Amazon's Great Returns Process Increases Web Sales

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Amazon's website and bought an adaptor to charge my iPhone in the car and to play the audio through my car's audio system auxiliary socket. Unfortunately, the wireless remote control was faulty and I decided to return it for an exchange

Amazon amazing returns process 

Amazon made the process, simple, quick and effortless. There was a link thinking of returning an item towards the bottom of their own page. The instructions were easy to follow and I printed out a returns address label with free postage.

On their website I selected that I wanted a replacement rather than a refund and they sent it out the next day i.e. even before they had received my return. Their policy said I had 30 days to return the faulty goods otherwise they reserved the right to charge for the replacement which was very reasonable.

Why is it amazing?

It is amazing because it is rare. Amazon understand that if you have a faulty product you are likely to be a dissatisfied customer. Within a few minutes, I was:-

• calm (I had easily found the information I needed)
• happy (because the process covered my needs and was simple)
• impressed (because I had no postage cost for the return and that they immediately sent out a replacement before receiving my return)

Amazon is my natural default when buying online

If I want a book or a present or a computer product, Amazon is the first (and usually only) place I go. There might be a site that could save me a few pence but Amazon have created a series of hooks that me reluctant to buy elsewhere:-

• Over 10 years they have established a strong position of everyday low prices. It would have to be a significant purchase for me to spend time doing a price comparison
  
• They have a terrific product range and it is rare for them not to stock what I am looking for
• Their site structure & search makes it easy to find what I am looking for
• Their shopping cart process is simple and quick
• They deliver fast (often next day) and as an Amazon Prime customer with no additional delivery costs
• You can count on them if there is a problem

So as a result of Amazon's web strategies, I would not consider buying from anyone else, unless it was significantly cheaper given the likely extra hassle & risk involved. Given Amazon's huge purchasing power, it is unlikely that many other retailers can compete on price without compromising their margins.

Do you make it easy for dissatisfied customers?

Amazon & other UK retailers like Asda & Tesco want you to be a long term customer and buy from them again & again. 

I once had a customer who had the opposite view: that the best policy is to make it as hard as possible for a customer to complain or get a refund / replacement. He believed this made him higher profits.

I disagreed: it might provide a notional increase in short term profits but at the expense of significantly higher long term profits. If a customer is dissatisfied, making the process more difficult for them is only likely to create a bigger problem,  losing future sales and helping to create a brand terrorist. This is covered in more detail in an earlier article 'Are you getting enough customer complaints?'

Does your website encourage repeat business?

• do you make it easy for target prospects / customers to find what they are looking for when they visit your website?
• does your range of products / services cover their likely requirements?
• if you have a shopping cart is it simple to use
• do you meet your customers' delivery requirements?
• how do you help them if they have a problem?
• do you focus on the short term at the expense of the long term?

If you need some help with this, contact a web marketing expert.

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.