{"id":15905,"date":"2022-06-29T14:19:02","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T19:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/?p=15887"},"modified":"2022-06-29T14:19:02","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T19:19:02","slug":"6-ideas-to-improve-customer-experience-through-your-return-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/6-ideas-to-improve-customer-experience-through-your-return-process\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ideas to Improve Customer Experience Through Your Return Process"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 7<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

More people are buying online than ever before, and they\u2019re also returning goods more than ever. With UPS reporting a <\/span>23% increase in returns during 2021<\/span><\/a>, returns are something customers demand but also a potential place to make or break your relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Get the returns process right, and you\u2019ve got a great customer experience that leads to more sales. Get it wrong, and you lose out on that revenue and all the money you\u2019ve spent to acquire those customers. Let\u2019s protect that bottom line with six ways to improve the customer experience during the next return.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Keep everything clear<\/span><\/h2>\n

The most important start for a positive experience is to create a clear policy. You want a system that your shoppers understand and one they feel comfortable using. Aim for the word \u201ceasy\u201d to define your returns process. It gives you an excellent guide to keep things clear and focuses you on creating a positive shopping experience, <\/span>according to customers<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nearly 60%<\/span><\/a> want you to give them a \u201cno questions asked\u201d return process, which is about as easy as it gets. That way, the focus is on the process. Thankfully, you control the process completely. This gives you a clear way to control returns and move customers forward through this journey and back to the buyer\u2019s journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll touch on a few of these items in more detail below, but your goal in explaining the process is to be crystal clear about the time the customer has to make a return, how to create a label, and any other requirements. If you can afford to pay for the return label at creation, that\u2019s even better.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once your policy is clear, post it and link to this everywhere. You want a \u201creturns policy\u201d link in the footer of every page, in your FAQ, inside the knowledge base that support agents use, in purchase emails you send, and more. The easier it is to find and use, the better the customer experience. You also help reduce the number of frustrated emails and chats your team must field from upset customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you need an extra hand, put yourself in the mind of someone shopping in the year-end holidays. They\u2019re stressed, might be running late, and need both a gift someone will love and something that can be returned if it\u2019s a dud. With <\/span>more than 40% of U.S. holiday shoppers returning gifts<\/span><\/a>, the returns process can either cause a lot of frustration or potentially land you a group of new customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Make the return process easy to update<\/span><\/h2>\n

The second way to improve the customer experience is to link your CRM and order management tools. This can feel like a basic step, but many return-order implementations and integrations between order tools like ERPs and the CRM are clunky and full of manual processes. To get them to an \u201ceasy\u201d state for you and your customers, it\u2019s time to investigate automation and faster data capture.<\/span><\/p>\n

The customer-facing element of this is creating an online portal or a system that support agents can use to initiate a return. This way you and customers can quickly gather information and create labels. A self-service portal can speed up the process significantly without opening you up to much additional risk. The customer still must return the item and meet your criteria, such as being free of damage, so the process is mainly a headache reduction for them and labor savings for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you can automate the backend work here, you also make returns processing faster. Employees armed with barcode scanners can scan return shipping labels and product barcodes, linking the SKU to the order. After doing a quality check and approving the return, team members can make a quick update and, if approved, the customer then gets their money refunded or a replacement order is automatically generated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Automation makes multiple steps in the returns process faster, getting a refund or replacement to customers faster, too. It can be complex and require IT help to ensure integrations run smoothly, but time savings offers a better experience for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Communicate throughout the process<\/span><\/h2>\n

No matter how quick your automation is, the process can feel long and painful if customers don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening. So, avoid causing harm by communicating during every step. That starts with a \u201cthank you\u201d note when the process starts or the person creates a shipping label and continues through their refund or replacement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, most eCommerce and customer management tools make it easy to set up these communications ahead of time. Build out automated email campaigns to make it possible for every return to including communication at each step. Some of the most important times to communicate are:<\/span><\/p>\n