How Do I start a Grocery delivery Business

1. Introduction to Grocery Delivery
2. The First Steps
3. Things You Will Need
4. Your Customers
5. The Process
7. Advertising Methods
8. Return Customers
9. Expanding

Introduction to Grocery Delivery
Grocery Delivery is a wonderful business that almost anyone can start, even with very limited funds. It is a simple idea, really. Customers order their groceries from you, and then you drive to the customer's delivery address and stop at the local grocery store on the way to purchase the groceries. The beauty of grocery delivery is building long- lasting relationships with your customers. The average grocery shopper will order groceries biweekly and spend around $120 per order. As you can see, that adds up over the year. Besides the loyal customers, there is another huge benefit that comes with grocery delivery: THE MONEY! As I mentioned, the average order of groceries is around $120. I should also mention that the average profit from that order is 30% (depending on your delivery options)!

It sounds like a great business, eh? As gas prices rise and people become more Internet savvy, the need for grocery delivery increases. Yes, I agree this is a huge market to capitalize on, but I also agree with this: Grocery Delivery is Hard Work! From day one of your decision to start a grocery delivery business, you must be ready to "roll your sleeves up" and get to work! Before you have drivers delivering groceries while you're in the office, you will spend your days talking to customers, driving all over the town, and building your business.

I wrote this for you to understand what grocery delivery is all about, and to help you decide if grocery delivery is right for you.

The First Steps
Here are some of the first things that you need to consider before starting your grocery delivery business:

Your Business Name: Pantry Stockers-your area or town, can actually be a very important factor in your business. Today's market place revolves around search engines and by having your main keywords in your business name; you're already in a better position to be found on the internet. Now when someone goes to Google and searches for you. You have a much better chance of being there on the first page.

Your Delivery Zone and Schedule: Where do you plan to offer delivery? This is something that you should put a good bit of thought into. If you're in a small city in the middle of nowhere, this will be easy for you. But if you're in the middle of a major metropolitan area with several large cities surrounding you, this can get a little more complicated. Assuming you're starting this out by yourself, you need to plan your delivery zone around your delivery schedule. First off, what delivery options do you have? Next day delivery? Same day delivery? Three- hour express delivery? If you plan to separate your delivery schedule by county, it is also possible to split your delivery days like: Monday to Wednesday is Zone A and Thursday to Saturday is Zone B. This is a good method if your delivery zone is large and you want to service the entire area while still offering a three- hour delivery option. Think about your delivery zone and hours of business. I would suggest that you set delivery fees for each delivery option like: Next Day Delivery is $7.99, Same Day Delivery is $14.99, and Three-hour Express is $19.99. These are the typical delivery fees I recommend starting with. This is your business, so you can change things whenever you wish.

Legal:

Contact your local government.
Find out if you'll need a business license.
Also let them know that you may be buying alcohol and cigarettes for your customers see if they have any local restrictions. Our Pantry Stockers Pro-Software can help eliminate this problem.

Things You Will Need
I'm going to start with a few obvious essentials you need for a grocery delivery business.

Transportation
This is a must! A lot of people ask me if they need a van or some sort of delivery truck to do grocery delivery, and the answer is always no. No matter where you live, a car is a great means of transportation for groceries and a van is not necessary. People also ask me if they need some sort of expensive cooling unit in their ride like an ice cream truck and the answer is no. The best way to go is in something that is good with gas and equipped with a few standard ice chests or insulated bags. Remember, the science behind grocery delivery is picking up the groceries on the way to the delivery so there won't be much of a delay from the grocery store to the customer's door. No matter what vehicle you have, it should be extremely reliable and presentable to your customers.

Phone
This is also a must! While everyone should understand the value of directly speaking with your customers, only some understand the value of a dedicated business phone with a professional voice mail. I strongly suggest that you acquire a cell phone that is strictly dedicated to your business. I say cell phone because you will be on it. It is very important to answer your customers with a professional greeting. Be sure to record a professional voice mail that includes your business name.

Bank Account

It is extremely important to have a checking account! You must be able to accept payment from your customers either online or over the phone. If you are planning to join the Pantry Stockers, you will need to sign up with a payment gateway like PayPal in order for customers to pay you online with their credit cards. To sign up for these services, a checking account is mandatory. Several people ask me if they need a Business checking account and the answer is no. I see little benefit in having a business bank account.

Computer with Internet connection

Here is another huge necessity. Without a computer and internet connection, you will have a hard time running a grocery delivery business. Actually, I couldn't imagine keeping track of any business without one.

Printer

This is great to have for printing invoices for your customers. If you are planning to have an online grocery store, you will NEED a printer.

Inspiration to Succeed

Here is the most important factor. You must be ready to take control of your business and make it succeed. You must be ready to sacrifice your time and look to the future.

