Posts Tagged ‘online customer service’

The value of online customer service

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

As IMRG recently reported that there are now 150,000 online retail businesses in the UK employing some 600,000 people, it’s clear that the level of competition has reached an all time high. Many ecommerce businesses complain that their business is driven by price, but a recent report from StellaService in the US says that online shoppers will pay a premium of 10.7% for great service (and they put a monetary value on that service of $17.3billion in the US market).

So if you are a small ecommerce shop, what are the best ways to grab a share of that added value available to online retailers?

  • Speed of Delivery The report says that the leading factor for great customer service is speed of delivery. Our experience shows that small ecommerce websites can often beat the larger online players with speed of delivery. Not to mention any names, but how often are you kept waiting 5-7 days by a major online retailer?. So if you know that you can deliver quickly, then make it clear on your website as it clearly matters to consumers and could be the difference between a sale or no sale.
  • Customer Interaction Another important element in customer service is the way you/your staff deal with customers over the phone or via email. Again this is an area where small website shops can provide a better experience. Would you prefer to talk to call centre or someone in a who really cares about and knows their products?

Large ecommerce websites like Ocado in the UK and Zappos in the US know all about customer service, but as the StellaService report points out, a bigger share of online spend is also possible for small website shops who ‘improve basic service practices and policies that matter most to online consumers’.

Ocado and Zappos know all about customer service

Ocado and Zappos know all about customer service

 

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Latest Research into ecommerce shopping habits

Friday, August 14th, 2009
Some interesting research has been published in the last few weeks which highlights areas of ecommerce best practice for website shop owners. We’re referring here to Channel Advisor’s white paper on ‘How Consumers Shop Online’ (US) and data/research into online customer satisfaction by IMRG/eDigitalResearch.
How Consumers Shop Online

How Consumers Shop Online

- Online shoppers now spending more time researching. According to Channel Advisor onine shoppers are spending more time researching and spending less (not suprising given current economic environment). Interestingly, a result of this is that consumers are using more sophisticated, specific research to seek out exact products. For ecommerce website owners this means that more clever use of keywords is necessary in their product descrptions and titles (Google has reported an 8% increase in searches comprised of 3 words or more) 

- Maximum exposure for your ecommerce website. Channel Advisor also points out that as consumers are so focused on finding the  best deals it is imperative for website shops to have as strong a presence on as many channels as possible - search engines, comparison shopping engines, marketplaces, affiliates, email. As we’ve said before, it’s no good just publishing your online shop and then hoping consumers will find you.

- Make the most of your Product Pages. As we’ve also stressed on this blog before, make sure you make the most of all features that your ecommerce website software offers to sell your product off your web pages. Video, images, compelling copy etc - see our earlier post ‘Optimise your Product Descriptions for increased conversions’ for more info.

- Free Shipping delivers conversions. According to Channel Advisor, Free shipping has the biggest influence on web shoppers, followed by product ratings/reviews and Free Returns. So, in the run up to the essential Xmas shopping season, ecommerce website owners would be well advised to review their shipping/returns policies. If you can’t offer free shipping to all, consider free shipping above a certain order value threshold, or maybe free shipping for repeat purchases or if customers ’refer a friend’ and make sure you make your delivery charges are as visible as possible wherever a potential customer is on your site. We’ve written before about customer generated product reviews (include some not so good reviews as well for a  a more credible mix). Expert (press/media) reviews are also helpful if you can get them.

Free Shipping Delivers Conversions

Free Shipping Delivers Conversions

- Focus on customer satisfaction and response rates. According to IMRG/e-Digital Research customer satisfaction in online shopping is at its lowest level since 2006. The worst performing areas identified in the survey include the speed that online retail customer services respond to queries and the ease of access to online help with purchases. We always recommend to all our website shop clients that they must publish a (visible) telephone number and contact email address, but that’s no good if you don’t respond. Online chat is also recommended. You have a much better chance of converting visitors to customers if you respond to requests for info/advice. Consider also the addition of telephone ordering as an alternative to online transactions. Online customer service expectations grow all the time - so don’t get left behind with a poor end-to-end customer experience.

Focus on Customer Satisfaction and Response Rates

Focus on Customer Satisfaction and Response Rates

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Customer Service counts for eCommerce Success

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Tougher economic conditions sort out the best from the rest. That’s the message that comes across from eMarketer’s ‘USA Online Sales Slip’ published 5/5/09.

Although eMarketer suggests that online sales in the USA may turn out flat for the current year, they are positive about the upside for  smart eCommerce websites; ‘ the current economic upheaval has weakened many traditional retailers, putting consumer wallets up for grabs. Online retailers that can fill the void with superior customer service, rich product information and greater shopping conveniences have a chance to win new customers for life’ .

Glasses Direct is a good example of how customer service differentiation can deliver bottom line results for a website shop. In a recent Q&A with eConsultancy.com, Jamie Murray Wells, founder of Glasses Direct talks about how his ecommerce website has won customers’ hearts. Building word of mouth has been critical and going the extra mile in terms of customer service is key to securing these personal recommendations. So for example, they send little gifts out with their orders, they make it very easy for customers to get friendly advice over the telephone from one of their customer advisors (note: phone number visible on every product page), and in one case where they had an upset customer they sent a pizza as an apology. Their view is that as eCommerce matures and more and more of their competitiors have excellent websites/great products/keen pricing, then the only way to achieve differentiation is via customer service.

Customer Service

Customer Service

On the other side of the coin, we came across a bad example of customer service today from one of our largest e-tailers; Marks & Spencer. The home page advertises ‘Free Delivery on orders over £30′. So we place our order which totals £31.50 on the basis that we assume the free delivery will automatically be applied at the checkout. But guess what pops up? a £3.50 delivery charge at the checkout. What do we do?  look for a telephone number to contact M&S to find out what’s gone wrong (note: telephone number hidden in the deepest depths of their website), spend several minutes waiting for an operator whilst being told by an automated message that ‘M&S is currently experiencing delays with deliveries and Email response times are currently longer than usual’. Doesn’t inspire alot of confidence. When we finally get through to an operator, we’re told you have to click on the ‘Free Delivery on Orders over £30′ advert button to get the offer code and input manually at the checkout. Well why don’t they tell customers that on their home page and avoid all those angry calls to their helpline, that is assuming the customer hasn’t abandoned their shopping cart already? M&S you need to pull your socks up!

Marks & Spencer - bad customer service

Marks & Spencer

The message for all serious website shops is focus on customer service - don’t just get the basics right, aim higher - delight your customers and they won’t forget you.

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