Remediation: How to handle orders

While only stores strive to meet or exceed customer expectations with every order, mistakes are unavoidable. Having a plan to deal with these mistakes provides the opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive one.

What is remediation?

Remediation is the process of compensating for any mistake made with a customer order. This usually begins with an apology and is followed by a multistep process to ensure the customer feels they've been adequately taken care of.

What is there to do after a mistake?

If your ecommerce store made a minor hiccup, the first step is to recognize the error. The customer interaction aspect of a transaction is minimal, as the buyer usually inputs their card information without speaking with a representative. On your ecommerce platforms, there are most likely triggers that will catch any customer errors, which minimizes the chance the mistake was made on their end. For instance, if a customer doesn't select a size for the product he or she wants or incorrectly enters the card information, automated systems will recognize and point out the error.

After the mistake has been identified at its source, your ecommerce business should do the following:

• Issue an apology to the impacted customer detailing how you will address the issue.

• Work internally with other partners or staff members to ensure these steps will be followed.

• Deliver on the timeline that you promised to address the issue.

• Offer the customer some type of value add or incentive, such as a discount on their next purchase, to help mend the relationship.

How can you minimize remediation?

While it's not likely you'll completely eliminate mistakes, you can try and minimize the number of times you have to address hiccups in your order and delivery processes. One of the best ways to ensure a smooth and seamless checkout process is to partner with a robust ecommerce platform. Prioritizing the checkout process is the first step to reducing ecommerce mistakes.

Next, your business should emphasize easy shipping. One of the biggest mistakes ecommerce companies make today is to limit shipping options. One carrier can't likely handle all of a business's shipping needs, or at least a company that's growing. A small, startup operation can probably be fine with just one shipping partner, but if you're trying to scale, you need more than one shipping option. Delivery mistakes are a common driver of the customer remediation process.