Use Friendly Web Sites and Electronic Communication Chapter Five Use Friendly Web Sites and Electronic Communication
The Internet is a new avenue for businesses to deliver customer service Provides increased exposure and sales Provides decreased marketing costs Provides opportunities for better customer service
The Web is a “perfect” sales channel AND is an excellent channel for pre-sale and post-sale customer support Customers have come to assume a Web site for virtually any business
Customers can use online knowledge bases to answer their own questions FAQ’s Email responses, searchable by keyword Customer service postings, searchable by keyword Self-learning knowledge databases, searchable with multi-word searches
Web chat allows customers and service representatives to carry on two-way conversations. Blogs can serve the same function—real time conversations. Remember 80/20 rule: the 20% who are reading blogs influence the other 80% One third of US ‘Net users read online forums
Web self-service has significant cost advantages over traditional service channels Employing only one person to maintain a website Allowing full-time staff to answer only unusual questions
Customization Security Integrity Collaboration Entertainment Norms of ‘Net Geners Customization Security Integrity Collaboration Entertainment Innovation
Poorly managed e-services can eliminate any potential cost savings and result in lost customers.
Successful e-service delivery requirements: Website uptime: have redundant servers Navigation ease: one click access Response speed: less than 2-3 seconds to refresh a page Communication alternatives (email, phone) Form & function. Appropriate site design, accessibility
Successful e-service delivery requirements: Benchmarking Traffic monitoring Adaptive knowledge bases
Few companies today can survive without an electronic presence, and today’s Web-mediated customer service offers a low-cost approach for run-of-the-mill customer transactions. Take the opportunity to surprise customers with exceptional e-service.