Eight Secrets for Successful e-Service

Effective e-service, despite the apparent obstacles, is actually a very achievable goal. As numerous successful implementers have demonstrated, it simply requires the right principles, practices, and tools. Eight basic attributes make web-based customer support work for any business, no matter how small:

Ø Making sure your web site 'listens' to customers - Every successful salesperson knows the most important part of their job is listening - both for explicit and implicit messages. Web sites should do the same. Explicit messages are clear requests for specific information. Implicit messages are patterns of queries or usage that imply a lack of or difficulty in finding some type of content. An effective web presence requires mechanisms and/or practices that ensure an attentive ear to both types of online customer requirements.

Ø Giving customers what they want - It's not enough to ascertain which types of content users are asking for: the content must also be provided quickly. The atmosphere of the web is driven by a sense of immediacy. Delays in delivering customer-driven content can be deadly. An e-service solution must capture customer requests and use that information to automatically enhance site content for future visitors.

Ø Responsive content and response mechanisms that are easy to find and easy to use - It's remarkable how many web site designers allow customers to wind up in places where they can't easily find a way to ask for more information or send an email request. On many sites, the ‘Contact Us’ button simply launches a pre-addressed email screen - with no information about how soon they can expect a reply or where else to look for information. Many sites don't even provide a phone number if a customer really needs to talk to someone right away. If customers can't even find the company phone number, what are the chances that they will be able to find an even more obscure piece of information? Hidden content is the same as no content at all. Of course, this is true of all types of content, but it's especially critical for response-related pages. So e-service must be easy for customers to use.

Ø Appreciating the 80/20 rule - While it's great to make sure web site content is as comprehensive as possible, the fact remains that - on average - 80% of all site traffic is aimed at 20% of the content. In other words, a relatively small amount of content can take care of a tremendous amount of business if it's the right content. So small businesses that delay putting up sites because they're trying to make sure they can answer every possible customer question online are making a mistake. It's much smarter to get the most important information up first, and then add to it over time as dictated by customer needs.

Ø Why it pays to get pushy - You don't have to rely on customers coming to your site to get them the information they need. By offering a variety of email notification options, you can turn a customer's email box into an extension of your web site. A good way to do this is to ask visitors if they would like to be notified if there is any change in a specified content area, such as a product catalogue or a press release archive. Such notify-on-change ‘push’ mechanisms allow you to leverage your web site and build an ongoing electronic relationship with your customers.

Ø Respond quickly or risk losing the customer forever - As highlighted in a recent major study based on consumer feedback (Right Now Technology Study, 2002) many businesses make the mistake of being too slow in their response to online information requests. Once a customer or prospect has been disappointed by how slowly their question has been answered, they are unlikely to try again. They might even become disillusioned about the operation as a whole. If you're going to offer even a bare bones email contact mechanism, make sure it results in a fast reply - preferably as early as possible on the following working day.

Ø Track for information as it comes in - Because a large percentage of site visitors tend to have the same narrow set of questions, it's critically important to track requests for information as they come in. Consistent tracking of requests allows those in charge of site content to determine where to direct their efforts - allowing for much more efficient use of resources. Effective e-service applications perform this tracking automatically and dynamically rank information based on historical usefulness to customers. This ‘sameness’ in questions is all the more reason to include a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on the Web site.

Ø Automate, automate, automate - All the tasks required to create a truly responsive site - assimilating and analysing user queries, developing appropriate content and posting it in a well-organised manner, handling ad hoc and ‘push’ email communications, etc. - can be extremely labour-intensive. As site traffic increases, these tasks can pile up even more. Many sites are spoiled by their own success, as the volume of communications exceeds the resources dedicated to supporting that communication. So, it is critically important to deploy effective automation tools that can scale to meet rising demands. Such tools significantly increase the return on staff and infrastructure resources invested in the web. Good e-service applications automate site maintenance tasks and eliminate time-consuming knowledge collection and engineering functions - functions that, when neglected over time, result in out-of-date content and dissatisfied customers.

These simple procedures can make the difference between online success and online failure. As so many operations continue to demonstrate, online success not only has an impact on how a company is perceived by its customers, but also on how it is perceived by Internet users en masse.

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