Conducted by Bev Walton-Porter

Academy of Web Specialists

cora:Being new to e-commerce what do feel is the most important aspect of customer satisfaction for someone launching a new site?

BevWP:well, I think there's definitely more than one element

BevWP:one aspect is download time -

BevWP:another is customer satisfaction re: answering inquiries and following up

BevWP:from some recent reports I've read, many customers have had bad experiences with lack of communication or follow-up

cora:Download time is something I'm really concentrating on.

BevWP:if you don't get that down, you'll lose customers

cora:Images have been optimized for size & pages are being kept small

BevWP:a fact! =)

BevWP:you also want your customers to have a satisfactory personal experience

BevWP:when they deal with you

BevWP:that means answering inquiries promptly,

BevWP:always use the customer's name

BevWP:put physical contact info on the site

cora:what is the general expectation to response time?

BevWP:such as your company name, address, phone number, etc.

BevWP:try to hit within 24 hours at latest, if possible

BevWP:if nothing else, put an autoresponder into play

BevWP:and when customers email a question,

cora:Oh, that's attainable! : )

BevWP:they'll receive an automated response that basically

BevWP:thanks them for their inquiry or comment, and that a cust svc specialist

BevWP:will be back with them within X hours at latest

BevWP:also give contact info in the email, too

BevWP:simple things, but they make a BIG difference

cora:How can I go about offering assurances of a secure site?

BevWP:the 'Net can seem an impersonal place at times - your goal is to make it as personal to the customer as possible

BevWP:security and privacy are big issues

BevWP:Trust-E is one logo you'll see often, as well as with Veri-Sign

BevWP:big names in security, encryption and privacy go a long way in reassuring your customers

cora:What is Trust-E

BevWP:Also, if you're part of the BBB, that's good.

BevWP:Trust-e ensures that customers are visiting a site

BevWP:that has been certified reputable and trustworthy regarding customer privacy issues

cora:Do you happen to have an url for them?

BevWP:www.truste.org/

cora:thanks : )

BevWP:They have a privacy wizard there

BevWP:that helps create a privacy stmt for your website cora:sounds great!

BevWP:They also have an FAQ section that will answer all the ??s you may have

BevWP:do you want to take a look now and I'll wait for you?

cora:sure, I'll be right back

BevWP:ok

cora:looks like they have lots of info

cora:I've bookmarked the site & will go back later for a closer look

BevWP:great!

BevWP:another thing

BevWP:in regard to customers...

BevWP:be SURE to test your ordering process

BevWP:make sure it's error-free

BevWP:because errors during the ordering process are frustrating and a def turn-off for customers

cora:oh, I wanted to thank you for the merchant acct leads

cora:didn't find what I was looking for but gave me some good comparisons to work with

BevWP:you're welcome - there are more out there - TONS more

cora:I've done some testing already

BevWP:fantastic!

BevWP:so what's your plan from here

cora:but will be asking friends, etc to test as well once fully built

BevWP:where are you at and how far to go?

BevWP:if you want, you can email me when you're ready and I'll beta test, too! =)

cora:I've got 2 sites almost complete built but still struggling with credit card processing

BevWP:I don't mind playing guinea piglet

BevWP:you're in Canada, right?

cora:thanks I appreciate that & will probably take you up on it!

cora:yes, that's the problem

BevWP:will be happy to help!

BevWP:I'll be on for a while tonight

BevWP:let me see what I've sent you...and what else I have in my files, etc

cora:want to offer products in canadian dollars

cora:and can't really afford some of the setup costs

cora:that some of the accounts take

BevWP:that's the thing - WAY too expensive!

BevWP:that's the problem I had with my small biz in the US

BevWP:I went with ccslide and I'm happy so far

cora:going through the sites there's lots for US$

cora:but not much from the canadian banks

BevWP:we are working on an international e-comm course to address these issues

cora:they still profess that it's too risky

cora:there is one site I found that is pretty good

BevWP:doing research, etc. to build on that

BevWP:that's too bad

BevWP:I think they're missing the bandwagon and they'd better get ON it

BevWP:which one?

BevWP:is it semi-affordable?

cora:called www.emergealliance.org

cora:they have credit card processing from citibank

BevWP:they're a big player - citibank

cora:for canadian accounts but I'm still waiting for the application

BevWP:they won't send you one via e-means?

cora:funny that it's being sent in the mail since it's for ecomm

cora:wasn't given a choice

BevWP:Really - you'd think they could do it in Adobe PDF and you could download and print it!

