Support

Running your business can be challenging in hard times, especially during this global health crisis. At Cratejoy, we understand that you may need to adapt your business to meet the new challenges. This guide will walk you through ways to communicate with customers, how to connect with other sellers and some scenarios you may encounter during this time.

In this Article

Communicating and Connecting
Cratejoy is here to help
Keeping customers in the loop
Understanding your business needs

Scenarios You May Encounter
How do I bulk export customer contact Information?
How do I update my Marketplace Listing?
How do I update my Storefront?
What if I run low on stock?
How do I add a new Subscription product?
How do I postpone renewals?
How do I handle prepays if I turn on Disable Renewals?
What if I have shipment delays?
Should I turn on Sold Out Mode?
How can we handle one-time product delays?
What if my fulfillment provider or 3PL is unable to ship internationally?

Templates
Requested templates for bulk shipment and renewal move requests
Adjust Subscriptions Template
Adjust Shipments Template

Communicating and Connecting

Cratejoy is here to help

At Cratejoy, we understand this is a trying time for businesses. We put this guide together with the hopes of helping you with the challenges you may face. If you need help with something not covered by this guide, please don't hesitate to submit a ticket to Support.

Some instructions in this guide will require moving renewal dates and/or shipment dates. In the case that you need to move 20 or more of renewal and/or shipments, please reach out to us and we can make this change for you.

Keeping customers in the loop

Your business may change on a day-to-day or even hour-by-hour basis. We encourage you to keep your customers updated about any major changes to your business. This would include updates on policies and product availability, for example. Visit this article for more ways to connect with customers.

We cannot overstate the importance of communicating changes with customers during this time. We highly encourage sellers to communicate with customers regarding changes or updates to policies and products. It is imperative to communicate any changes to shipment or renewal dates to prevent customer frustration. Communicating more now will help prevent any potential customer churn. Please visit this article for more in-depth information on communication with customers.

Messages can be tailored to suit the needs of your specific audiences. For example, broader public messages can be made via social media. These might include general shop changes whereas changes that affect current subscribers and the subscriptions might be messaged via email.

Please visit these sections for more information on communicating changes:

• How do I bulk export customer information?
• How do I update my Marketplace Listing?
• How do I update my Storefront?

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Understanding your business needs

We are tracking seller needs, and we hope this guide covers the main challenges you may encounter, but we realize we might miss some issues that need to be addressed. We would ask you to take a moment to fill out this survey to help us better understand your business needs so we can add further resources and continue to serve you. Please note, there is no need to fill this out again if you've already filled it out after receiving this link via email.

We also recommend checking out Subscription School, which is a Facebook group for a subscription box owners powered by Cratejoy. This is a good way to network with and get advice from other subscription box owners. Our Cratejoy Business Blog also has business and marketing advice to enhance your business.
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Scenarios You May encounter

How do I bulk export customer contact information?

You can export customer information from Cratejoy to communicate directly with your customers who might be affected by business changes. Many sellers opt to use third-party platforms like MailChimp or Constant Contact among others. Please visit this article for more information on the best ways to communicate with buyers.
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How do I update my Marketplace Listing?

To make any changes to your Marketplace Listing, log into the Merchant Portal and go to Listing or use this link. The best place to put updates regarding Covid-19 would be in the Target Ship Date field.

If you do not have enough space in your Target Ship Date, we recommend adding a Question to your Marketplace listing by clicking the Questions tab. Here, you can add a question along the lines of, "How is [my company name] handling Covid-19?" You can then elaborate on any general updates customers may need to know by answering your own question.

To see what changes are possible on your Marketplace Listing, please review this article.
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How do I update my Storefront?

If you run a Storefront website through Cratejoy, you can make updates wherever it makes the most sense for your business. For example, if you have a Frequently Asked Questions page, you might make an update there. To update your website, go to Design in the sidebar. Then click Copy to make a new copy of the current theme. Last, click Designer.

What if I run low on stock?

Should you find your supply chain affected, you may need to re-evaluate your current stock and sourcing methods. We recommend taking inventory of your current supplies to evaluate what you have on hand. You may find that you need to re-evaluate the plans you had for upcoming boxes. For example, some sellers offer mystery boxes that are not specifically themed and may vary from customer-to-customer. This is one way to make use of leftover inventory from past boxes or supplement future boxes you may already have on hand.

