5 Strategies to Tackle Business Seasonality

In a world where convenience is priority, subscription models are becoming increasingly popular for consumers. Offering products or services on a recurring basis not only provides a steady stream of revenue but also fosters long-term customer relationships. In this guide, we'll explore the benefits of subscription models for both brands and consumers, common challenges associated with subscription models, and key steps to start a successful subscription model for your store.

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Benefits of Subscriptions to Brands

• Predictable Revenue Streams: Subscriptions provide brands with a steady and predictable source of revenue, allowing for better financial planning and stability.
• Increased Customer Loyalty: Subscribers are more likely to remain loyal to a brand over time, leading to higher customer lifetime value and reduced churn rates.
• Enhanced Customer Insights: Subscription models enable brands to gather valuable data on customer preferences, purchasing behavior, and demographics, helping targeted marketing efforts and product development.
• Opportunities for Upselling and Cross-selling: Brands can leverage subscription models to introduce new products or services and upsell or cross-sell to existing subscribers, driving additional revenue.
• Improved Inventory Management: With a subscription model, brands can better forecast demand and manage inventory levels, reducing the risk of overstocking or understocking.

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Benefits of Subscriptions to Consumers

• Convenience and Simplified Purchasing: Subscriptions offer consumers a convenient way to receive products or services regularly without the need to repeatedly place orders.
• Cost Savings: Many subscription models offer discounts or savings compared to one-time purchases, providing value for money to consumers.
• Personalization and Customization: Subscription services often allow consumers to customize their orders based on their preferences and needs, leading to a more personalized experience and in turn, inc
• Discovery and Exploration: Subscriptions introduce consumers to new products or services they may not have discovered otherwise.
• Consistency and Reliability: Subscribers can rely on consistent delivery schedules, ensuring they always have access to the products or services they need.

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Examples of Different Types of Subscription Models

• Product Subscription: Subscription boxes can be used for products for beauty products, clothing, meal kits, health supplements, etc.
• Service Subscription: Subscription-based streaming services like Netflix and Spotify, as well as software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms like Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Membership Subscription: Memberships include Amazon Prime, which offers various benefits such as free shipping, streaming, and exclusive deals for members.
• Access Subscription: Subscription-based access to digital content libraries, such as Kindle Unlimited for e-books and Audible for audiobooks.

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Common Challenges Associated with Subscription Models

• Customer Churn: Keeping subscribers engaged and preventing them from canceling their subscriptions can be a significant challenge.
• Acquisition Costs: Acquiring new subscribers can be costly, requiring effective marketing and promotional strategies.
• Content or Product Quality: Ensuring high-quality content or products is essential to maintaining subscriber satisfaction and retention.
• Logistics and Fulfillment: Managing inventory, shipping, and fulfillment processes can be complex, especially as the subscriber base grows.
• Competition and Differentiation: Standing out in a crowded market and offering unique value propositions can be challenging.

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Key Steps to Start a Successful Subscription Model

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Market Research and Analysis

Identify your target audience, understand their needs and preferences, and analyze competitors' subscription offerings.

Product Selection

Choose products or services suitable for a subscription model, ensuring they provide ongoing value to subscribers. We outlined a few popular ideas above for you.

Pricing and Tiers

Determine different subscription tiers based on features, frequency, and pricing, balancing value for subscribers with profitability for the business. These different tiers also allow brands to upsell customers to better value subscriptions.

Technology

Leverage an e-commerce platform that supports subscription billing and management, as well as customer relationship management (CRM) tools for personalized communication. Shopify provides its own Shopify Subscriptions feature, or there are a variety of integrations such as Recharge Payments, that will streamline and simplify the process.

VESYL integrates with all major e-commerce platforms so you can easily import orders, purchase discounted shipping labels and get those packages out the door.

Marketing and Promotion

Develop targeted marketing strategies to promote your subscription offering, leveraging channels such as social media, email marketing, and influencer partnerships. Clearly narrate the cost savings, convenience and other benefits to customers.

Customer Experience Optimization

Streamline the subscription sign-up process, provide excellent customer support, and continuously monitor and improve the subscriber experience to reduce churn rate.

Continuous Optimization and Analysis

Monitor key metrics such as churn rate, retention rate, and lifetime value, collect feedback from subscribers, and optimize your subscription offering to address customer needs and preferences.

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In Summary

Starting a successful subscription model requires careful planning, execution, and a customer-centric approach. By understanding the benefits and challenges associated with subscription models and following the key steps outlined in this guide, e-commerce brands can build lasting relationships with subscribers and drive sustainable business growth.

