The Secret to Uncovering Customer Satisfaction — A Guide to Avoiding Order Cancellations

As a company, the lifeblood of the business is sales.

Without sales, there is nothing: no great ideas, no fantastic products and above all, no future, no hope. Many businesses have difficulty selling, finding prospects and turning them into customers.

To prevent the worst, we'll see in this article how to avoid it — with a clear process and simple tips and tricks.

The sales wheel

The Sales Wheel is representative of the sales process, start to finish. It shows you the steps to transform:

1. An Idea for a Product
2. An Offer to a Sale
3. Deliver the product
4. Manage After-Sales
5. And Repeat…

You are at the last step, where you successfully delivered and want to capitalise on it: Remarketing and Repeat sales — the best bit.

But what could be worse than not selling? Your customer is not satisfied and wants a refund.

Return rates in Europe sit at 10–20% on average, depending on category and age group.

A cost higher than you think

After spending real effort creating an offer, a significant acquisition cost to close the sale, and the operational cost to deliver, there's more to come:

• Bad review
• Unhappy customer
• More time spent by customer service
• More money spent to return the product

That's a lot — we sometimes prefer not to sell at all. Which is why the selling process must be accurate and not short-term thinking.

Understanding why

You need to understand why there is a problem, and why the customer changed his mind. Most common return/refund reasons:

• Unmet expectation
• Damaged
• Wrong item dispatched
• Found somewhere else
• Changed his mind
• Wrong product ordered
• Unknown

Once you know the reason, find a way to avoid it in the future. Is it something you can control? Cheap or expensive? Sometimes you accept a certain rate of return; when you can improve, do.

Return Reason → Fix / Reduce / Avoid / Ignore

Communication is key

The way you communicate with the customer matters. I've been surprised how many salespeople do it the wrong way. The customer has a problem — you don't want to be on the opposite side, or you'll be seen as the problem.

You want to be the Guide who helps him solve his problem. Use words like "with you", "help you" and "for you". When it's not your fault, say it, simply:

We are sorry that the carrier damaged your product during the delivery.

Show the best you can do. Over-deliver on the follow-up:

• "I wrote a special note on your order so we contact the carrier if delivery isn't done before X."
• "I will come back to you on Monday to be sure we are progressing."
• "I totally understand this is not acceptable, which is why I'm doing X, Y and Z to help you."

Offer different doors to open

Don't go straight to the refund door — that's absolutely the last option, even if the customer asked for it first. Customers want choices. Never offer just one option, it's too frustrating. Typical doors, in order:

1. Change his mind
2. Discount
3. Exchange or return
4. Upgrade
5. Refund

1. Change his mind

If the customer keeps the product because you convinced him, this is the best outcome: no hassle, no cost.

2. Discount

For a damaged product, discount it. Offer first, see the reaction. If not enough, ask what discount he thinks is fair — then negotiate. The discount must at least be lower than the cost of an exchange or return.

3. Exchange or return

The most complicated route — you have to manage the return and deliver a new product. A return form should be filled and signed to clearly engage the customer.

4. Upgrade

Sometimes the size or colour doesn't fit, or the expectation doesn't meet the customer's standard. A trick I've used many times: offer the upgraded product with a special discount so the extra amount covers your product cost and re-delivery.

5. Refund

Never mention Refund in your email or chat. It must not be a visible or easy option. Offer a voucher code first to reduce the loss — a straight refund is a pure loss.

Did you solve the problem?

If you solved it — meaning not refunded — capitalise. Make the customer so happy he drops an awesome review and buys again. A Narvar 2020 study found 76% of satisfied customers with their returns process said they would buy again; 33% of repeat customers who had difficult return experiences will not shop again.

A voucher code is welcome to congratulate the customer. It's never too late to ask for a review — the customer remembers the last part of the experience most.

Finish on the top of the roller coaster.

Make your hero (customer) happy

Now that you know how painful it is, do everything you can to avoid any refund. Depending on context, many things work:

• Communicate clearly with the customer in the right manner
• Offer the best options first
• Be on the customer's side
• Make the customer happy and ask for reviews