October 2000   

As in any new venture, there's a learning curve. The early naivete of "If we build it, they will come" has been replaced with the growing awareness that Web sites need marketing and planning as much as any other business model. Along the way, Web entrepreneurs have learned the finer points of creating Web sites that are not only attractive but functional and easily navigable, with pertinent content that's clearly labeled for easy access. Sophisticated firewalls and encryption capabilities have made considerable progress in easing consumers' fears about the safety of using their credit cards on the Internet. Co-branding and marketing partnerships have enabled companies to market their companies in new ways almost unheard of in the brick-and-mortar world.

And yet, Web companies are still highly risky ventures. The components all seem to be there: product information and sales capability available 24/7; complex integrated marketing programs that put those URLs into the public memory (just look at the large number of URLs posted on the commercials aired during the 2000 Super Bowl). Still, opening an e-commerce site is no guarantee of success. So what does it take?

The answer is a simple back-to-basics approach known as customer service.

Tried and True

According to Philippa Gamse, e-strategy consultant and president of CyberSpeaker, customer service is the name of the game. "You really have to think about who your markets are and how to target them," she says. "People often don't buy based on price. They're more interested in customer service and its components: product information, privacy, and security. You have to understand what's going on in their minds."

A January 2000 report issued by Jupiter Communications found that 72 percent of online customers say customer service is a critical component of their satisfaction with a merchant, yet only 41 percent could say they experienced satisfactory customer service. Dot coms are obviously not yet known for their top-notch customer service, but those who do put the time and effort into service are more likely to become the leaders in their field. More importantly, they are the ones most likely to attract and retain valuable customers.

Brick-and-mortar companies such as Nordstrom and Home Depot have built customer service into their branding strategies, and so have garnered favorable public opinion for themselves. What's more, people who have experienced top-notch service offline come to the Internet expecting more of the same. "It's the traditional things that grow a business," says Gamse. "Emulate online the things that are successful offline. Good customer service can make large strides toward success." With the ever-increasing competition online, it's reasonable to assume that if consumers don't find good service on your site, they'll keep clicking until they find a site that meets their needs.

Defining Customer Service

Of course, delivering packages to a customer's car or having a personal shopper take the customer in hand while in the store cannot happen in cyberspace. But e-tailers who believe that simply putting up a 24/7 shopping site has accomplished their customer service goals will have an unpleasant surprise at the end of the fiscal year.

The fundamentals of customer service are the same as those in any brick-and-mortar service or product-oriented business. "You need to understand who's coming to your site, why they're coming, what they want, where they want to be, and how they want to experience your site," says Gamse.

Look at your target market. If the bulk of your market is under 21, perhaps you'd better consider aligning your site with one of the many cyber currency companies so those potential customers without credit cards have a way to buy on your site. Or if your site is geared toward seniors, look carefully at site structure and appearance. If the font is too small and the page too cluttered, your market will click away in annoyance.

One of the keys to good customer service is flexibility. That may mean willingness to bend the rules for special exceptions to stated policies, or it may mean being able to acknowledge that the site itself, even though it's your pride and joy, is not favored by your targeted customers. Realizing when it's time to change -- and on the Internet, change is a constant -- is critical. Listening to customer feedback and carefully analyzing it, even if it sounds off-the-wall, will provide useful insight into how your site does or doesn't work.

The ABCs of Online Customer Service

Having looked at the general qualities involved in service, let's take a look at specific online service issues. There are a number of services a Web site can provide which will give a customer reason to stick around or even engage in "viral marketing" (word-of-mouth or email):

• Personalization. Utilizing personalization technology allows you to let your customer quickly and easily access the parts of your site that hold the most interest for them without wading through several irrelevant pages. Amazon.com is one of the early leaders in the personalization field. By tracking what each customer purchases or places on a wish list, they can make further recommendations based on what others with similar tastes have ordered.

• Targeted marketing. On the heels of personalization is targeted marketing. Familiarity with your customers allows you to send them customized emails with information tailored to their interests. This can be done as announcements of promotions or as an informational newsletter, but either way, it keeps your name in customers' minds. Banner ads and links on the site itself can also be filtered through personalization, keeping your customers' pages from being cluttered with the equivalent of junk mail.

• Easy access. It's not enough to put a comment area or email address on the site. Give people easy options for contacting you. Some people really prefer talking to a live person, especially if there's a problem. If you provide a telephone number, make sure someone is there to answer calls during the stated hours, and make sure your phone people have a "customer first" attitude. But if email is all you can manage right now, make sure you check it several times a day and respond immediately to inquiries. In the lightning-fast world of the Internet, an email that doesn't receive a response within a day or less is perceived as ignored.

• Customized products and services. When feasible, allow customers to have it their way. Customers who can "tweak" their orders will feel that your site goes the extra distance. Dell Computers has had strong success with their custom-made computer orders online; Nike is offering customized shoes, and Levi's offers customized jeans.

• Ease of returns. Returns are a fact of commerce life. Making it hard for a customer to return something will discourage them from wanting to shop your site in the future. If you also have a brick-and-mortar location, consider investing in technology to allow returns at that location. The more integrated all your operations are, the more confidence your customer will have in your ability to provide service.

A Caveat

Having said all that, there's a final recommendation that supersedes all the others: Don't be a pushy salesperson. Many customers in brick-and-mortar stores are offended by hovering salespeople; and contrary to what you might think, they can perceive hovering behavior online. Sites that send copious, unwanted emails to customers without giving them a chance to say no will only offend those they wish to please. The same goes for personalization. If you're going to use cookies, be honest about it and give the customer the choice of opting out.

If the thought of losing a customer because you can't track them or send them email bothers you, remember that all the technology in the world won't help you if the customer develops a poor opinion of your site. In cyberspace, no one hears the door slam when the angry customer exits.

Developing good customer-service strategies is just as important as developing a strong technical infrastructure or marketing plan. Barbara McLean, co-founder and president of the senior citizen educational and advocacy group Livineasy.com, is blunt about the necessity of service. "Seniors are online," she says. "But if you don't give them what they want, which is information and service, they'll be gone. And if you want them as customers but don't want to provide what's most important to them, why go after that market?"