When you rent out physical products, the chances are that they might break down at some point. Such things are often out of your control but what is definitely under your control is ensuring that your customer gets the replacement fast so that they can continue using it and retain a positive impression of you. To emphasise how crucial positive customer experiences are in such situations, let me tell you a short (personal) story.

Back in 2018, I bought a laptop from Amazon, and after a month of using it, it stopped working. I called Amazon customer care and told them that I need a new laptop like REALLY, REALLY FAST because I have a paper due next week. This wasn't a clever trick to make Amazon give me a new laptop faster. And there was no way I would tell my professor that I couldn't complete the assignment because my computer broke down. It would be like saying that I couldn't bring the homework because my dog ate it. Long story short - I got a new laptop within two days, and I'm still telling this story.

The Problem 😣

Renting out physical products means that you have to prepare yourself for occasional mishaps, breakdowns and accidents. Emails containing "something is broken, can you please replace it" probably make you wanna shut your laptop screen (calmly), get up from your desk, find a corner and cry.

Implication 🙈

Replacing a subscription product is often easier said than done. For the customer, it just means writing an email and waiting till the replacement product is at their door and sometimes checking the replacement status on the phone from time to time.

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For you, it means replacing a damaged or non-functional product with a new one without disturbing the existing subscription. The real question is how to do that efficiently and fast and at the same time protect yourself from fraud customers who might not send the product back.

Solution 🥳

📣 Ta-ta-ta-dah! BEHOLD - Swap process for subscriptions. Providing a replacement option to your customers is a good thing because it reassures your customers that in case something breaks down, they can get a replacement.

With the new swap feature update in the circuly backend, we enable you to process replacements efficiently and fast. Plus the way circuly does it makes sure to check the following:

✅ Your product inventory is automatically updated and remains up-to-date even if you send out replacements products.

✅ In case your customer decides to keep the product and doesn't send it back for whatever reason, you can charge the customer for both products, which wouldn't have been possible if one product is replaced with another in the backend.

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So ultimately you not only reassure your customers by providing them with replacement options, you also protect yourself from fraud customers.

How's that for a WIN-WIN situation!

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Read more: churn in physical product subscriptions and how to prevent it (actionable solutions)