While receiving orders from overseas is certainly welcome, many business owners say they felt at a loss for what came next. Questions like how to explain shipping costs, who is responsible for customs duties, and what to say if a shipment gets stuck at customs—as these pile up one by one, accepting overseas orders turns into a burden in itself. One business owner met by Mrs. Lauren was no exception. Overseas consumers showed interest in the products and placed orders, but the owner was constantly flustered by the subsequent process.

Orders were coming in, but there was no next step.

When we first began the consultation, there was almost no information regarding international shipping on the owner's online store. Shipping fees were listed based solely on domestic rates, and there was no explanation anywhere regarding customs duties or clearance procedures. When an overseas customer left an inquiry, the owner would reply by using a translation tool on the fly, and if an order was delayed due to customs, the owner had to handle customer complaints without knowing the reason. Upon closer examination, the problem was not that they "could not ship internationally," but that they "were not prepared to explain international shipping.".

4 changes made with Mrs. Lauren

Mrs. Lauren approached this issue not by introducing a grandiose system, but by addressing customer questions one by one and filling in the guidance accordingly. The resulting changes were broadly categorized into four points.

01. Shipping Policy Page: Preparing Answers Before Questions Arise

The first thing we did was create a separate 'International Shipping Guide' page within the shopping mall. We organized the shipping destinations, estimated delivery times, and shipping fee calculation criteria into a table so that anyone could check them before placing an order. The owner said that simply creating this one page reduced the time spent repeatedly responding to the same questions.

02. Set multilingual shipping notifications to be sent automatically

We configured the system so that notification emails are automatically sent at every stage of an order—shipping, customs clearance, and arrival. By preparing versions in both English and a simple local language, we enabled customers to check the current status of their order themselves, eliminating the need for the business owner to constantly use a translator to reply.

03. Customs and Clearance Guide: Reducing Misunderstandings Through Advance Explanations

We added a clause to inform customers in advance that additional costs may be incurred during the customs clearance process before placing an order. Given that many disputes regarding overseas orders stem from "unknown additional costs," this single small sentence played a role in reducing misunderstandings between the business owner and the customer.

04. Delivery Tracking Integration Shares CS Burden

Finally, we integrated a delivery tracking feature directly into the shopping mall order history page. As customers can now check the tracking number themselves before asking the owner, "Where is my item?", the number of repetitive inquiries received by the owner has decreased significantly.

Trust Built by a Single Guide

International shipping was not actually a matter of a complex system, but rather about proactively providing necessary information to customers at the exact moment they might ask. Instead of seeking a grandiose solution, Mrs. Lauren worked with CEO Lee to fill in the guidance by following customer questions one by one. Even now, the CEO does not feel at a loss like before whenever an overseas order comes in. Instead, pre-prepared pages and automated notification emails take over that role.