Though few catalogers have yet to generate gangbuster sales over the Internet, many mailers are finding online e-mail correspondence a valuable channel for communicating with customers.
But "talking" to customers over the computer lines differs significantly from communicating via telephone or through the mail. In addition to basic customer service skills and a solid understanding of the company and products, online reps must master the conversational writing style of the Web, possess computer proficiency and understand how to navigate the Internet.
When general merchandise cataloger Spiegel launched a Website (http://www.cybermart.com/spiegel) in February '95, it enlisted the help of chief copywriter Barbara Vaughn to respond to e-mails and help train cyberreps, says Randy Heiple, director of electronic and print production. In addition to her proven writing skills and product knowledge, "Vaughn had been with us for several years and could reach the right people within the company to get any questions answered" - important given that so many of Spiegel's customers use e-mail to ask about products, request fabric swatches, or seek gift-giving advice. These cyber-customers expect a response to e-mails within 24 hours, Heiple says, "even if it's just to tell them that we need to research the question and get back to them."
Business-to-business telephone products cataloger Hello Direct took a different approach to grooming its first cyberrep. When the cataloger launched its Website (http://www.hello-direct. com) two years ago, it hired a rep with solid computer experience and sent him through standard customer service product training, says Kelly Kumagai, the company's business development specialist.
Because Hello Direct's site, which generates more than 1,000 inquiries and nearly 200 orders a month, has expanded the company's reach beyond its catalog customer audience, "our rep must be prepared to deal with novices who don't understand the Web as well as converse with `techies' who as more complex questions," she says. Kumagai recommends providing a basic Internet training course to ensure that online reps "know how the pages are created, why large images take a long time to download and how the hotlinks work."
Training is important, but catalogers must realize that cyberreps also need to be free-thinkers, says Elizabeth Stites, director of marketing for Cincinnati, OH-based telecommunications services supplier Matrixx Marketing. There's no standard response to most inquiries, she says, "and because Internet users expect personalized contact via e-mail, they're more sensitive to canned answers."
Minding your ps and qs
Thanks to the laid-back environment of the Internet, casual correspondence is appropriate, so long as reps understand "netiquette" - 'Net protocol - to avoid offending customers. (For instance, typing in all capital letters is the online version of screaming.)
But cyberreps should exercise caution when using humor in e-mails, says Christine Tucciarone, who as publications director for feline gifts cataloger Cats, Cats and More Cats is in charge of its year-old Website. "When people read your response rather than hear it, it's easy for them to misunderstand what you're trying to say."
In fact, the potential for misunderstanding may be the biggest disadvantage to online customer service. Without the intonations of speech, "it's harder to probe customer queries to understand what they mean," says Stites. It's also difficult to confirm that the customer understands your reply.
For that reason, most experts agree, online customer service will never replace telephone service. Rather, the two methods can complement each other and deliver customer service to a new level, Stites says. But to capitalize on efficiencies, its important to integrate cyberservice activity with your existing customer service program as much as possible a consistent message to the market," Stites says.
Online reps get little support
While many marketers launch Websites with the intent to improve customer communications and service, surprisingly few companies provide additional training for their online reps.
Of the 50 companies with existing or planned Websites surveyed this spring by telecommunications supplier Matrixx Marketing, 75% do not provide employees with additional training prior to assigning them a Website function. Yet 20% of respondents admit that 'Net customer service requires a greater PC knowledge than they had anticipated.
Among the surveyed companies, the top five objectives for establishing a Website are: to increase awareness (92%); to maintain a competitive edge (92%); to improve customer communications (88%); to gain experience with the technology (88%); and to provide service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (83%). Additionally, 79% say they hope to increase sales via the Web, 58% hope to improve customer service, and 46% aim to reduce costs related to marketing or customer service.
About 80% of the survey respondents do not expect Internet activities to replace "live" customer service or human interaction, and only 20% expect the Web to decrease their 800-number activity and expenses. Although most consider the Internet a supplement to and an enhancement of their customer service programs, less than 10% of the respondents have truly integrated their Web activity with their other customer communications programs.
5 TIPS
for super
cyberservice
The principles of good cyberservice are based on three "I's," says Elizabeth Stites, director of marketing for Cincinnati, OH-based telecommunications services supplier Matrixx Marketing: "Immediate, because users want answers now; informative, since people search the Internet for information; and intimate, because users want a customized response to their queries." Below are tips from Stites and other Internet marketing professionals on enhancing your cyberservice. 1. Respond to all customer e-mails within 24 hours or at least by the end of the next business day, even if you just let the customer know you need more time to find the answer. 2. Use an easy-to-read typeface and point size, keep paragraphs short, and reference the customer's original e-mail in your response. 3. Write in the informal, conversational format of the Internet, observing the rules of netiquette and the abbreviated style of cybergrammar. Use humor with caution, at it may not translate well on a computer screen. 4. Understand the basics of the Internet, such as Web browsers and hotlinks, in such new users need to be "walked through" the Website. If customers can order from your Website, be prepared to address security issues. 5. Personalize each e-mail response to the user, but have standard information available for frequently asked questions to cut and paste into the response.
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