Is One Customer Group More Important Than Another?
I've been a member of eBay since 1998. This was before PayPal, before Buy It Now, and even before most items had photos. I've been both a buyer and seller, and as the company has grown, it has added new policies and features designed to improve the experience for everyone. But with its recent policy changes, does everyone still benefit?
Today's lead 1to1 Weekly article looks at how new policies are improving the customer experience. The company has made it easier to pay for products. eBay now requires a growing number of sellers (new signups, established sellers with short track records, and some categories like computers) to accept credit cards. Buyers can also save time when shopping with multiple eBay sellers, as its payment site, PayPal, now allows buyers to aggregate several purchases under a single payment checkout.
But in thinking of improving the customer experience, some sellers feel they have been left out. Seller fees have risen and feedback policies have changed to the buyer's advantage, for example. Our companion in-depth article looks at the changes from the seller's perspective.
It brings up the issue of how to serve different customer groups. After all, both buyers and sellers are eBay customers. What do you do when improving one experience causes the other's to suffer? It's a struggle for many companies, not just eBay. How do you serve different customer groups differently without alienating one of them?
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