Customer Service On The Web

Customer Service On The Web

Customer service on the Web can take may forms, such as answering customer inquiries, providing search and comparison capabilities, providing technical information to customers, allowing customers to track order status, and of course allowing customers to place an online order. We describe these different kinds of Web-based customer services below.

One of the major wishes of consumers is to find what they want. With the hundreds of thousands of online stores, it is difficult for a customer to find what he or she wants, even inside a single electronic mall. Search and comparison capabilities are provided internally in large malls (e.g amazon.com), or by independent comparison sites (mysimon.com, compare.com).

Providing Free Products and Services.

One approach companies use to differential themselves is to give something away free. Compubank.com, for example, once offered free bill payments and ATM services. Companies can offer free samples over the Internet, as well as free entertainment, customer education, and more.

Providing Technical and Other Information and Service.

Interactive experiences can be personalized to induce the consumer to commit to a purchase and remain loyal. For example, General Electric’s Website provides detailed technical and maintenance information and sells replacement parts for discontinued models for those who need to fix outdated home appliances. Such information and parts are quite difficult to find offline. Another example is Goodyear, which provides information about tires and their use at goodyear.com. The ability to download manuals and problem solutions at any time is another innovation electronic customer service.

Allowing Customers to Order Customized Products and Service Online.

Dell Computer has revolutionized purchasing of computers by letting customers design computers and then delivering them to customers home. This mass customization process has been moved to the Internet, and now is used bu hundreds of vendors for products ranging from cars to shoes. Consumers are shown prepackaged “specials” and are given the option to “custom-build” systems using software configuration.

Other companies have found ways that are unique to their industries to offer customized products and services online. Websites such as gap.com allow you to “mix and match” you entire wardrobe. Personal sizes, color and style preferences, dates for gift shipment, and so on, can be mixed and matched by customers, any way they like. This increases sales and the repeat business. Websites such as hitsquad.com, musicalgreetings.com, o surprise.com allow consumers to handpick individual titles from a library and customize a CD, a feature that is not offered in traditional music stores. Instant delivery of any digitized entertainment is a major advantage of EC.

Letting Customers Track Accounts or Order Status

Customers can view their account balances at a financial institution and check their merchandise shipping status, at any time and from their computers or cell phones. For example, customers can easily find the status of their stock portfolio, loan application, and so on. FedEx and other shippers allow customers to track their packages. If you ordered books from Amazon or others, you can find the anticipated arrival date. Amazon even goes one step further; it notifies you by e-mail of the acceptance of your order, the anticipated delivery date, and later, the actual delivery date. Many companies follow the Amazon model and provide similar services.