In the final part of this two-part series examining the value of convenient and cost-effective return policies, this week I examine how in-house quality control, product exchanges and catalog circulation can affect your company’s return practices.
(For part 1, click here.)
Quality Control=Less Returns
It’s vital to maintain strict quality control in your fulfillment center. If you have a high rate of people returning products because they received the wrong items, you likely have an internal quality control issue. Make sure your shipping personnel packs orders in an appealing way. Remember, you never get a second chance at a first impression. If your customer opens his or her package and the items are improperly or sloppily packed, it reflects poorly on your company and can increase return rates.
Don’t Accept Returns (When You Can Accept Exchanges)
There are many items that needlessly get returned. Having spent much time in the fashion industry, where 30-plus percent return rates are the norm, I learned firsthand that fit and color are among the top reasons for product returns. Train your customer service reps (CSRs) in the art of turning returns into exchanges. Often this can be accomplished by simply having the CSR offer an exchange. For example, the communication can be as simple as the following: “Ms. Jones, would you like us to ship you the item in a different size, color, etc.?”
Another technique is to have your CSRs use their cross-selling skills. Have them engage the customer as follows: “By the way Ms. Jones, many of the people who ordered item X also ordered item Y. Would you like us to send you that one instead?”
Some companies even pay for the inbound and outbound shipping on an exchange situation — another way of reducing the risk and “saving” the order. If you do this, however, make sure your CSRs aren’t too aggressive in offering upsell and cross-sell items on the original order. Monitor returns on both the aggregate and individual CSR level.
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Returns: A Growth Industry, Part 2 of 2
In the final part of this two-part series examining the value of convenient and cost-effective return policies, this week I examine how in-house quality control, product exchanges and catalog circulation can affect your company’s return practices.
(For part 1, click here.)
Quality Control=Less Returns
It’s vital to maintain strict quality control in your fulfillment center. If you have a high rate of people returning products because they received the wrong items, you likely have an internal quality control issue. Make sure your shipping personnel packs orders in an appealing way. Remember, you never get a second chance at a first impression. If your customer opens his or her package and the items are improperly or sloppily packed, it reflects poorly on your company and can increase return rates.
Don’t Accept Returns (When You Can Accept Exchanges)
There are many items that needlessly get returned. Having spent much time in the fashion industry, where 30-plus percent return rates are the norm, I learned firsthand that fit and color are among the top reasons for product returns. Train your customer service reps (CSRs) in the art of turning returns into exchanges. Often this can be accomplished by simply having the CSR offer an exchange. For example, the communication can be as simple as the following: “Ms. Jones, would you like us to ship you the item in a different size, color, etc.?”
Another technique is to have your CSRs use their cross-selling skills. Have them engage the customer as follows: “By the way Ms. Jones, many of the people who ordered item X also ordered item Y. Would you like us to send you that one instead?”
Some companies even pay for the inbound and outbound shipping on an exchange situation — another way of reducing the risk and “saving” the order. If you do this, however, make sure your CSRs aren’t too aggressive in offering upsell and cross-sell items on the original order. Monitor returns on both the aggregate and individual CSR level.
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.