Black Friday has become one of the biggest days of the year for e-commerce businesses. The surge in online shopping presents an immense opportunity for brands to boost sales, attract new customers, and build long-term loyalty.

However, the key to making Black Friday a raving success, is to prepare, plan and implement well in advance. In this article, we outline the best preparation steps, the most effective strategies, the timeline for starting these initiatives, and examples of brands leading the way.

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Preparation Steps for Black Friday Success

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1. Inventory Management

You can’t fulfill an increase in sales if you have no stock! Proper inventory management is crucial to avoid stockouts or overstocking. Begin by analyzing sales data from previous Black Fridays to predict demand for various products. Also analyze most and least popular products over the past year. Order additional stock of popular items and ensure your supply chain is robust enough to handle the increased demand.

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With this increased demand, leverage VESYL's shipping automations to do the fulfillment leg work for you.

2. Website Performance

Imagine you have an influx of new customers trying to checkout, but the page won’t load. A slow or crashing website can be disastrous on Black Friday. Conduct load testing to ensure your site can handle high traffic volumes. Optimize your site speed by compressing images, simplifying checkout processes and minimizing the use of heavy scripts.

3. Mobile Optimization

With a significant portion of shoppers using mobile devices, a mobile-friendly website is non-negotiable. Ensure your site is responsive, with fast load times and easy navigation on mobile devices. Simplify the checkout process, including implementing one-tap payment options like Apple Pay and Paypal to reduce cart abandonment rates.

4. Customer Service Readiness

Expect an influx of customer inquiries and issues. Prepare your customer service team to handle a substantial increase in tickets and processes to handle them efficiently. Implement chatbots, FAQ’s and automated responses to assist with basic queries and provide quick responses. It’s important to ensure customers can easily bypass these options and speak to a representative when needed.

5. Security Measures

Cybersecurity is critical during high-traffic periods. Ensure your site has up-to-date security measures, such as SSL certificates and secure payment gateways. Monitor for any suspicious activities and have protocols in place to address potential breaches.

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Effective Strategies for Black Friday

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1. Early Promotions and Teasers

Start building anticipation weeks before Black Friday by releasing teasers and early promotions. Use email marketing, social media, and your website to create a buzz around your upcoming deals. To reward your loyal customers, offer exclusive early-bird discounts and access to help them feel valued.

2. Personalized Marketing

Leverage customer data to send personalized offers and recommendations. Use segmentation to target specific customer groups with tailored promotions that resonate with their past purchasing behavior and preferences. For example, you can highlight products that compliment their original purchase.

3. Bundling and Upselling

By creating product bundles that offer value, brands can encourage higher spending and it’s a great way to move older and less popular products. With upselling, brands can suggest complementary products, a higher value item and bundles. This not only increases average order value but also enhances the customer shopping experience.

4. Limited-Time Offers

When offers run for long periods of time, customers lose interest. By creating a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and flash sales, FOMO motivates customers to take more immediate action. Scarcity is a powerful motivator for shoppers.

6. Retargeting Campaigns

Ever viewed a product, not purchased and seemingly had the ads follow you everywhere. Retargeting ads are an excellent way to reach customers who have previously visited your site but did not make a purchase. Personalized retargeting ads can remind them of the products they were interested in and offer special discounts to entice them back.

7. Enhanced User Experience

From start to checkout, ensure your user experience is pleasant. From having a clean and user-friendly layout and navigation, to informative product listings with complete size guides, pop up chatboxes providing any assistance to features like one-click checkout, guest checkout options, and multiple payment methods, a smooth experience is key to ensuring customers reach the checkout.

8. Post-Sale Engagement

Black Friday isn’t the end of the customer journey, it’s just the beginning. Follow up with personalized thank-you emails, request feedback, and offer exclusive post-sale discounts to encourage repeat purchases.

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Brands Leading the Way

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Amazon

Amazon sets the standard for Black Friday with extensive planning, early promotions, and efficient logistics. Their use of personalized marketing, and limited-time offers drives significant sales and customer engagement.

Walmart

Walmart excels in both online and offline for Black Friday. They seamlessly integrate e-commerce and in-store promotions, coupled with effective retargeting campaigns, ensuring they capture a large share of Black Friday customers.

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Conclusion

Black Friday presents a tremendous opportunity for e-commerce businesses, but strategic planning is the key. By focusing on inventory management, website performance, customer service readiness, and cybersecurity, businesses can lay a strong foundation. Implementing effective strategies like early promotions, personalized marketing, bundling, and limited-time offers will drive sales and customer loyalty. Finally, by learning from industry leaders, e-commerce businesses can maximize their Black Friday success and build a loyal customer base for the future.

