My Top 5 Rules For slashing Refunds...

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Rule #1: Never promise what you cannot deliver. As always, under promise and over deliver.

Rule #2: Make them feel special. Send them a decent thank you email or even better, send them a seperate pdf in their downloads which is a thank you letter.

Rule #3: Help them digest the product. Make it as easy for them as possible to implement. If your product works, you'll have raving fans for life. Many a time I have just given up on products which were just to difficult to work out.

When writing products, do it in a way that a 5 year old can understand. Never assume that every customer has a high IQ! Where practical, always include a fast-start guide that explains each step of the journey.

Rule #4: Make them feel like family. This applies only / usually if you sell a product based on your expertise. For example, my first digital products were about real estate based on my own success, so in this case I provided a forum for customers. I made them feel a part of an exclusive community / club.

Do not underestimate this aspect. Sure, it takes time and effort, but it not only cuts refunds, but also increases the lifetime value of your customers.

Rule #5: Be Accessible! I don't care if you sell a $7 report or a $1997 home study course. What is only $7 to you may be a week's wages for your customer. So make an effort to support their questions.

If you don't want to do that, then at least make up a FAQ page in advance. This not only cuts down your customer service, but it also better qualifies your buyer in the first place. The FAQ will help overcome most objections before they buy.

BONUS Rule #6: Don't sell cr@p. Self explanatory.

Feel free to add your own suggestions.

Best of success,

Sal
#main internet marketing discussion forum #refunds #rules #slashing #top
  • Good stuff Sal.

    I actually make a thank you video, even for confirmation to my newsletter, as well as after purchase.

    The more people see my face and see that I'm a real human and not some transaction minded marketer dude, the more people can trust me. I also put my signature (iphone + gimp) everywhere.
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  • And the other thing you need to remember is that even if you do all of the above, you will still get people who want refunds.

    There are some people who are just never satisfied no matter what you do for them.
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    • You got that right buddy.

      They will always be dissatisfied no matter how good the product is.
    • Actually using JVZoo, there is a WAY to , just place them on the JVZoo Seller BLACKLIST...



      As you can see from the image above, I'm blocking 68 former buyers from accessing my products. I'm also BLOCKING 576 Blacklisted Buyers that have been as being problematic. These are buyers that have been listed on the Blacklist by 3 other JVZoo Sellers.

      Obviously if you've refunded enough to be listed on JVZoo's Blacklist you're probably a habitual refunder. Anyway, I don't want them as BUYERS for my products.

      You can set your level easily in the JVZoo Buyers Blacklist also, either higher or lower depending upon your preference...

      You can see there are three levels of BLOCKING available which makes this system unique.

      If you're a Product SELLER, this system let's you fight back against serial refunders quickly and easily.

      If NOTHING Else it gives buyers PAUSE before buying ANY WSO, knowing that if they refund they MAY end up on the JVZoo BLACKLIST...This could affect their ability to purchase products on JVZoo offered by ANY JVZoo seller...

      ~AzSno...
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    • Some good lessons in this thread. Anyone who is new to product creation, in particular, should take notes!
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  • This is an excellent post. Thank you for the tips – I hadn't thought about sending my customers an official "thank you" letter; very good idea.

    My contribution would be this:

    If you or your vendor offers no-questions-asked, hassle-free drop-of-a-hat refunds (looking at you ClickBank), be careful how you angle the refund policy. I was promoting a product and getting refunded on nearly 1/3 of my sales... I looked through my promotional material and realized that I was almost ENCOURAGING serial refunders.

    I feel this is especially true for higher-priced products; if your sales funnel includes a hard emphasis on how easy it is to get a full refund, a lot more people are going to buy with the intention of getting that refund.

    Since I've removed everything about the refund from my sales funnel I haven't had a single refund.

    Just food for thought.
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  • Over deliver and be honest. Set expectation even before you take their order. Even then if you are faced with refunds look at your own product and see how you can improve upon it.
  • #7: Offer an unadvertised bonus.