Your Customers

Who are Your Customers?

The simple answer to this is EVERYONE! I know that "everyone" is a little broad, so here are some of the most typical grocery delivery customers.
Parents buying groceries for their child that is out of town or in college.
Kids buy their elderly parents groceries that live out of town.
Regular people that think it is extremely convenient to have their groceries delivered to them.
Permanently or temporarily handicapped
Businesses ordering a healthy corporate lunch.
Parties and events
This list could go on and on.

Basically you need to think like your customer to really fulfill your customer's needs. Grocery delivery is not only convenient and the future of grocery shopping, it is also a real NEED for many people that really have few options to get to the store.

The Process

Your Starting Point: You need to create an actual online grocery store. Plug in your products - usually in the thousands. Pantry Stockers online Grocery Delivery stores come with about 8 thousand plus (national brand products included ) if you want to be competitive - so your customers can go online and order their groceries. In my opinion, this is by far the most rewarding way to do grocery delivery,
If you are planning to start your grocery delivery business with an Online Grocery Store, I recommend that you go with us at the Pantry Stockers Inc. Naturally, I'm biased, but we have created what I feel to be simply the Best.

The Order Process

If you choose to accept credit and debit cards, you'll need to set up a merchant account that allows you to do this. Credit-card processing companies will charge you approximately 3% of the total transaction.
You can apply at Authorize.Net or Paypal; PayPal is always an excellent choice.

Pricing

How are you going to make money?
There are a couple different and very effective ways to make money from the grocery delivery process.
Charge a delivery fee. Determine your delivery fee by how far you have to deliver and how long it takes you.
Charge a Percent of the total grocery order. If you use only this method, be sure to have a minimum order. (this is optional depending on your market)
Mark up the individual items AND a delivery fee. This is a great way to keep customers!

We start our stores out with three different delivery fees.
Next Day Delivery

Same Day Delivery

Three-Hour Delivery

Advertising Methods
Your business won't get recognized out of nowhere. A lot of work goes into getting your name out there. The more familiar your name is, the more respect you will gain as a business. The ways to advertise yourself are endless. Be smart, and get creative in your methods.

There are endless ways to promoting your business and advertising online. First place a Free ad on craigslist.org The most obvious ways may include making flyers. Include your business name, phone number, website, a catchy line relating to your business, etc. Remember the business is yours, so feel free to include any kind of coupon with your flyers. You may have a $5 off coupon attached to every flier. That is the perfect way to catch the customer's attention. Everyone is always looking for a deal. "First time customer special!" "$5 off your first order!" Where are you going to put these flyers? Visit your local neighborhoods, retirement homes, colleges, and businesses. Put your flyer out on car tops in the grocery store parking lots. Post a flyer on a bulletin board. Keep a stack of flyers with you in your car. You never know when the opportunity arises to hook that new customer.

There are ways to advertise that are nearly effortless. Take the time to get a sticker or magnet made. You can order stickers or magnets from Pantry Stockers or a wide ranges of places and for just a couple of dollars. That's a small investment compared to the feedback you receive. Take that sticker or magnet and put it on your car! It's a one-time thing, and it keeps on giving back. Everybody stares at cars around him or her in traffic. Everyone reads bumper stickers! I know I read almost ever sticker in sight. Why not have the sticker be yours? Tagging your car is one of the easiest and most productive ways to getting your business known.

Do you have a radio connection? Get your name out through the radio! Email the radio station you want to work with. Ask them what it would take to have a commercial. The more ears that hear your name, the better. Use your resources to gain the popularity you need to be successful.
Everyone has the ability to put an ad in the local newspaper. It is inexpensive and effective. Run a weekly ad in the paper and just watch the customers roll in. Think of the clientele of people that read the paper: adults, elderly people, parents. That's where the money is. Get their attention and become everyone's first pick for grocery delivery.

Think of how many homeless people there are in the world. It's a terrible fact, but it's true. You business can branch with their help. Think about it. They devote their lives to standing out with signs and desperately getting people's attention. Give someone five dollars and a sign promoting your store. I've done it. They'll do it! What an easy way to flaunt your name! Think outside the box. Your resources are endless.
A really great way to spread your business name is word of mouth. Bring it up in friendly conversation. Maybe you're at the store or getting a coffee and you strike up small talk with a neighbor. You might ask them what they do? In return is the obvious question of them asking you what YOU do? Now they know the owner of the store (you). Imagine how comfortable they'll feel now that they know your business on a personal level. Tell your friends and have them tell theirs. Reach a greater circle of people by using a referral system. Maybe you want to give every customer that refers someone a $5 off coupon! Give the customers a motive to get your name out there and they will. Like I said, everyone is looking for a deal.

