(PRWEB) June 18, 2005 -- If you are not aggressively using the
Internet to build and grow your business, you’re missing
the success boat. You’re also making a huge mistake if
you are using the Internet but not providing exceptional e-service.
In order to successfully market your services and products throughout
the world, the Internet and e-service must go hand in hand.
What is e-service? It is speed, technology, and price built
around service. While that sounds simple enough, it’s amazing
how many e-commerce companies just don’t get it. Two of
them are e-Bay and Semantic.
| The
Internet is a powerful and inexpensive tool to rapidly
grow your business. It levels the playing field for small
business. If you become an e-Service leader you can be
another Amazon.com. |
On
the other hand, the folks at Amazon.com, led by founder Jeff
Bezos, have mastered e-service and serves as a role model
to companies throughout the world. The proof is in the numbers:
Amazon went from $511,000 in sales during its first year of
operation to $6.92 billion in 2004, a 31 percent increase
over 2003.
Many firms turn to nerds and techies to run their Internet
businesses. While technology is, of course, an important element
-- and one that these brilliant people fully understand—it
is only a portion of the formula for success. If those nerds
and techies don’t understand the power of service --
and don’t build it into your operation -- you will fail.
Simply put: e-commerce is built around technology—e-service
is built around people. Carolyn Walton, vice president of
Wal-Mart’s information system division realizes that
technology alone will not drive the company’s business.
“Wal-Mart relies on inforamtion to run its business and
depends on technlogy as the enabler to meet the customer’s
needs,” she says.
In today’s marketplace, your Web site is as important
as your phone number. And it’s cheaper and faster than
any other type of markting. Unlike printed brochures, for
example, which can take several weeks, if not months, and
a lot of money to design and produce, a web site can be updated
daily at very little cost.
And yet, I’m amazed at how many firms have dysfunctional
Websites. They don’t include telephone numbers or e-mail
or street addresses, making it impossible for consumers to
contact them. There is no vehicle by which consumers can ask
a question—or get an answer. Two-way communication is
non-existent. If you want an example of this type of company,
you need look no further than e-Bay. I would also guess that
lack of company contact information makes consumers and businesses
a little leery, almost as if those companies are in hiding
and don’t want consumers to be able to contact them.
Worse, it sends the message that whatever the consumer might
have to say to the company is not important. An e-service
driven organization makes it easy for consumers to contact
it and to get an immediate response.
If you want to operate a successful e-commerce business, your
Web site must operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and
it must be backed up by real people who are available to immediately
respond to e-mails and telephone calls from users. That does
not include voice mail and automated voice equipment. Both
are roadblocks to e-service. Many consumers like to do their
product or service research online but prefer to make their
purchases in person or by phone. If you aren’t allowing
them to do so, you are missing out on a large market.
Customer service role models are aggressively using the Internet
to drive their businesses. To do so, they focus on e-service.
They train their employees in the art of service so they ca
instantly handle problems to the customer’s satisfaction.
They empower them to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer.
Commerce
Bank -- a $30 billion operation that is growing at a rate
of 39 percent annually-- is a glowing example of a bank that
has mastered e-service. Operating in Metro Philadelphia, New
York and New Jersey, as of January 24 it had a 42 percent
household penetration in those areas, with 521,349 customers.
The bank’s Web site is www.commerceonline.com. Its success
is due to its focus on service. Customers can pay their bills
online, have access to free banking services, and can call
the bank 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the line will
be answered by a live and knowledgeable person!
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, is a great champion of
e-commerce and knows how to use it effectively. “The
Internet waits for no one, no company, no country,” he
says. “So if you don’t keep up the pace, you will
quickly be overtaken.” Business to business e-commerce
is expected to reach $4.3 trillion -- yes, trillion -- this
year, up from $282 billion in 2000. That’s a 73 percent
compounded annual rate of growth.
The Internet levels the playing field. To be successful, you
must be ready to serve anyone anywhere in the world with incredible
speed and service. For more information: http://www.customer-service.com/
See also:
• Online
Marketing Jobs and Careers
• VoIP
Conferencing
See:
• Turn
Words Into Website Traffic: Simple 'Traffic Machine' Creates
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