When Lizzie noticed she was receiving complaints about her returns process, she suspected that this might be one of the reasons she was failing to secure repeat business. Find out how Lizzie managed to turn this situation around and handle returns cost effectively with the help of SAMOS.
#Start shipping with SAMOS
Meet Lizzie. She has built a highly successful business selling high-quality shoes online. The majority of her sales come from the UK, the US and the EU, but she can deliver anywhere.
In the first few years of business, Lizzie saw sales grow steadily, year on year. However, by year three, sales had begun to plateau. Lizzie knew that she wasn’t seeing the kind of repeat business she had hoped for. She also knew that her returns process was a little inconsistent, and this had resulted in some complaints in the past. She wondered if this was contributing to the drop off in sales.
#The issue – dealing with returns management
Lizzie told us she had no problem getting her shoes out to her customers on time, but her returns service was a bit hit and miss. Returns were handled in house, with no strategy or consistency of procedures.
Up to date, returns were processed by her small customer service team. Sometimes, this could be a little slow – especially at busy times of the year or when Lizzie was experiencing staff shortages. Overseas returns always took longer, as Lizzie was unsure how to navigate the difference in shipping and customs.
#The solution – streamlining the process
Having a smooth and consistent returns strategy can go a long way towards helping a business to retain customer loyalty. Around 17.6% of e-commerce goods in the UK are returned, according to Shopify. That’s more than 7% higher than goods bought in bricks and mortar stores.
Some customers will check out the returns policy before they decide to make a purchase and as many as 59% consumers say they would buy again from a company based on a successful returns experience. Overall, a clear returns policy and seamless process is proven to help build trust in a brand and encourage customers to buy again.
However, many entrepreneurs feel that establishing a returns service is a bit of a loss leader. It can be expensive, and this means that many small to medium sized businesses view a returns service as a ‘nice to have’ rather than an ‘essential’.
“Is it time to invest in a returns service? How can I reduce the rates?”
Lizzie had known for some time that her returns process needed some consideration, but she had avoided establishing a returns service as she didn’t think it would be financially viable for a company of her size. She once looked into the cost of setting up a returns service through a large shipping agent, but it was too expensive.
Even though Lizzie knew that investing in her returns process would benefit her reputation and sales in the long run, she worried that she couldn’t absorb the costs in the short term. That’s when Lizzie turned to SAMOS.
#SAMOS Returns – Simple returns, expertly managed
Lizzie had used the SAMOS delivery service for shipping some of her products. She’d been happy with the reliability of the service and wondered whether we could help her achieve similar results for returns. Of course, Lizzie was also keen to know how we could keep the costs down.
We told Lizzie what we told all of our customers. We’ve built a business on helping small to medium sized companies find simple solutions to their delivery challenges. We leverage the opportunities available to smaller businesses to provide scalable solutions and keep costs down.
Our returns service works on similar principles. We are committed to keeping costs reasonable and only charge the same amount for returns as we do to send out a parcel. Plus we always aim to provide that price upfront, so there are no unwanted surprises once the item has been returned.
#How SAMOS makes returns easy
Lizzie decided to trial SAMOS Returns and within no time we had her set up on our system ready to start processing returns as they came in.
To handle this, we provided Lizzie with a platform that is fully customisable and enables both Lizzie and her customers to track the progress of returns through every stage. This keeps everyone in the picture and reduces unnecessary calls to customer services.
Within days, Lizzie noticed just how smooth the process was. Everything was fully automated – including label generation – so Lizzie’s returns could be handled as seamlessly as her deliveries. We’ve designed our service with our customers in mind, so we use a stripped back system that is simple to understand and easy to navigate, for both business and consumer.
#Hassle-free returns = happy customers
It’s early days, but Lizzie is already seeing a change to her sales figures, with happy customers coming back to shop with her again. And, because the process is fully automated and the returns journey is tracked at several stages, her small team has noticed a reduction in work and dealing with returns enquiries. It’s afforded them more time to concentrate on other money-generating projects.
On top of all this, Lizzie has noticed a faster turnaround on receiving returns back to the warehouse, which means that she can restock the items and get them back on the website again for a quick resale. Investing in returns is paying off – in more ways than one.
#Want to know more?
For more information on providing a cost effective, fully managed returns service to your customers, check out the links below, or get in touch with a SAMOS expert.
