. By restricting personalized targeting for teens, TikTok aims to protect young users from potential manipulation. The enhanced data controls and AI disclosure requirements also align with broader industry trends toward greater transparency and user empowerment. 

MEDIA BUYER INDEX

📈 Meta’s Growing Share in Marketing Budgets
Insights from Northbeam

What’s Up? Meta has captured an unprecedented portion of marketing budgets, influenced by several significant factors.

The Breakdown:

  • Impact of July 4th Sales: Brands like Lucy’s Lamps, offering 45% off during extended July 4th sales, are utilizing deep discounts to convert warm prospects. Despite the lack of holiday relevance for some products, these brands are using the holiday period to drive sales through substantial discounts.

  • Focus on Conversion: Many brands are funneling their budgets into Meta, recognized for its effectiveness in converting mid and lower-funnel audiences during significant sales events. Meta’s proven performance record makes it a preferred choice for ensuring successful conversions.

  • E-commerce Market Trends: Despite a challenging year for e-commerce, many operators view Meta as the most reliable platform for maintaining performance, consolidating their budgets here. The decline in overall e-commerce is relative to the exceptional growth seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to further investment in Meta as a trusted performance platform.

Is it strategic to allocate 75% of your marketing budget to Meta? The answer: it varies.

  • Temporary Boosts: The spikes in conversion performance are largely driven by heavy discounting, reflected in negative Average Order Value (AOV) trends. While discounts can drive sales, these performance gains are temporary and should not be viewed as a permanent increase in conversion rates.

  • Lower CPMs: Brands pausing their ads during the July 4th period have led to cheaper Cost Per Mille (CPMs), as less competition and lower consumer engagement reduce overall costs. However, these gains are also temporary and driven by seasonal factors.

Meta’s current dominance in marketing budgets is clear, but the trends are temporary. Brands should avoid over-relying on short-term performance spikes and focus on long-term strategies that diversify their marketing efforts across various platforms for sustained success.

QUICK HITS

đŸŒ§ïž Whether you're an eCommerce founder, CX manager, marketer, or product manager, you cannot miss ‘Level Up Your DTC Brand,’ a webinar discussing the latest strategies on how to scale DTC brands on July 17th 12PM EST. Register now for free and stand a chance to win gift cards and a Meta Quest 3!

🧣 How do you get paid for your feedback or opinions? Wynter is looking for marketers to become research participants. You can participate in surveys and 1-1 meetings, and get paid for your feedback and comments. Up to $600/hr in just 2-10 minutes. Sign up as a participant today!

đŸ’„X is considering introducing free trials for X Premium to attract more subscribers allowing users to explore add-on features, like the Grok AI chatbot, before committing for a monthly subscription.

📖 Facebook is testing a new “Clear Mode” for Reels, allowing users to view Reels without descriptions and UI buttons, similar to a feature on TikTok. Users can activate this mode by long-pressing on the screen for a cleaner viewing experience.

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