A successful business relies on good customer service.
It is much more than just handling questions (especially complaints).
Before your customers even decide to buy from you, it begins with.
As you build your store and write your copy, the foundation for the customer experience is already being laid.
You’ll increase sales if you do it right.
Setting expectations is a crucial aspect of business that can hurt your business.
Transparency is the key to ensuring that your customers know what they are signing up for.
This post will examine the benefits of transparency for your business and how to implement it.
Setting Expectations
Most customers want to be informed and know what to do.
This is true for many aspects of your customer’s shopping experience, but shipping is paramount because it involves more significant uncertainty and a loss of control.
Dropshippers are often concerned that customers won’t be willing to wait for the extended shipping times from China.
As many people have discovered, they are.
But there is a catch. This is something that customers should expect from the start.
This means that as a company, you should not hide the fact that they might have to wait up to a week to receive your product.
Do not lie, and do not conceal information.
The customer is happy as long as they know it will take at least two weeks. – Mitchell Sandridge
The coronavirus pandemic in 2021 completely disrupted logistics.
Customers expect businesses to communicate with them in normal economic and logistics conditions. These expectations have increased due to the delays and volatility brought about by COVID-19.
Sugar-Coating Expectations Is Counterproductive
Transparency is about managing expectations so you can leave as few assumptions as possible. These are unpredictable and uncontrollable.
The fewer, evil surprises there are, the more prepared customers will be.
There are two benefits to this:
It increases customer retention and word-of-mouth marketing.
This reduces the likelihood of complaints and returns, chargebacks, and refunds.
It’s not just a matter of lost sales. Managing returns and refunds takes time.
You’ll also damage your reputation in the long term and lose potential customers.
Transparency also plays a significant role in the playbook of business ethics.
Ahmed Hadi could have ignored the customers’ questions and kept their money when the coronavirus stopped Ahmed Hadi’s shipments out of the US.
He chose to take the high road. He was upfront with the situation and offered the option to receive a refund or exchange the product.
They may seem like simple gestures but have a positive and long-lasting compound effect.
Ahmed says, “They said they were very happy with the Customer Service and would return to our store.”
Transparency of Crowdfunding
These practices are crucial, especially when using crowdfunding to launch a new product.
As these projects are often just ideas or only a few samples have been produced, it takes a while to receive the final product.
Communication and transparency will help to ease any anxiety from waiting.
ShannahcomptonGame did not know that the coronavirus would strike when she launched her Kickstarter campaign for the Money Mindset Journal. It hit, and it delayed production.
She was completely transparent and open about the delays. She went beyond the call of duty by offering her customers a digital version of the journal to get something from the long wait.
Shannah has a simple hack for knowing what to do and say in these situations.
“I put myself in your shoes and asked, ‘How would I like someone to contact me if I were the customer? Would I want them to offer me something extra to make me feel that I am getting value?
What to be Transparent About
What should you be transparent about?
This is a simple question: Everything that affects your customers’ shopping experience.
It includes product quality, delivery times, possible delays, and refunds.
These should be communicated at all touchpoints, even before the purchase.
Dropshipping couple Shishir & Namrata are very clear about the two- to four-week shipping time.
This is clearly stated on the shipping page and in their confirmation emails.
Shishir says that if the person misses it, they will be told, “We’re sorry, but it’s going to take between two and four weeks.”
The conclusion of the article is
William Shakespeare said it best:
Do not trust anyone who has broken a previous promise.
When consumers purchase products from you, they trust the product and the shopping experience.
As with any relationship, it only takes a split-second or a mistaken decision to destroy trust and much longer to rebuild it.
Trust is a precious thing. It is a foundation on which to build. Reap the rewards.