Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Back to Table of Contents

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Providing a Customer Interface Customizing a Web Site 2 Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-1 Section 14-2 Chapter 14

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-1 Why It’s Important The goal of most e-commerce Web sites is to make the online shopping experience as pleasant, safe, and efficient as possible so customers will want to return. Some of the devices Web sites use to build customer loyalty take time and planning to implement, and are unknown to the average shopper. 3Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-1 Key Terms intelligent agents semantic Web bots spiders 4Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization The Importance of Customer Service Customer service is as essential to e-tail success as it is to the profitability of bricks-and- mortar stores. 5Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization The Importance of Customer Service Trust is important to online shoppers. Trust is based on the belief that the entire shopping experience is secure. 6Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships Customer Expectations 7Section 14-1 confidential treatment of credit-card and personal information prompt shipment of orders reasonable return policies

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships On the Web, savvy site designers don’t let you get lost. Designing a site that is easy to navigate is essential to creating a satisfying shopping experience and boosting an e-business’s bottom line. 8Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships Customers often judge a company by the assistance they receive, so support workers must be well trained to handle questions and complaints efficiently, effectively, and pleasantly. Of the many support-team members, customer- service representatives and support technicians have the most contact with customers. 9Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships Intelligent agents can insert your name, address, telephone number, and credit-card information into an order form. intelligent agents programs that simplify the work you do online by automatically performing tasks; also called Internet agents 10Section 14-1 They can also provide advice based on your interests and keep track of your preferences.

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships In the future, an extension of the current Web may turn intelligent agents into geniuses. Its designers call this extension the semantic Web. semantic Web a theorized extension of the current Web that may allow programmers to attach a tag, or a precise meaning, to every bit of information online 11Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships “Semantic” is a fancy way of saying “related to meaning.” Programmers trying to create the semantic Web believe that one day they will be able to attach a tag, or a precise meaning, to every bit of information online. 12Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships Bots are more dynamic than intelligent agents. A bot keeps working even when your computer is turned off. bot programs that scan the Web continuously, looking for computer- program updates, new- product alerts, price changes, etc; short for “robot” 13Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships Search engines program bots called spiders, or crawlers, to sift through billions of Web pages. spiders (or crawlers) bots that search the Web, compiling extensive lists of URLs to keep search engine databases up to date 14Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Building Customer Relationships A cookie is a program used by an intelligent agent to remember online visitors so they can enter a site without identifying themselves each time they log on. Cookies keep track of information such as your name, preferences, age, and address. 15Section 14-1

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-1 Review What does trust mean to online shoppers? What are some examples of this type of trust? What are intelligent agents, and how do they help create customer loyalty? What is a bot? What is a cookie, and what job does it perform? Section

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-2 Why It’s Important E-commerce businesses use many strategies to promote customer loyalty. Personalized service and quality customer service are expected by customers in traditional stores, but are more difficult to implement online. Section

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-2 Key Terms profiling unique selling proposition frequently asked questions chat rooms message boards real-time pricing bundling Section

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Serving People First Personalization is the key that unlocks online shoppers’ wallets. 19Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service A happy customer is a repeat customer. Good service sways customers more than price does. 20Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service E-tailers refer to gathering information on customers to identify and target them as profiling. profiling gathering information on customers to better customize a business’s interactions with that customer 21Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service The goal of customer relationship management (CRM) is to increase customer satisfaction by dealing with each person as an individual. 22Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service Online merchants use these strategies for personalizing services: 23Section 14-2 Knowledge Management acquires and analyzes information about customers. Database Consolidation puts information about customers in one place. Customer Choice lets customers choose how they want to receive customer support.

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service To compete, companies need to differentiate, or distinguish, themselves from other companies. To distinguish your company in the e-commerce marketplace, offer good customer service. 24Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service Every business needs a unique selling proposition (USP). unique selling proposition (USP) the one thing that makes a business stand out from the competition; a USP describes the benefits of buying from one retailer over another 25Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service Online businesses can provide customer support by providing a page that offers answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). frequently asked questions (FAQs) a list of questions found on some Web sites that addresses common user concerns in regards to a product or service 26Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service After phone contact with customer-service representatives, chat rooms provide the most personal contact between an online store and its customers. chat rooms Web pages that allow online shoppers to have real-time, virtual conversations with customer-service representatives 27Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Personalization of Online Customer Service A message board permits users to scan through questions and responses from other users, add their own questions or answers, and post notes on other subjects. message board a page on a Web site where users can share information about common problems 28Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Internet Pricing Models Thanks to the Web, companies can quickly adjust their pricing policies to meet changes in the marketplace. 29Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Internet Pricing Models Through the use of real-time pricing technology, e-tailers can change and post prices instantly at very little cost. real-time pricing the ability to change prices instantly to keep up with changes in the marketplace 30Section 14-2 This gives them a competitive edge.

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Internet Pricing Models A pricing strategy used by traditional retailers that is especially popular with e-tailers is bundling. bundling combining related products or services, which businesses then offer to customers as special package deals 31Section 14-2

Customer Service and Web Site Personalization Section 14-2 Review What is CRM? What are some strategies used by CRM to learn more about customers? What are some ways in which online businesses can provide customer support? What is a unique selling proposition, and why is it essential for an e-commerce business? What is bundling, and how does it help businesses make more money? Section

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