To Serve and Perfect
Good old-fashioned customer service stands to be the key to succeeding in the fierce competition for online retail sales
First the good news: No single online retailer has cornered the market on truly savvy customer service—the kind that creates return customers and perhaps the strongest marketing tool of all, good word of mouth.
Now the bad news: In the world of e-tail apparel, returns still run relatively high—20 to 30 percent, according to a Jupiter Research study.
To be fair, on a computer monitor it’s easy to imagine yourself smaller than you really are, and colors in the light of day can look significantly different. Return numbers may also be boosted by customers who hedge their bets by ordering the same garment in a range of sizes and colors—only to return the ones they don’t want. Consistent sizing from one manufacturer to another has always been a problem, and it’s only amplified when the purchase is made online (or through a catalog).
There are several software specialists working hard to minimize returns including as YourFit.com and its impressive “virtual dressing rooms.” Both eColor.com and Imation.com (both reviewed in this column last July 28) have introduced color-accuracy enhancements that help to cut down on color-related returns.
But the sharpest online retailers have come to accept the fact that some returns are inevitable—and, indeed, embrace it, promote it and turn it into a marketing tool to create a community of repeat customers.
The tools to manage this sophisticated customer service appear to be moving away from direct management by online retailers because the software and infrastructure behind them are so complex.
United Parcel Service (UPS)—the earliest large-scale innovator in this field—simplifies and automates the process on a growing number of consumer sites we’ve seen. Live order tracking is a significant UPS innovation that has been opened directly to the consumer.
Here’s how it works: Say you hate the garment that has just been delivered. You go back to the Web site, look up the item, click on the info symbol for returns, enter a little data on the original purchase, and a return authorization form is generated. Print out the label with the bar code, slap it on the parcel and get it back to UPS. Your account is immediately credited. Finis. More e-tales
Several other companies are jockeying for position in this specialized field with innovative services whose primary goal is to create happier online customers. Austin, Texas-based Newgistics has recently made arrangements with hundreds of walk-in parcel and mail centers throughout Texas to receive products (ordered from affiliated catalogs and online stores) for return with proof of purchase. The centers do the packing and shipping and credit the customer account within 24 hours. Rye, N.Y.-based Lillian Vernon is just one mega-retailer featuring this service.
An even bolder, more broadly marketed service is being undertaken by Atlanta-based Return.com, which formed out of an alliance between San Diego-based Mail Boxes, Etc. (MBE) and Atlanta-based product-fulfillment software specialist Innotrac Corp.
Return.com claims to have created the first “full-service returns portal” online, according to MBE president and CEO James Amos in a Return.com press release. The company currently provides the Web site customer service needs of apparel companies such as Haggar.com and Ocean Pacific [opstore.com].
Consumers just print out the return label (with the return merchandise authorization number) and bring it to a Mail Boxes, Etc., which packs it up and ships it out to one of several Return.com parcel centers. The parcel center, which anticipates the authorized items, immediately forwards it to any number of retailer-specified locations that may restock, auction or liquidate the product as they see fit.
Return.com has also innovated a rapid crediting process that reduces this often-laborious task from weeks to hours. “Returning merchandise is a vexing problem for consumers and merchants, involving inconsistencies and inconvenience. The cumbersome process is widely recognized as a major barrier to e-commerce and non-storefront purchases,” said Joel Holtzman, Innotrac’s vice president of Internet business.
“Return.com serves as a single focal point for merchants and consumers to bring simplicity and convenience to the entire process,” he said, “thereby saving time and money.”
The latest enhancements to Return.com’s site include the introduction of two virtual personalities: Return Assistant “Remmy Return” and Consumer Advisor “Clarissa Consumer,” who simplify and add wit to a process that stands a good chance of transforming a dissatisfied customer into a repeat customer who has been promptly and pleasantly served.
