Uh-oh, a buyer emailed you to let you know they’re unhappy with their purchase and want to return an item. But that’s okay, because it happens to every seller. And with help from FeedbackExpress, you can craft an ecommerce returns policy that simplifies life for both you and your buyers.
#1. Try to Avoid Returns Before They Happen
Want to know a quick secret? The best returns are the ones that don’t happen. While we did say in the intro that returns are unavoidable, you should never take that as a sign to not try. Email your buyer to see what’s wrong and read between the lines to see what you can do to ameliorate the situation.
Will they keep the item if you offer a discount on a future purchase? Or maybe it’s simply a case of misunderstanding and they just need an information pamphlet to fully utilize their product. Whatever the case, have a conversation with them first to see if you can (gently!) convince them to avoid parting with their purchase.
And if you want to really keep ahead of things, employ best practices like posting product videos and tutorials that explain how things work, write up a decent FAQ section, and focus on crafting awesome product descriptions.
#2. Write out Your Ecommerce Returns Policy Clearly
Okay, so you can’t prevent all returns and when it comes time for a refund or exchange, use clear and plain English to explain how it works. Avoid sounding like a cerebral lawyer, and just stick to terms and phrases the average Joe can understand. If you force your customer to open a dictionary on every sentence, you’ll lose them for life. Nobody likes feeling tricked or taken advantage of, remember that.
#3. Specifically Outline Your Terms of Business
Don’t leave anything open-ended so as to avoid confusion for your buyer. If they can only return items within a certain time-frame, say so. If they have to pay for the shipping costs to get their refund, also specify that. And if you don’t offer cash refunds but only exchanges or gift cards, make that crystal clear.
Think of what you would expect to know when purchasing a product and put that in. If you’re stuck on ideas, browse other people’s pages to see what kinds of returns policies are out there.
Another tip in this category is to place your return policy on the product page so buyers can make an informed decision before they buy. One of the worst feelings in the world is feeling stuck and option-less, so never put your buyers in that position.
#4. Train All Your Employees Accordingly
Just because someone at your business wears the hat of accountant or marketer or writer doesn’t mean they solely wear that hat. Make sure they’ve read your policies ahead of time so they can operate in their own field knowledgeably and without error.
You’ll never want one employee contradicting another or what’s clearly stated on your website — not only does that look bad and unprofessional, but it also tells consumers you’re not running a coherent business where the right hand speaks to the left.
Save time and increase your positive feedback by outsourcing your Amazon feedback management to FeedbackExpress. With a 14 day free trial, you can try it out for free, you don’t even need a credit card!
*A version of this blog first appeared on the RepricerExpress website
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