Online Customer Service is Just as Important

According to this post on Econsultancy there should be a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of customers online. The results of a survey conducted by nGeneraCIM show that 91% of UK web users mentioned that customer service is crucial when purchasing online.

If customers needed help when searching through the site, 36% preferred email as a contact means, 26% said they would visit the FAQ section, and only 19% said they would call a customer service number. Many UK websites still haven't provided adequate means of contacting customer service through the internet. They will have to do a better job, as well as utilize live chat to have an effective online customer service strategy in the future.

Netflix: Getting Customer Service Right

PC World recently wrote a post about how NetFlix is doing an excellent job responding to its customers and giving them great service. According to Edward Albro, he recently had problems with his streaming services on Netflix. He assumed it was issues on his end, such as his internet connection. But when he opened his email one morning recently, he had received and email discount for 2% on his current NetFlix bill. The company took responsibility for it's technology error, and let their customers know if the issue. There was no mess when dealing with the company. Do you know any other compnies who have stepped up and taken responsibility when an error was caused by their systems?

Twitter Aids Customer Service... Yet again!

We've posted how companies like Dell and Southwest Airlines have used Twitter for customer service by listening to what customers were saying about their products. This article on MediaPost highlights how seven customer service reps at Qwest monitor their Twitter page around the clock to provide answers and support in real-time.

Qwest hopes that their Twitter page will help reps resolve issues on high-speed Internet, billing, pricing, technical support, just to name a few. So far, it was worked well for the company.

Businesses should dive into creating pages like the one Qwest has made, it can help reduce the call-time wait at call centers by simply sending a tweet whenever service outages are known.

Customer service and your stock value

According to a new article at Business Week, researchers at the Michigan Ross School of Business and Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, customer service has a direct impact on the investors. The study comparing customer service and stock performance showed that as customer satisfaction scores rose over time, stocks outperformed the market.

When a company’s customer satisfaction score has improved over the prior year’s results and is above the national average (currently 75.7), studies show its shares have a good chance of outperforming the broad stock market in the long run.