Customer Service on the Internet

In traditional commerce, the hardest part is getting customers to come to your store and make the decision to buy. Once your customer is in front of you saying he wants to buy your product, the rest is easy. If there is a problem, your customer comes to the store again and you can solve it.

For e-commerce on the other hand, the easiest part is creating the web site, putting your products out there and collecting the orders. Harder is filling the orders, i.e. sending out the right merchandise to the right address quickly. The hardest part is dealing with the inevitable problems.

Surveys indicate that a high percentage of on-line transactions remain incomplete or don't result in satisfied customers. This is where small business has an advantage. It is easier to stay on top of a small, simple site with fewer products than to identify and keep track of problems with a large site. Many large sites have customer service problems because they are hard to reach, don't answer their e-mail and don't respond properly to complaints.

Some subcontract out customer service. This solution is counter-productive. When a customer has a problem, it is your chance to show him what you can do and build customer loyalty. Instead, he is dealing with an outside company which doesn't know your products or your business. This is not how a small business will be successful.

A further good discussion of customer service on the Internet can be found at the Ecommerce Times. Some of the solutions proposed make it clear that small business has to make the most of the advantages that come from being small and one of these is that good customer services is easier.

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