Niche Retail builds on customer service reputation to grow more sites
With a trademarked “No Worries” feature for free returns and exchanges, Niche Retail LLC is using customer service to build its reputation in more than 12 markets ranging from radar detectors and watches to jogging strollers and products for nursing moms. “Our goal is to make our customer service stand out from other retail web sites,” says Jeff Wedren, director of sales and marketing.
The No Worries feature, which is shown on every page of each of Niche Retail’s web sites, lets customers return or exchange products within 30 days of purchase. The feature is designed so that shoppers who click on the No Worries icon fill out an online form that integrates with a Fedex Corp. Ship Manager software system, which Niche Retail uses to expedite e-mailing the customer a return-shipping label. The company absorbs the cost of return shipping only if there was a problem with the order, but it offers free-shipping on all replacement orders. “The service has led to repeat orders and helped to increase average order size,” Wedren says.
As part of a broader emphasis on customer service, Niche Retail has also dedicated a customer service agent to monitor all e-mails from customers seeking returns. “We try to answer each e-mail within 10 minutes,” Wedren says.
Although each Niche Retail site is separate, they’re all linked to NicheRetail.com, which serves as an umbrella site with graphical links to each site. As it increases customer service, the company has seen more cross-buying by loyal customers who link to NicheRetail.com to view its other offerings.
“We’re seeing orders for radar detectors and orders for jogging strollers at the same time,” Wedren says. “We’re seeing more and more cross-overs.”
Niche Retail’s newest site, NursingMom.com, specializes in selling breast pumps and related products. But the common focus on customer service helps to drive cross-selling with other Niche Retail sites like ChildCarriers.com and WaterBounce.com, a site that sells water trampolines and other items popular with children, Wedren says.
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