Small business owners who capitalise upon customer demand for same-day delivery can grow their revenue and build more impactful brands.

Jemma Davis introduced same-day delivery a few months after setting up her online gift box business Beaut Gift Co, which she operates out of her apartment in Sydney. She offers standard and curated gift box options.

“I offer free shipping in metropolitan areas in Australia using a service called Sendle,” she explains. “They pick up the packages from where I live in the CBD, which is very convenient. I also sometimes do in-person drop-offs for customers who live nearby.”

Jemma says the business grew out of a desire to innovate the gifting industry.

“I wanted to do something I was passionate about,” she says. “There are a lot of gift box businesses out there, but I’ve tried to do something different by bringing a personal touch. The boxes don’t feel like they’re made in a factory – I put extra detail into them.”

A core component of her business’s value proposition is what she terms ‘urgent delivery’, or same-day delivery within a five-kilometre radius of the Sydney CBD, for a fee.

“I once had a customer call me on the verge of a breakdown,” recalls Jemma. “They needed a gift right away and found me on Google. He was having no luck, and I don’t know how many businesses he had called before reaching out to me. I had an hour free, so I dropped everything to prepare the gift box and deliver it immediately. The customer was over the moon.

“That customer’s gratitude made me wonder if I could offer same-day delivery on an ongoing basis. Since then, it has become very popular.”

Building customer loyalty and a stronger brand

Beaut Gift Co’s business offering, in particular its same-day delivery service, is inherently designed to accommodate customer demands.

“I’m a people pleaser,” says Jemma. “I do my best to make sure I can help my customers where I can. I have a very can-do attitude, so nothing is too much of an ask – I can accommodate orders at very short notice. This keeps people coming back and builds customer loyalty.

“It comes down to being flexible with what customers need from a certain product or on a certain timeframe.”

This attention to customer demands is helping Jemma build a brand with impact – and gain extra business via referrals. She says that positive word of mouth from happy customers has had a noticeable impact on Beaut Gift Co’s network of regular customers, helping the brand to stand out from the crowd.

“Let’s say you ordered a gift for someone that arrives quickly and ticks all the boxes,” she says. “You’re going to come back and order again, and recommend it to other people.

“Same-day delivery has allowed my customer base to grow as we offer a service that some other businesses don’t.”

The growth that Beaut Gift Co has achieved due to urgent delivery and a more customer-centric brand has led Jemma to make big plans for the future.

“I would like to bring more businesses on board and get them to use Beaut Gift Co as their chosen gift provider for their clients,” she says. “I’ll always love building individual boxes for birthdays and other occasions, but moving forward, hopefully I’ll become the chosen gift provider for other businesses.”