Maybe your technique of advertising is within your existing customers. Try putting a flyer in one of the bags when you make a delivery. Even better though, make a magnet for their fridge! Your number is right there when they are looking at their empty fridge. Plus, think of all the refrigerator staring you do when you visit someone's house. You look at their pictures or funny magnets, and now you will have your magnet right up there with them. What a great way to really drill your business name into someone's head!

These are just a handful of techniques to getting your name out there. Use your resources and get creative. Spreading your business name is the most important way to reaching your full potential.

Return Customers

Every customer loves a reliable business and every Business loves regular customers. It is important to build a relationship with your customers. How do you keep them coming back? First of all, make sure you are marketing your business to the right crowd.

Nursing homes are a great place to start. Think about how many people there are out there that are not capable of doing their own grocery shopping. The market goes further than just nursing homes. There are always going to be people in recovery from surgery that depend on businesses like ours There are infinite mothers delivering packages to their children off in college. Be clever when thinking about the customers you target. Of course we want to cater to everyone, but think out of the box. Is there someone you know that has a difficult time moving around or is completely immobile? Suggest grocery delivery! Tell them about your store. Is there a busy housewife who is just slammed with watching the kids? Think of how much of a hassle it is to load up the children and bring their wandering eyes and hands to the store. Inform them about the convenience of getting their groceries delivered right to their door. These are just a few suggestions on the customers and families YOU want to get to know.

The goals we want to reach are those return customers with substantial orders. You will instantly notice that your average order is around $120. Even if you only have ten regulars you are still making huge profits (30%)! Each regular will reorder every other week. The beauty in having familiar customers is that you start to get to know them on a more personal level. How do you do that? Well since we deliver the groceries right to their door, you have the perfect opportunity. Remember their name, look at their order, and suggest grocery items. Up -selling is a key way to increase your order size. Do you notice they always get a special kind of bread? Maybe there is great fresh bread of the same kind offered at the store and you want to suggest it. Do they get a lot of dairy products? Steer them into visiting your organics section. It's healthier for them, and it will absolutely bring their total sale amount up.

Another great thing about grocery delivery is you have the opportunity to make tips off of your drop offs. Now not only are you profiting off of the groceries and the delivery charge, but you are making tips. You'll notice the tips get friendlier as you start to build that relationship with your customers.

Something I like to do with my customers is putting a flyer in one of the bags. On that flyer I may have a coupon that immediately attracts their attention. Now they have a motive to give YOU their returning order. Give them a reason to want to come back.

After reading this section you should know the utter importance of your customers and their returning orders. They are what give your business stability. With their trust comes spreading the word to their friends and family. You get back what you give out. Always be friendly, answer your emails and phone calls promptly, and send your deliveries on time. With all of this in your favor, it's only a matter of time before you are making the money your grocery business deserves.

Expanding

The best thing about starting a grocery delivery business is that you can start this business with almost nothing and turn it into a full- service delivery business with several drivers working for you.

After you have a good base of customers built up, it may be wise for you to hire a driver. In some cases you may service a large city that is close to another large city but is too much to take by yourself. Consider hiring a driver within your current delivery zone and opening up in another large city that is somewhat near to you.

Hiring a driver may seem like a long way down the road for you, but if you are overwhelmed with orders, it may be sooner than you think. There are several things to consider before you hire someone. You will first need to come up with a method of paying your driver and also a method of processing orders that works for both of you. I would suggest paying your driver on a per order basis. I also would recommend that you look into prepaid credit cards that you can supply your driver with to purchase the groceries so you can always keep only enough funds to cover the orders in this account. The process can be made easy; after a customer places an order with you, simply send your driver the order by email or fax. Next, your driver delivers the groceries at your customer's door.

Helpful Tips

Dress for success!

Wear shirts and/or caps with our logo when you shop and deliver.

Be honest and reliable.

Build a good reputation for yourself and your business!

Use a fuel efficient vehicle.

Always maintain a professional appearance.

Always drive a clean delivery vehicle.

Make sure to have car insurance!

Get an answering machine or voice mail on your business line.

Always wear a smile! Your customers will be thrilled to see you!

Thank You for your interest in grocery delivery and I hope this information helps you make the decision to pursue this business opportunity I have time for one last plug:

Pantry Stockers Grocery Delivery
is simply the best and is fast becoming a National Brand on the internet and beyond.
For more Information please visit our website at http://pantrystockers.com
Click on the stores we have opened and please remember i am available for questions and we at Pantry Stockers Inc. are ready to help you help yourself.

Mr R J Williams

62 Fichter Street Houston, Texas 77022

Business Phone 713-669-0372


"Never Stand in Line Again - At the Grocery Store"