BevWP:wouldn't you think?

BevWP:Kind of ironic!

cora:that's what I thought

BevWP:Maybe they want to be sure of your physical address or something...

BevWP:strikes me as odd

BevWP:did you ask them about it, by chance?

cora:had one manager from Citibank say they weren't offering it yet

BevWP:if so, what'd they say?

BevWP:Hmmm. Interesting

BevWP:I'd be tempted to ask, "Why NOT?!"

BevWP:Lol

cora:so I'm taking the wait & see stance at this point

BevWP:it's funny...with e-commerce

cora:if I haven't gotten anything by next week I will attempt to find a contact

BevWP:it's such a rush, but so many hurdles to cross...

cora:and get in touch by phone

BevWP:when did you request it?

cora:yes, the easy part has been finding a site to host

cora:the biggest has been finding out how I can process the orders

cora:I sent in the request last Thursday

BevWP:Okay, maybe you'll receive it by the week's end

BevWP:you said you were working on download time, too?

BevWP:I've heard 30 kb or less for pages is prime size

BevWP:for those who might be using slower systems

cora:yes, I have many graphics & hate when I have to wait cora:so I've gotten a thumbnailer & making sure the files are as small as possible

BevWP:I think there's a .gif wizard that can "shrink" or lessen those

BevWP:great idea

BevWP:thumbnails, I mean

cora:by the way this site is good for setting up a store www.dxmarket.com

cora:it's a bit restrictive in that you can't upload files

BevWP:thanks - I'll ck it out =)

cora:but you can upload images and the wizard is great

BevWP:never heard of it - I'll have to ck it out

BevWP:btw, this week the chat is saved and will be put on the Academy site

BevWP:in case we need to refer to content later

BevWP:=)

cora:that's great, went over the one I missed last week on cloaking

BevWP:do you have other spec ?? regarding cust svc?

cora:and found the information invaluable

BevWP:Robin's terrific

BevWP:she's is so knowledgable!

cora:no, I think we've just about covered most of my areas cora:just wanted to find out which areas I need to concentrate on

BevWP:Any other questions that you might ask

cora:while constructing the store

BevWP:the thing is

BevWP:people get caught up in the technical side

cora:yes, Robin is terrific, she's so helpful

BevWP:which you DO have to iron out, of course,

BevWP:but then they forget the human side - the customer himself/herself

cora:that's why I wanted to find a site that offered easy setup cora:so I could concentrate on load times, service, etc

BevWP:and that was one of the biggest complaints many heard about e-comm sites this past year

BevWP:yes, definitely

cora:without getting caught up in the time it took to build the site

BevWP:you're on the right track, Cora

cora:that's also why I've chosen to set up multiple stores

BevWP:you'd think it would be elementary that people would think the same way

cora:that way if I find one site is not helping me serve my customers well

BevWP:but it's like pulling hen's teeth for them to see the whole picture at times

cora:then I can go with the other store while looking for an alternative

BevWP:GREAT idea!

BevWP:A backup system for customer service

BevWP:I love it!

BevWP:You may end up being a model store that I can point my students to

BevWP:and say, "See, look how they're doing it HERE."

cora:maybe, we'll have to wait & see

BevWP:A case history, so to speak

BevWP:Please keep in touch

cora:would be nice, but still have a few hurdles to overcome

BevWP:I'm interested in following your progress!

BevWP:you'll get there.. you're on the RIGHT track!

cora:before I can say "look at this" : >)

BevWP:but someday, you WILL be able to say that =)

cora:sure, I'll love to keep in touch

BevWP:Great!

cora:need all the resources I can find

BevWP:I'm always finding them

cora:and you've already be such a wonder resource

BevWP:they pop up EVERY day

cora:I mean wonderful

BevWP:MILLIONS of sites on the Web

BevWP:I won't live long enough...!

BevWP:Thank you - I'm trying to learn more about international e-comm

BevWP:and put all that into a course

BevWP:I think that's what really is going to be cooking

BevWP:within the next year...

cora:well, if I come across other things that would be helpful I will pass them along

BevWP:same here =)

BevWP:Thanks for coming tonight, Cora

Conducted by Bev Walton-Porter

Academy of Web Specialists

The Customer Service/Satisfaction Link to Successful Sales

February 9, 2000