They checked your same-day coverage. There was no map to check.
Your drivers know the streets, first-attempt delivery is good and your existing merchants rarely complain. Yet shops and brands sign with an app-based platform or a bigger carrier, because they could see the coverage, the cut-offs and the price logic in five minutes. This playbook shows what they compared.
The short versionMost last-mile delivery companies lose merchant accounts because they don't publish which areas they cover, what the cut-offs, delivery windows and failed-delivery rules are, or how per-drop pricing works, and because account requests wait for a sales call. Coverage pages, plain SLAs and fast onboarding fix this.
Why these three“Across the city, Same-day specialist publishes a coverage map, order cut-offs, live tracking and per-drop pricing…”
Leak 1No coverage mapAreas served never listed by postcode or zone.
Leak 2No SLA detailCut-offs, windows and failed-drop rules unstated.
Leak 3Slow onboardingAccount request waits for a sales callback.
Start here
Tick anything that sounds like your week.
Eight things last-mile delivery operators commonly describe. Select the ones that apply and we'll show what usually causes them, in the order we'd tackle it. Nothing is submitted.
Tick what applies3 of 8 selected
Why a reliable operator still loses the account
Merchants don't compare drivers. They compare coverage and SLAs.
A merchant can't judge your drivers before signing, and doesn't try. They ask search or an assistant who does same-day in their area, then check three things: whether their customers' postcodes are covered, what the cut-offs and failed-delivery rules are, and how quickly they can start. App-based platforms put all three on one screen. An operator who answers each by email loses to the one who published them.
01
The coverage question you never answer
Same-day courier for shops here?
1Same-day specialistNamed first · coverage map
2Gig-delivery platformNamed · app reviews
–Your companyNot namedNo coverage map
Why don't merchants find our delivery company when they search?
Merchants ask “same-day courier that covers the east side” or “evening delivery for my shop”. A site with a skyline photo and “we cover the region” gives search and assistants nothing to match, so a platform or competitor that publishes zones, windows and cut-offs gets the account.
02
The per-drop price nobody explains
last mile delivery cost per drop
Your page“Rates on application.”Tab closed
Answered pageWhat drives the per-drop price · volume tiers · what's includedQuoted by AI
Should a last-mile delivery company publish its prices?
Merchants want to know what a drop costs before they talk to anyone, because they compare against platforms that show it instantly. You don't need a public rate card, but you do need a page explaining what drives the price (zone, window, size, volume, failed attempts, returns) and what's included.
03
The account request that waited
We need evening deliveries from Monday. Can you start that fast?Web form · 5:30 pm
Thanks, someone from sales will be in touch to discuss.Two days later · 11:00 am
We've signed with a provider who onboarded us online.11:25 am
Why do merchant enquiries for delivery go cold?
Merchants often look for a new delivery partner after a bad week with the current one, so they need to start quickly. A form that triggers a callback in two or three days loses to a provider who answers the same day with coverage confirmed and onboarding steps.
What we'd do about it
Five moves, in the order that pays.
Fix the leaks first, then grow. Scaling a funnel that loses enquiries just spends more to lose more.
Move
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12M3+
01Publish coverage, zone by zoneA coverage map and a page per zone or area you serve, showing same-day, next-day and scheduled windows. Structured so search and assistants can match area questions.SEO Services
Weeks 1–4
02Write the SLAs and pricing logicCut-offs, windows, attempts, failed-delivery rules, proof of delivery and returns, plus how per-drop pricing is built. Only what your operation actually delivers today.Content Marketing
Weeks 2–6
03Make onboarding same-dayA short qualifying form, a named owner, a same-day reply with coverage confirmed and clear onboarding steps. Integration and label set-up explained up front.Marketing Automation
Weeks 3–7
04Fix what recipients findA tracking help page, a contact route for recipients and replies to reviews, so merchants checking your name see how problems get handled.Local SEO
Weeks 5–9
05Then fill the off-peak monthsSector pages and outreach for merchants whose volume runs counter to retail peaks. Only once the basics work, because scaling a leaky funnel wastes money.Lead Generation
Month 3 onward
Social presence · where merchants check you
Merchants want to see the van and the map before they sign.
Shops and brands judge a delivery partner on coverage, cut-offs and how you treat their customers. Social shows all three. Six things decide whether a look becomes an account.
9:41●●● 5G
yourdelivery
YDYour Delivery CoLast-mile delivery
Same-day & next-day · across the cityCoverage map and cut-offs ↓Open a merchant account ↓
Sign upMessageCall
CoverageCut-offsPricingMerchants
Zone of the weekHow a drop is pricedRoute run · by ImranMerchant storyCut-off times by zoneProof of deliveryFleet day · by LucyMeet the dispatch teamFailed drop? What next
LinkedInE-commerce and ops leads check coverage, SLAs and your team.Check
InstagramLocal shops and brands see routes, zones and merchant stories.Discover
WhatsAppCoverage questions answered with the sign-up link.Enquire
Google Business ProfileHubs on the map, plus the reviews recipients leave.Check
FacebookLocal business groups asking who delivers same-day.Discover
A week that books, not just posts
Social Media Marketing Included in Zero to Hero (2 platforms) and Own The Answer (4 platforms).