    The Law of Reciprocity works extremely well in marketing psychology; when you give a customer something of value that was not advertised, it helps with the Wow! factor.

    RoD
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  • That is the crazy thing about many websites that show how a small simple product is worth so much but it is really worth a fraction to what they are charging.
  • Refunds online are a part of doing business. I believe that the higher rate is due t the ease of getting one's money back. There is nothing to package and return like the real world.

    So it is going to happen. Funny thing is that (and I am not blowing my trumpet) I have never had an issue with too many refunds to be totally honest.

    I suspect that with ebooks, more people are seeing them for what they are. It's getting harder to justify paying $27 or $47 for an ebook when most on kindle sell for much much less. Yes, the ebooks are allegedly specialized info... but the problem is that they are not. Nor do many of them live up to what they promise.

    My personal view is that you set the tone for refunds when you (a) create the product and (b) create your sales copy.

    There will always be knuckleheads who refund, but that's a part of doing business online. The more you sell the higher the likelihood of refunds. Sounds bad, but when you consider that it is a digital product, with high margins, and no ongoing manufacturing involved, is it really that bad?
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    • One other important factor is to be choosy about your affiliates. You can't control how they promote your product.
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  • Also - price it reasonably. A 30 page ebook doesn't need to be $47. People will refund less frequently if they are paying a fair price.
  • Nice list Sal, I've done the community thing for a couple products, and it goes a long way.
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  • Offer a one year guarantee. Refunds actually drop the longer the guarantee is. Buyers tend to put off asking for a refund as they have plenty of time, then they forget about it. And of course offer a quality product at a reasonable price. Good luck, Ed.
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  • Thx for the feedback and ideas!

    I have actually learned much from offline products to be honest. Something as small as making a customer feel part of a special group has massive psychology behind it.

    For example, I just purchased a woodworking jig. Inside there was a small leaflet that offered:

    1- invitation (note the words they use)to subscribe to their weekly newsletter on line which offer tips, plans and special offers for FREE. Just sit back and it all comes to you!

    2- A quick blurb about their other products (for us, these should be promoted in the product and the thank you pdf) that save customers serious time and effort on their projects (once again, their language).

    3- Community. Join up with like minded wood crafters share etc.

    4- You are invited to a FREE download project book as a thank you for purchasing their product. In this case, the give you a coupon number to enter, so I assume that this tells them what you purchased.

    Some great ideas just there. Now if your niche is outside the IM sphere, then stuff like this is very potent to add to your business model. Not only does it give you a jump on your competition, but it also shows what your market is getting accustomed to receiving. Which means less refunds and more sales.

    Sal
  • Sal this is an awesome list and i got a couple of great ideas for my next wso! I went ahead and printed it for reference if you don't mind ..

    Gengis Suarez
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  • Offer a longer refund period. Instead of offering a 60-day money back guarantee, offer a 12-month money back guarantee. This will give your customers all the time in the world to "sit" on your product. They more than likely won't refund if you do this.
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  • I used to do a 30 day no questions asked and a 365 day double guarantee. Apply it for 12 months and if it doesn't work, I'll give you a refund. All I ask is that you show me what efforts you have made.

    Guarantees deserve a thread all their own to be honest.

    When I sold my membership plr packs I was pushing to get a 1% refund rate... and only those came from customers who didn't think it was something they would follow through with. Heck, one even wrote me a testimonial on my WSO because of my business practice and the fact that I refunded without hesitation.

    You have to remember that regardless of the niche or product, we are all selling solutions. People are buying solutions. so if you provide, you'll be ok. Consumers are smarter than they once were, so you cannot get a way with selling junk like you could a few years ago.

    Another one for the list is that you can always include a What This Product Is Not in your sales copy.

    Sal
  • Rule #1 - Don't offer refunds.
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    My Top 5 Rules For slashing Refunds...

    Rule #1: Never promise what you cannot deliver. As always, under promise and over deliver. Rule #2: Make them feel special. Send them a decent thank you email or even better, send them a seperate pdf in their downloads which is a thank you letter.