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Streamline your e-commerce fulfillment ahead of the Black Friday rush with VESYL. Learn more or book a call with us today!

With the average return rates for e-commerce stores between 20-30%, according to Shopify,  return logistics can no longer be overlooked. Not only does smooth returns enhance the customer experience, but also removes costly and timely bottlenecks for brands. In this guide, we'll dive into the world of return logistics, exploring best practices and strategies.

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The Importance of Return Logistics

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Return logistics are the processes involved in handling product returns, exchanges, and refunds in the e-commerce ecosystem. The inability to touch, try and see items in person first, make returns an inevitable part of e-commerce. Whether it’s due to sizing or fit issues, a defective or faulty item, or a number of other potential reasons, providing a smooth returns process can enhance your brand reputation, customer loyalty and give you the competitive edge. Think of it as the brand's opportunity to shift a negative experience into a positive and memorable one. 

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Best Practices in Return Logistics

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Clear and Transparent Return Policies

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A clear and transparent return policy removes the guesswork and lets your customers know exactly what to expect if they need to return or exchange an item. This increased transparency builds trust with customers and leads to loyal customers. 

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The return policy should be easily accessible on your website. Some brands choose to include it in a drop down menu on the product listing itself along with sizing and product information. This enables customers to make informed decisions without needing to search the website or contact the CX team. 

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A clear and transparent returns policy needs to include:

• The time frame for returns and exchanges period. Most customers expect a 30 day return policy.
• The conditions required for all returned products.
• If you have different policies and requirements for different products, make sure these are clearly outlined and communicated. 
• Clearly outline any return costs. Free returns are a big draw for online shoppers. Brands can also outline different costs for different return reasons, such as the customer is required to pay the return fees if the reason for return is that they changed their mind. However, for a faulty or damaged product, the brand covers the return fees. 
• Give clear step-by-step instructions on how customers can initiate a return. Include key information about whether they need to return the item in the original packaging, where they can locate the return label and once again the condition the item needs to be returned in. (For more straightforward returns, leverage VESYL’s QR codes, allowing customers to download the QR code and take it to their local drop off point, without needing to print any labels.)

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Simplified Return Processes

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Streamline the returns process by providing multiple return options like online returns, in-store returns, or drop-off locations. This accommodates varying customer preferences and situations, ensuring convenience and flexibility. For example, Amazon's "Online Returns Center" simplifies returns with a user-friendly interface, allowing customers to initiate returns swiftly and effortlessly. By diversifying return channels and leveraging user-friendly platforms, businesses can optimize the returns experience, reduce friction, and ultimately foster stronger customer relationships. Brands can also leverage returns software to centralize return tickets in one place, provide a simple user interface for customers to use and provide detailed information on the progress of the return. 

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Within shipments on VESYL, under actions, you can create a return label on a shipment, allowing you to quickly and easily get return labels over to your customer to return an item.

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Efficient Return Handling

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To optimize efficiency in return handling, it's essential to invest in streamlined procedures that minimize processing time and costs. Automation tools and dedicated teams play a crucial role in managing returns promptly and accurately. By leveraging automated return processing systems, like ASOS does, businesses can efficiently handle high volumes of returns, mitigating manual workload and reducing processing time. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also ensures timely resolution for customers, leading to improved satisfaction and retention. Embracing technology and implementing efficient workflows are key strategies to increase efficiency in return management, ultimately driving better outcomes for both businesses and customers.

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Encouraging Exchanges Over Returns

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By offering incentives such as free return shipping labels for exchanges or store credits, businesses can incentivize customers to opt for exchanges, retaining revenue and fostering positive relationships. For example, brands can offer a gift card for a slightly higher value than the original purchase to encourage customers to continue their journey with the brand. Finally, by leveraging easy-to-use exchanges software allows customers to quickly pick the product size, color or type they wanted to exchange for. This streamlines the process by reducing the need to speak to a CX representative and providing the customer with the options at their fingertips.

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In Conclusion

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With the increase in online shopping, the demand for excellent customer service and quicker resolutions, mastering return logistics can set your brand ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape. By implementing best practices such as clear return policies, simplified processes, and encouraging exchanges, businesses can streamline their return logistics while providing exceptional customer experiences. Remember, prioritizing exchanges over returns not only reduces the strain on your team but also strengthens customer relationships, ultimately driving long-term success.