Nobody wants to have their products returned to them. Every sale is important, and returns can impact your profit, reputation and reviews. In a nutshell, returns are an inconvenience! But there are things you can do to make the process as streamlined and ‘convenient’ as possible, for both yourself and your customers. Here are some tips on how to handle returns without destroying your margins.
Customer Service
Good customer service is crucial to building a successful business. Being transparent with customers and making sure you manage their expectations will help if any returns arise. Here are a few things you can do to improve your customer service in regards to returns.
1. Create a clear Returns Policy
Although most customers don’t intentionally purchase items only to return them, having a clear returns policy can give them peace of mind. 67% of customers read a returns policy before buying (Investopedia 2024). It builds trust and reliability in your brand, so even if they do need to return an item, they know exactly how they will be taken care of. Clearly outline the eligibility criteria, return windows and the conditions of returns. Ensure the policy is easy for them to find, with clear, detailed instructions for them to follow. The more information you can provide, the less chance there is of any misunderstandings, which can lead to disgruntled customers. According to MeteorSpace, 84% of UK shoppers will not purchase from a retailer again after a bad returns experience. Based on this, it’s clear that having an effective returns policy and excellent customer service can encourage shoppers to still make future purchases.
2. Offer free returns and exchanges
If you can absorb the cost of returns, customer satisfaction will be much greater and encourage customer loyalty. If free returns aren’t something you can offer, exchanges will help reduce the chance of lost sales. It can greatly improve the retention rate, and 60% of customers would prefer to exchange instead of getting a refund on a product. This protects your profit margin whilst keeping the customer happy.
4. Learn from customer feedback
Most customers prefer a ‘no questions asked’ returns policy, but they may be willing to offer feedback. With any returns, it’s important to analyse the data and proactively address any common issues. There may be constructive feedback that you can implement to improve your product or processes. By addressing these common concerns, the likelihood is that you’ll reduce your future return rates and associated costs.
5. Automate the Returns Management Process
Automating your returns process can be completely transformative for your business. It not only streamlines your operations, but it also helps reduce the associated costs and time needed to process returns. Customers often want quick resolutions to their problems. With an automated system, customers can have control and essentially use a self-service setup. They can process the return, be automatically sent a print-at-home returns label and post it. You and they can then track their return with ease, reducing your manual workload. You can also enhance the customer experience by sending confirmation emails after processing the return, reducing the number of follow-up inquiries from your customers. These can also be automated to make the returns process easier for you.
The data you can obtain from an automated system will also help you understand return patterns. By analysing them, you can apply any adjustments to help minimise future returns and cut return costs. Using FBA means Amazon take care of the customer service element of refunds/returns. It is always worth using the returns report to gather reasons for returns so you can see any patterns.
How to reduce returns
The best-case scenario would be not to have any returns at all. So, what can you do to reduce the likelihood of returns?
1. Accurate product information
Use accurate and detailed product information so your customers know exactly what they’re getting. Not only should you detail the product attributes, benefits and important features, but also the dimensions and weights.
2. High-quality photos and videos
Make sure you use high-quality images and videos to showcase your product, giving a realistic view of what customers can expect to receive. Using Premium A+ is a good opportunity to go into this in more depth. Use lifestyle images as well as product images to represent the product in action. You could include additional objects for scale, e.g. a smartphone to let the customer know the size. For videos, Amazon allows multiple videos on the page, including Troubleshooting videos, Setup, Overview, Unboxing, How To, and Brand Story videos. The more accurate your images and videos are, the less likely customers will find errors with the product.
3. Customer reviews
Encourage customers to leave honest reviews of your products. Customers always read reviews, so honest feedback from reliable shoppers will ensure they know exactly what to expect from your product. Monitoring these reviews also allows you to use any constructive feedback to improve your product or processes. Use Amazon Vine to help build up your reviews.
4. Quality control
Implement rigorous quality control measures to ensure your products aren’t faulty or damaged. By carrying out these checks at the source before products are sent out, you’ll greatly reduce the risk of returns.
5. Secure packaging
After your quality control assessments, ensure you have suitable, secure packaging for the safe transportation of your product. Try to use appropriate sizes and suitable internal packaging to protect your product and prevent damage. That way, if there is a problem on arrival, the customer will be more understanding that you’ve made every effort to ensure safe delivery.
Whilst returns can still happen for a variety of reasons, implementing these tips will help reduce the impact on your business.
For more top tips from the Brand Monkey team, head over to our blog.