By Guest

Rafael Lourenco, EVP & Partner, ClearSale

Ecommerce businesses have many risks to manage, from supply chain and inventory issues to chargebacks. Reputational risk is also an ongoing concern. Consumers are more likely than not to switch brands after a bad experience, and customers have instant access to social media and review platforms that let them share those experiences with the world. Other consumers read those complaints and reviews not only to make smarter buying decisions but also for entertainment. (A quick search for “viral bad review” will turn up dozens of cautionary examples.)

Because customers are willing to drop companies that don’t meet their expectations and to talk about it online, improving CX and fighting fraud don’t just help with the bottom line. These functions can also reduce reputational risk by preventing the kinds of experiences that drive customers away and lead them to warn others. Companies concerned about protecting their brand reputation should make sure their CX and fraud prevention programs include some key elements.

A warm welcome for first-time customers

Creating a positive first impression for new visitors to your website or shopping app can be challenging. First, there’s the fact that you don’t yet have historical customer data available to personalize their shopping experience. That comes later, after they’ve visited the pages that interest them, perhaps shared some products with friends, and, ideally, signed up for your marketing emails or made a purchase.

If that brand-new customer does make a purchase, it’s important to assess their risk of fraud correctly. Too often, we see consumers who are new to a retailer, or perhaps even new to shopping online, receive a false decline when they place their first order. This can happen when fraud parameters that are too rigid or simplistic flag an order as suspicious and then automatically reject it because of the lack of order history or the newness of the customer’s contact information. Consider that, according to ClearSale’s State of Consumer Attitudes on CX & Fraud 2021 survey, 13% of consumers shopped online for the first time after the start of the pandemic.

When good customers are rejected by mistake, 34% will complain about the retailer on social media, per the survey. Over time, if fraud controls generate a high number of false positives, those complaints can tarnish the company’s reputation.

False declines also rob retailers of the ability to capitalize on the customer data they gain from new customers’ site activity, because 40% of rejected shoppers won’t return. To improve CX and protect their reputation, companies can implement fraud scoring that flags but doesn’t automatically reject customers with thin histories so they can be manually reviewed and approved if legitimate.

Better recognition of returning customers

False declines can also undermine the relationship between repeat customers and retailers. If these customers have already made purchases on your site and perhaps even said positive things about your brand on social media, a …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

Author: Aaron