Customer Service Tools for Internet Business

Importance of Online Customer Service

Online customer service has become a cornerstone of running a successful online business, especially with the online retail sales growing at a record amount. Online customer service companies are cropping up all over the place, claiming to offer “dependable, real-time sales support and customer service to e-commerce.” Let’s examine the definition, issues, and implementation of good online customer service.
DEFINITION

Good customer service is like beauty: it’s in the eye of the beholder (but in the case of the Internet, it’s in the opinion of the site visitor). However, there are some consistent traits that Internet users come to expect in judging their online experience:

• Their ability to get through their site experience easily
• How well the site answered their questions
• How well the site yielded the desired results overall

Since the Internet fuels our craving for immediate gratification, these days, experiences short of perfect are even more likely to be viewed as unacceptable.

ISSUES & SOLUTIONS

Web site visitors, especially those trying to buy something, don’t have much patience. If they cannot find what they’re looking for or can’t figure out how to purchase as they want it to, you can be pretty much assured that they’re just going to abandon ship. According to the rating web site, BizRate.com, as many as 55% of online shoppers abandon their shopping cart before entering the purchasing process; an additional 32% abandoned their purchase at the point of sale. Poor customer service was named as one of the top reasons for this abandonment.

With adversity comes opportunity, and the good news is that there are a number of Internet customer service solutions providers now cropping up to aid Internet retailers (“e-tailers”) with these problems. These solutions provide tools that range from sophisticated, learning FAQ databases to customer chat to instant message and even to voice-over-computer capabilities.

(1) Learning FAQ Databases

Standard FAQ pages are built with static information, which means the only way it gets updated is when the webmaster adds to it. “Learning” FAQ systems (also called “Self Service” solutions) take knowledge databases to a higher level, basically growing and adding to itself automatically as questions are asked of it. This provides more readily-accessible information to the consumer while at the same time reducing the customer service burden for the web site.

(2) Email Solutions

As a web site’s commerce volume increases, so too does their volume of email inquiries. With this tends to come a poorer response rate (days instead of hours), which few shoppers will tolerate. Now you can turn to online customer service providers to pick up the slack by outsourcing email inquiries. Commonly asked questions can be handled by trained customer service reps; unusual questions are typically forwarded on to a designated person(s) within the e-business who would be more well-equipped to handle the question.

(3) Instant Messaging

Taking advantage of pre-installed instant message tools to offer immediate assistance.

(4) Chat

Much like instant messaging, but no pre-installed tools are needed. On-site chat is typically enabled through code or script that you add to your site.

(5) “Co-Browsing”

Allows a customer service agent to link and interact with the web site at the very same time as the customer, so they move through the site together.

(6) Voice

Utilizing a technology called “Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)” or “Internet Telephony,” this kind of customer service enables customers to actually talk to service representatives over the Internet.

Though certainly not for low-buget web sites, these tools have been shown effective for retaining traffic and increasing sales. So if you’re planning web site enhancements for 2001 and your site relies on sales, you might want to consider one of these customer service tools.

(7) Call Centers

Some folks just still feel more comfortable picking up a telephone. Call centers are simply outsourced manned operator centers where phoned-in customer service questions can be handled.

TOOLS & IMPLEMENTATION

To give you a better sense of the kind of tools out there available to you, we’re going to review a few here. Our review is simply that — just because we mention a company here does not mean that we’re endorsing them:

• RightNowWeb
  Offers self-service, email, and chat support. Approximately $50,000 installation and annual cost.
• eGain
  Offers self-service, email, chat, voice, and call center support. Prices begin at about $6,500/month after an initial licensing fee.

Similar providers:
PeopleSupport
Brigade Solutions
Brightware

 
• FaceTime
  Offers email, chat, co-browsing & instant messaging. Prices start at about $350/month after sign-up.

Similar providers:
Live Person
Other articles you can reference about online customer service:

• “‘Twas A Month Before e-Christmas”
• “Online Customer Service Has to be Better Than Good”
• “What FAQs Reveal About Online Customer Service”

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