Another option to consider would be adding new One-Time products that offer past stock from boxes. If you have boxes left over from past months, you can also consider selling these as one-time products.

Please visit this section for more information on adding new Subscription and One-Time products.
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How do I add a new Subscription or One-Time product?

If you want to add a new Subscription product, please visit this article.

If you want to add a new One-Time product to your Storefront, go to your Merchant Portal, then click Products and go to One-Time Products. Here, click Add Product.
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How do I postpone renewals?

When making changes to your renewals or shipments, please communicate these changes to your customers. It is very important to communicate these changes because they affect when customers are billed as well as when they receive their product. To prevent frustrations and help decrease potential churn, it is imperative that sellers communicate changes. Please visit this article to learn more.

In the case that you need to pause renewals, we suggest moving renewal dates and shipment dates. Please visit this article for further instructions.

If your store has more than 20 customers that you need to adjust renewal and shipment dates for, please submit a ticket to support and we can help you make this change.

If you want to turn off renewals for your store, you can also do this by following the steps in this article.

Please be aware that these actions have an impact on when your customers will renew and receive shipments so make sure to review all the documentation before making or requesting changes.
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What do I handle prepays if I turn on Disable Renewals?

When making changes to your renewals or shipments, please communicate these changes to your customers. It is very important to communicate these changes because they affect when customers are billed as well as when they receive their product. To prevent frustrations and help decrease potential churn, it is imperative that sellers communicate changes. Please visit this section to learn more.

If the Disable Renewals feature is turned on and customers are not renewing, shipments will need to be moved to a future date if you cannot ship. Here's how to move Shipment Dates. If you have more than 20 shipments you need to move, please submit a ticket and we can help.

If you can still ship, you can continue shipments as usual.
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What if I have shipment delays?

If you encounter shipment delays, you can move your shipments to a future date by following the steps in this article. If you have more than 20 shipments you need to move, please submit a ticket and we can help.

When making changes to your renewals or shipments, please communicate these changes to your customers. It is very important to communicate these changes because they affect when customers are billed as well as when they receive their product. To prevent frustrations and help decrease potential churn, it is imperative that sellers communicate changes. Please visit this article to learn more.
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Should I turn on Sold Out Mode?

If you have run out of inventory or cannot ship your products, we recommend postponing renewals and moving shipments, which can be done by following this article.

Should you want to place your store in Sold Out Mode, you can do so by following this article.

When making changes to your renewals or shipments, please communicate these changes to your customers. It is very important to communicate these changes because they affect when customers are billed as well as when they receive their product. To prevent frustrations and help decrease potential churn, it is imperative that sellers communicate changes. Please visit this article to learn more.
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How can we handle one-time product delays?

In the case that you encounter low inventory for one time products, we recommend postponing shipments (steps here).

When making changes to your renewals or shipments, please communicate these changes to your customers. It is very important to communicate these changes because they affect when customers are billed as well as when they receive their product. To prevent frustrations and help decrease potential churn, it is imperative that sellers communicate changes. Please visit this article to learn more.
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What if my fulfillment provider or 3PL is unable to ship internationally?

If you are using a fulfillment provider of 3PL and they can no longer ship internationally, here are some steps you may consider:

For current customers, you can communicate changes to them and postpone shipments and renewal dates by following these steps.

For new international customers, you may continue to accept sign-ups and one-time purchases. However, you'll want to communicate any delays in shipments or renewals. Visit this article for the best ways to communicate changes.

In the case that you want to prevent new international customers from signing up during this time, you can restrict specific countries from ordering by setting up a Shipping Rule to block international orders by following these steps.

When making changes to your renewals or shipments, please communicate these changes to your customers. It is very important to communicate these changes because they affect when customers are billed as well as when they receive their product. To prevent frustrations and help decrease potential churn, it is imperative that sellers communicate changes. Please visit this article to learn more.
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Templates

Requested templates for bulk shipment and renewal move requests

If you need to move more than 20 shipments dates or renewal dates, you can submit a request via ticket to Support. From there, we can assist you with this move. We ask that you use the below templates when submitting your request. We are happy to help even if this template isn't initially included, but sending it in your first email will expedite the bulk move.

Adjust Subscriptions Template

Adjust Shipment Template

Updated by Jake 06/09/22

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