Let’s start with the bad news, and there’s kind of a lot of it, before we move on the good news of how to fix it. About three-quarters of online shoppers are unsatisfied with their online shopping experience. The other quarter are, flatly, satisfied, in that even bad pizza is good pizza kind of way. Sort of anticlimactic, isn’t it? The good news is there’s a lot of opportunity for satisfying customers, even making them very, very happy.
Look at Things From a Customer’s Perspective
As an internet retailer, I have had to learn the hard way that our customers do not necessarily see our sites the way we see them. In fact, when we conduct usability studies, I am often shocked to find that what is very obvious to me escapes them completely. Does that make them stupid? Of course not. Their perspective is just different. In their eyes, the retailer is the one that is stupid.
Amazon Adds Customer Video Reviews
Amazon.com has launched "Customer Video Reviews" which allows customers to use video to express and share their opinions about products sold on the retailers Web site.
Best Buy PR Smarts & ChargeCarte Customer Disservice
It’s been so long since I’ve done a Goofus and Gallant post that I’ll remind everyone we point to marketing and PR stories that demonstrate how to and how not to.
Three Steps To Fix Google Customer Service
When it comes to taking care of customers, there are no mysteries; only the desire to invest in and support an effective customer service presence stands between companies like Google, and the joy they can deliver to people.
Customer Surveys – Do They Really Work?
I am behind reading my blogs and just caught up today with a great post from last week on grokdotcom that demonstrates how hard it is to get action-oriented information from customer surveys. Follow the link above to read the post—I’ll wait right here.
Scary, isn’t it? When you think about how many questions you’ve asked customers and how little information you might be getting back.
Linkedin Calls Customer Delusional
It’s fun being called delusional by customer service. Today, LinkedIn is trying to make me feel like I’m in that Jodie Foster movie Flightplan where she claims her daughter was kidnapped while on an airplane and everyone else thinks she’s nuts. The movie wasn’t supposed to be very good (it scored 38% on the Tomatometer), and I’m not sure this blog post will be any better, but I can at least empathize with Foster’s character based on the previews.
Are You Creating an Experience for the Customer?
While browsing websites for gift ideas, I am constantly seeing the awesome potential of multimedia. Now that there are multiple social websites for almost every kind of media, the potential for customers to be exposed to your experience is limitless, and really inexpensive.
Customer Engagement and the Big Bucks
There’s a constant debate about the “best” way to earn online income, and the simple answer is that there is no optimum path to achieving this goal. But one thing is certain, the deeper the engagement with your visitors, the more you’ll benefit.
Here’s why: The whole system of Internet Marketing profits is based on effort and engagement.
Witness-
Web advertising (text links, banner ads, Adsense) has a back-of-napkin payout of about 1-10% against your time and resorces.
PR Should Have a Hand in Customer Service
I’ve had two customer service encounters today that have me pondering—again—the link between PR and customer service. If public relations is the management and maintenance of relationships between organizations and their core audiences, customer service should be considered a linchpin. Customers have to be considered a vital audience, and in today’s world, word-of-mouth from customers is worth more than dozens of expensive, traditional PR, advertising, or marketing campaigns. Yet many companies continue to blow it on this most fundamental of activities.