The Internet and Customer Care: Aid or Anarchy?

It was reported in 'Marketing' magazine this month, that Britain is becoming a "disaffected nation", with each adult apparently making an average of 12 complaints to service providers each year, based on a "Service in Britain" survey by ASR (Andrew Smith Research). In response to the rise of the 'assertive consumer', brands are endeavouring to make sure 'good customer service' is a recognisable characteristic in the form of testimonials, efficient call centre responses and empowering staff throughout the company to resolve problems. Most complaints were about power, utility or postal services at 42%, followed by supermarkets, telephone providers, TV or ISP providers and banks. Insurance companies were also in the top 10 with 21% of the articulate disaffected nation.

Which? Magazine (http://www.which.co.uk/ ) has been campaigning for consumers' rights since 1957, though with the advent of the World Wide Web, other companies have also been capitalising on consumer frustration. Since the late 1990s, a new breed of consumer champion websites has emerged, including uSwitch, moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/ ), moneyfacts (http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/ ) and the motley fool. These websites offer free subscriptions to financial product information, providing comprehensive and impartial cost comparisons. Consumers can search on a variety of criteria, so they always get the best quote for their particular circumstances. In addition to an increased uptake in using search engines to research products and companies, consumers are increasingly utilising these comparison websites to ensure they get the best deal. Websites such as Kelkoo ( http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/ ) and Ciao ( http://www.ciao.co.uk/ ) also provide the consumer with tools to make a wise purchase decision, incorporating reviews from registered users to encourage trust in the site. Amazon and eBay ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/ ) are now household names because they have established online communities of trust and their loyal supporters bring new customers.

The disaffected nation is becoming an increasingly IT literate force, with its soldiers equipped with e-mail addresses, online bank accounts and familiarity with a range of online retailers. As broadband penetration increases and websites offer an increasingly sophisticated range of services, companies will be less worried about bit rates and more concerned about bite rates as word-of-mouth whips its way through e-mails.

Whilst certain companies may still be slow to react to customer concerns, market monopolies are gradually being disbanded as consumers embrace new ways of shopping.

Further information: http://www.andrewsmithresearch.co.uk/

Richard works hard for a media company in Edinburgh, as well as occasionally ranting for the personal finance blog http://cashzilla.blogspot.com/. Richard's favourite drink is Guinness.

Groupon Combines Social Networking and Ecommerce with a Local Twist Auctionbytes The integration of social networking and viral marketing with ecommerce is part of a new trend called "social commerce," Mason explains. ...

FCC's broadband plan may help ecommerce development EDL Consulting According to Internet Retailer, the increased availability of high-speed internet will aid ecommerce on two fronts. As small businesses in rural areas begin ... and more »

Tips for Improving Conversion Rates in Your eCommerce Store Drop Ship (press release) (blog) Driving traffic to your ecommerce site is important, of course, but improving your conversion rates and turning more of those visitors into paying customers ...

Chase Paymentech and Kount Join Forces to Combat Fraud for eCommerce Merchants MarketWatch (press release) DALLAS & BOISE, Idaho, Mar 15, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Chase Paymentech, a leading merchant acquirer and payment processor, and Kount, a Boise, Idaho-based ... and more »

MoBee revolutionizes ecommerce EDL Consulting MoBee's new application could allow them to take advantage of ecommerce without establishing an extensive web presence.

Magento and PayPal Expand Relationship to Drive e-Commerce Innovation MarketWatch (press release) Magento is one of the fastest-growing global e-commerce solutions. Its open source product gives merchants complete flexibility and control over the user ... Magento Integrates PayPal into Ecommerce Selling SolutionAuctionbytes all 26 news articles »

ZippyCart

OpenSky Making Progress With Relationship Based Ecommerce Model ZippyCart By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Content Team There are many variations for the basic ecommerce model of offering up products or services for people to ...

Stage Stores Announces Executive Promotion; Begins Development of eCommerce ... MarketWatch (press release) The promotion is being made in conjunction with Hunter assuming responsibility for the Company's eCommerce initiative, which is in the early stage of ... US: Hunter helms Stage Stores e-commerce programmejust-style.com Stage Stores unveils new eCommerce programBizjournals.com all 21 news articles »

Google mixes cloud computing with ecommerce EDL Consulting Google's improved offerings to businesses come just before Microsoft is set to launch a cloud-based version of Microsoft Office, according to the E-Commerce ... and more »

What Do You Buy Online?: Ecommerce Trends vs. In Store Savings.com (blog) Certainly in the last couple of years e-commerce has seen significant growth--in fact, in 2009 online sales were 6% of total retail vs. 3.2% in 2007. ...