Get our RSS feed
Search BizReport
News by Topic
Marketing
- Advertising
- Search Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Loyalty Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Marketing
- Viral Marketing
- Trends & Ideas
Beyond Marketing
BizReport : Research : June 25, 2007
Online consumer enquiries badly handled
A mystery-shopper exercise in the U.K. found that many online retailers are failing to respond speedily, accurately or professionally to customer enquiries.
Talisma, a customer service software producer, tested leading U.K. online retailers in a mystery shopping exercise. They contacted 62 leading U.K. online retailers to enquire about their delivery charges and which credit/debit cards could be used on their online payment system.
Talisma found that almost half (45 percent) of online retailers failed to reply to customer emails. Worse still, of the online retailers that did respond, only 47 percent provided “accurate and complete information” and only 37 percent were personalized.
"The online retail market is growing rapidly but its highly competitive nature means that customer satisfaction and loyalty will be key for retailers to generate repeat business and growth from the 25 million UK people that now shop online,” said Jon McNerney, vice president and general manager of Talisma.
Another worrying finding was the lack of integration between different communication channels. Ninety percent of online retailers appeared to have no link between telephone and email enquiries, found the test.
"Dissatisfied customers not only defect, but on average tell 10 people about their bad experience," added McNerney.
Tags: customer service, email, online retail
Subscribe to BizReport
Latest Headlines
- Jivox sees strong growth in video for small businesses
- How to target the affluent through social media
- UpSellIt's Chatty Ads Could Increase ROI
- Report: Worldwide UGV revenue to surpass $1.1 billion
- Online newspaper readers consume politics, jobs information
- Survey: Rich Media Ads to reach $2.7 billion Euros
- YouTube introduces buzz targeting
- Online advertising CPMs falling
Featured White Papers:
Extraordinary Customer Service
Is Your Customer a Satisfied Customer? Learn the Best Practices For Improving the Customer Experience. >>
Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click: A Holistic Approach
Learn how pay-per-click (PPC) and natural search engine optimization (SEO) can work hand in hand to help your business better connect with new customers. >>
12 SEO Campaign Killers
Learn what not to do when launching a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign to attract more visitors, leads and sales. >>
Social Media Marketing: 12 Essential Tips for Success
Learn how to effectively engage customer communities with a new, social marketing mix. >>
Featured Magazines:
Successful Promotions
Shows you how effective imprinted promotional items can be for any kind of campaign. >>
Featured Research
- Search Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008
All new practical, fact-based search marketing data on what works and what doesn’t - essential for search marketing (PPC & SEO) budget planning.