Product return process is the hot topic in ecommerce
business. Small and large businesses are implementing policies to make it
easier for the customers to return the products if they have justifying
reasons. Nevertheless, many of the people in ecommerce industry wonder whether
making it convenient for the customers to return products can affect the
business revenue. Well the answer is simple; Yes, but positively. There are
many reasons that can show how positive would it be for your business if you
have an effective and robust product return policy in place.
With that said, it would be worth mentioning a few ideas
that can actually help you get the most of your business while having a return
policy as a part of your business rule book.
Ensure accuracy of
your orders
There are many instances when people got entirely wrong
orders. Wrong order means the order wouldn’t have all of the contents that
customer paid for, or the package wouldn’t have the items the customer gave
order for, or the order is delivered to someone else (address mistake at
shipper’s end).
The best way to ensure that package has accurately all of
the items and that it is being delivered to the right recipient is to eliminate
the manual work and use shipping software instead. With the help of shipping
software, you can check the order as soon as it is entered by the customer,
confirm address, quickly check the status of inventory and assign items from it
instantly. After the manual work of packaging, the same software can help you
in printing the slips that will help you confirm that there is everything
packed properly in the cardboard boxes.
Make sure that you
have clear return policy
There are some items for which return policy can’t be
lenient. And there are also the products which can’t be the returned at all.
Specify those items prominently on the portal that customers use to order
online for your products. This mentioning will help the customers to stay away
from any confusion while ordering for any product.
The return process
should be convenient
According to a stat share by UPS, 53% of the shoppers have
been found satisfied with the return policy of the store they shopped from.
Thus, you wouldn’t really be willing to be one of those 47% infamous dealers.
The reason that finding new customers can be pretty
difficult, which is evident from the tougher marketing practices to promote
ecommerce businesses. Hence, a lenient return policy will help you retain your
customer due to a seller-customer relationship based only on trust.
One of the best ways you can make product return an easier
process for the customers is to include scan-based return labels in the
packages you send to the customers. These labels provide win-win scenario for
both you and the customer. The customer will have ease in returning the product
and you will be charged for the return transportation of package when it is
actually returned. Hence, it will be of no cost if you have printed bulk of
labels.