MONZone postOne zone: windows, cut-offs, who it suits.
TUERoute clipA driver's run, start to proof of delivery.
THUMerchant storyHow a local shop uses same-day.
FRICut-off reminderWeekend and holiday windows, by zone.
DAILYRepliesEvery message within the hour, link ready.
What we'd watch
Your dashboard, minus the vanity metrics.
Six numbers that show whether the work is turning into merchant accounts that go live — each pulled from a system you already own. The audit fills in your baseline; every sprint after shows the trend.
Delivery growth · weeklyYour dashboard after the free audit
Enquiries by zoneCRM or enquiry form
Baseline—
Assistant mentions by areaAI answer tracking
Baseline—
Time to first replyInbox and CRM
Baseline—
Enquiry to live accountCRM
Baseline—
Drops per routeRouting or dispatch system
Baseline—
Recipient review repliesReview platforms
Baseline—
Your numbers, not ours
What is the slow reply actually costing you?
Three inputs only you know. We don't know your business yet — so nothing here is a benchmark, just your own arithmetic.
Runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent.
What you may be losing
$155,880a month in merchants who book somewhere else — worked out from your three numbers above.
6 × 4.33 weeks× 1 in 2× $12,000
The fix is onboarding speed, not a bigger sales push. One form, one owner, coverage confirmed the same day — weeks 3 to 7 of the plan.
Free with any monthly plan from $499. Domain, hosting and paid tools are bought by you and stay in your name; shops and booking systems are quoted separately. The 48-hour clock starts once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done.
yourcompany.comLIVE
HomeAboutServicesLast-mile deliveryContact
Your logo
Book a call
Schemallms.txtGA4Fast on mobile
FREEwith any plan
48h
Questions last-mile operators ask
Straight answers, no sales script.
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, a 30-minute call is the fastest route — no pitch, no deck.
Yes. Publish the zones you serve reliably today and update the page when that changes. A map that's slightly conservative wins more trust than “we cover the region” and an email exchange.
How do we compete with app-based delivery platforms?
Not on the app. On the things merchants worry about after the first month: consistent drivers, failed-delivery handling, B2B and awkward items, a named contact when something goes wrong. Those need to be on your pages, stated plainly, not left for the sales call.
Should we publish per-drop prices?
You don't have to publish a rate card. Explain what drives the price (zone, window, size, volume, failed attempts, returns) and what's included, and give a fast quote. Merchants comparing against platforms need enough to know you're worth asking.
Recipients leave reviews about late parcels. Does that affect merchants?
Merchants do look you up, and recipient reviews are what they find. You can't control every late parcel, but a clear tracking help page and a calm reply to each review shows how problems get handled.
How long before a delivery company notices a difference?
Onboarding and reply-time fixes can show within weeks because they stop losing merchants who already found you. Coverage pages usually take a few months to be found and cited. We don't guarantee rankings or accounts.
Do you work with franchise or owner-driver operations?
Yes. The coverage, SLA and onboarding pages work the same way. Where each franchise or depot covers its own area, each needs its own zone pages and enquiry route, with reporting split by area.
Which social platforms matter most for a last-mile delivery company?
LinkedIn for brands and e-commerce teams that check coverage, SLAs and the people they'd deal with. Instagram for local shops and smaller brands that discover partners by seeing real routes and merchant stories. WhatsApp turns “do you cover us?” into an account. Your Google Business Profile matters too, because recipients leave reviews there.
Do we get a free website for our company?
Yes. Every monthly plan includes a free 5-page website for your company — fast, AI-readable and yours to keep. It goes live within 48 hours once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done. Your domain, hosting and any paid tools sit outside the offer and stay in your name; online shops and booking systems are quoted separately. What's included
Free · one business day
Tell us about your company. Get a plan back.
A strategist reads your brief and replies within one business day with what we'd fix first for your company, a timeline and the real cost.
Reply in 1 business dayFrom a strategist, not a bot
We'll check which area and same-day questions name you, your coverage, SLA and pricing pages, and how fast an account request gets answered, then send you what we found. You keep the findings either way.
Social presence · where merchants check you
Merchants want to see the van and the map before they sign.
Shops and brands judge a delivery partner on coverage, cut-offs and how you treat their customers. Social shows all three. Six things decide whether a look becomes an account.
yourdelivery
Is your profile ready to sell?
Tap what's already true.
Where your merchants look
A week that books, not just posts
Social Media Marketing Included in Zero to Hero (2 platforms) and Own The Answer (4 platforms).