E-commerce sites need to put smiles on the faces of their virtual customer  -service reps, keep consumers on hold for less time, and go with the old slogan that the "customer is always right."
Consumers are dealing with a rocky economy, taking more time with purchasing decisions, and are no longer just hoping for great customer service. They are demanding it.
Super customer service remains the top reason consumers will recommend a company. But give consumers bad service and they are twice as vocal about the poor service they received, according to a study by Harris Interactive commissioned by RightNow, a provider of customer-relationship management software and services based in Montana.
As the economy worsens and the credit clamp deepens, the survey showed that consumers are less tolerant. For a third consecutive year, there is an increased trend for consumers to stop doing business with a company after a poor customer experience.
In fact, this year 87 percent of customers will cut their ties with a company after dealing with poor customer service, compared to 80 percent in 2007 and 68 percent in 2006, according to the Customer Experience Impact Report.
More Vocal
Based on a poor customer-service experience, 61 percent of the more than 2,000 consumers surveyed said they have complained to the company at fault and 37 percent return products directly affecting a company's bottom line. Among U.S. respondents who had a negative experience, 84 percent said they would tell others about the poor treatment, up from 74 percent in 2007 and 67 percent in 2006.
"It is important for stores to emulate the physical experience while online," said Susan Meriwether, a retail-industry marketing manager at RightNow, in a phone interview. "A lot of e-tailers have been spending a lot of time trying to drive traffic to the Web site, but only the online retailers focused on taking care of customers on the Web site are the ones keeping the customers coming back."
One of the most frustrating issues for customers is having to wait on hold. Calming music may not be effective if the consumer has been on the line for a long period of time. Thirty-seven percent of the survey respondents want access to an online live chat with a customer-service rep.
Best Buy is not willing to take any chances with losing customers this year, so the big-box retailer has been preparing its online store. BestBuy.com recently launched a new feature called Click-to-Call, which connects shoppers to customer-service representatives 24 hours a day and seven days a week. This year, the company has also set up a toll-free hotline where customers seek gift advice, ask technical questions, and make around-the-clock purchases. (continued...)
|
Social Media and the Customer Experience