Building customer trust with transparency in return tracking
Vaishali Ravi
·August 6, 2024
Transparency should be a core value for your business. Being transparent in your goals and actions can build a foundation of customer trust and loyalty, which will lead to long-term growth. To build a transparent brand, make sure you’re open and honest with your customers, with clear communication at every stage.
How to build transparency into your brand
Transparency should factor into every element of your brand. Prioritize creating an open relationship with your customers, which will help you build their confidence in your brand.
In particular, think about transparency around these key factors:
- Ingredients or materials
Give your customers a clear list of all the ingredients or materials used in your products, and create clear explanations for what unfamiliar terms mean. For shoppers concerned about organic, non-toxic, or ethically-produced products, this kind of transparency can help them make the right choices and reassure them that your products are right for them. - Pricing
Your brand should be clear and transparent when it comes to pricing. Each item should have individual pricing, and for packages or subscriptions, you should offer a complete itemization of what your customer will receive. Shoppers should be able to plug in their zip code to receive accurate all-in pricing, including tax and shipping fees. By ensuring they can get pricing up front, they’ll be less likely to abandon their carts if the total order cost is more than they’d expected. - Returns policy
Make sure that your customers are clear on the conditions under which they can return items, and how long they have. A 30-day return policy is the industry standard, though many retailers are going the extra mile to offer 45 days or even longer. Must items be in new condition to be eligible for a return, or can they be gently used? By stating all of your policies up front, customers can feel confident that you’re standing behind your brand. - Order tracking
During the post-purchase experience, it’s important for your shoppers to be able to follow their order status in real-time. They should know when their order has shipped; be able to follow its progress en route; and receive a notification when it is out for delivery. A transparent shipping process is equally important when it comes to return tracking.
Transparency in return tracking is an often overlooked part of the customer journey, but it’s just as important as all of the other forms of transparency your brand should commit to. Let’s take a deeper look at how to build a transparent return process, and why it’s so important.
Transparency in return tracking
By building a transparent return tracking system, both the customer and the company can have peace of mind knowing that their returns are being handled efficiently and fairly. Here are some guidelines to help you get started.
Provide a self-service return portal
By giving your customers the power to manage their returns through your returns portal, they’ll be able to identify which items they’ve purchased are eligible for a return, and can ensure that they meet the conditions for a refund. They can then choose to either print out a return label for self-service mailing, or bring their product to a nearby drop-off center for a boxless return.
Issue a tracking number
Regardless of the method your customer chooses for returning the item, they should be provided with a tracking number from your carrier, which they can use to track the item’s location and status in real time. If the product needs to be inspected before the refund or credit is processed, they’ll be able to see when the item has made it to your warehouse.
Provide confirmation of receipt and next steps
When the return has been checked in and inspected, the customers should receive notice that their refund or credit has been processed. If the item doesn’t meet inspection conditions, you can offer them an alternate solution, such as providing store credit rather than a refund.
Real-time visibility into order tracking is important for both the customer and your brand. By issuing tracking numbers for returned items, you’ll be able to determine when inventory is coming back into stock so that it can be resold, helping you better manage your inventory levels.
Creating a customer-first return process
While return tracking is important in situations where the customer won’t receive their refund or credit until the order is received, consider an alternate solution: Issuing the refund or credit as soon as the customer requests a refund or exchange.
In this process, your brand is putting trust in the customer that they’re planning to send back the product in the condition they claim, within the allotted time provided for a return. You can set terms that the customer will be charged again for the original product if they don’t send it back under the agreed-upon terms, reducing the risk to your brand.
Using a returns management solution like Loop can help you remove friction from the returns process, and eliminate your customers’ anxiety around tracking their returns. By offering them credit up front, which they can easily apply to an Instant Exchange, or select store credit for Shop Now or Shop Later, they’ll be more likely to consider selecting a new item rather than opting for a refund. Loop merchants have been able to retain over 40% of revenue from returns, via our seamless exchange platform.
Creating a best-in-class returns process
Regardless of how you choose to process your customers’ returns, be sure to prioritize the customer experience at every turn.
Your shoppers should have the ability to choose their preferred return method, whether that’s self-service or a drop-off center. If they need to wait for their refund, be sure to provide them with a clear timeline of how and when it will be processed, with real-time notifications when the package is received as well as when it has completed inspection.
Providing transparency at every part of the returns process is crucial to building a brand that your customers can trust. By delivering on visibility in returns management, as well as the other elements of your brand, you’ll be able to build confidence in your brand that will translate into long-term loyalty.
Build transparency into your returns process.
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With Loop, your brand can offer everything from refunds to direct exchanges to shopper incentives and more. Even better? These exchanges build your business.