Hi there,

Let’s talk about a tricky subject which is refunds and what can you do to reduce them.

First of all, refunds happen if the customers are not happy with the product they received - meaning you probably sold them the dream, and delivered something completely else.

For the sake of today’s email, let’s say you have average product with average quality and customer success rate.

When I say refund, I also mean canceling order as well ( it’s the same thing, but different trigger).

Why does refunds even happen:

• Your product is bad and they had bad experience with it.

• Customer changed their mind ( Buyer’s remorse).

• Shipping issues.

• Expectations not set.

• They don’t trust you.

• Many, many, many more things

So what you can do to reduce & prevent refunds?

Install proper refunded order & post-purchase email flows.

Okay let’s start with Refunded Order flow.

It’s an email flow that is automatically triggered once someone refuned their order.

First email should be timed anywhere between 1-30 minutes - not longer. ( Because during that time, they are still in the buying state).

And no, this is not a transactional email confirming their refund, it’s an email trying to win them back.

So what’s the goal, what should I say in that email?

Don’t push for another sale, don’t be aggresive - just be there for them.

We always angel it in a way that we are trying to help them and we are here for them in case they have any questions, issues with their order, concerns, etc..

Offer them your customer support email or telephone number, and FAQ page.

And then only after that, we would include a CTA button that says “Shop Again” with the dynamic product block below it showing the products they also might like based on their history.

Here’s how that’s performing for one of our clients:

As you can see, 8.6% conversion rate and £2,280 won back from the refunded customers.

Oh almost forgot, we also have 2 emails inside this flow.

Second one will be really similar to the first one, but use it as a reminder. In case they miss your email or are not ready to buy again immediately.

BONUS TIP: Make these emails from the founder or someone specific from your team, it will feel more personal and it will help you win them back.

Now, that’s all great, but how do you prevent refunds from happening in the first place?

Short answer: you can’t.

But you can for sure reduce the amount of refunds before it even comes to the refund or canceling the order.

And that is done through a post-purchase thank you flow.

It’s an automated email series your customers will receive when they place an order. And no, that’s not transactional email.

Your customers will have doubts about their choice, whether they should’ve spent that money, was there a better options, is your website/brand safe, etc.. - that’s called buyers remorse.

With the proper post-purchase thank you flow - you can remove it.

Now that’s a conversation for another day, but let me give you a quick overview of it:

• Email 1: Thank you for your purchase - say that you received their order and started working on it, if they have any questions, they can reach out. Also present some upsells and things they might also like

• Email 2: While you wait for your order - Here, we are trying to promote our app, social media or something else they can check out that is related to the brand, it will make them more excited about their upcoming order.

• Email 3: How to maximize your order - In this email, we are trying to teach them and show them some ways on how to use their product and get the most out of it - whether that’s a blog, or just some tips, it will improve customer’s experience.

• Email 4: Review Request or Survey Request.

• Email 5: You might also like - present something they also might like based on their previous order.

And that’s a quick overview on how your post-purchase flow should look like if you want to remove buyers remorse and make your customers more excited about their order.

When you combine these two, here are the results you can get:

As you can see, we took this brand from 40-80 refunds per day to 15-30 by implementing these 2 things.

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Thank you,

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