Online Consumer Behavior Improves, but Still Needs Work
We've been hearing the same thing for quite some time from executives: that customer experience is important. But only recently with the downturn of the economy, executives are showing that they're taking experience seriously.
At a customer experience roundtable last night hosted by Tealeaf and held at the Gramercy Park Tavern, executives from Tealeaf and Harris Interactive revealed the findings of a new study they jointly conducted this past summer. The 5th annual Survey of Online Consumer Behavior, which interviewed 2,188 U.S. adults, shows a decrease in the number of consumers who say they experience problems when conducting online transactions.
Although the number has declined from a year ago (80 percent this year versus 87 percent last year), it still shows that the online experience needs to improve. The group last night, which consisted of executives from Bluefly, Quicken Loans, Tealeaf, as well as Forrester and Harris Interactive, discussed the state of online customer experience for nearly four hours. And although customer experience efforts are improving, the group concluded that there's a lot of work left to do in this area. And with the troubled economy, the group thinks that companies will focus on the low-hanging fruit before diving into larger, more detailed initiatives.
Matt Cardwell, vice president of marketing at Quicken Loans, said "While the ideal scenario would be to deliver problem-free experiences to every customer, the realities of doing business online are such that issues do arise."
Cardwell cited the use of online reviews and video testimonials on the Quicken
loans site for its improved ability to get in front of client service issues before they escalate.
Additional findings of the survey include:
32 percent said the would abandon an online transaction if they experienced a problem.
39 percent said they experienced bad customer service from a company's call center contacted due to site problems. As a result, 45 percent stopped doing business with the company.
In 2009, $47.6 billion will potentially be impacted by online transaction problems.
54 percent said social media has influenced online transactions.
75 percent strongly or somewhat agree that when they read a negative comment online, it influences the likelihood to do business with the company.
The results reveal the importance of ease of navigation, integrating customer service to the website, and the growing use of social media by customers to talk about a brand. This elevates the online channel as an increasingly important touchpoint--one, which not addressed in terms of customer experience, will impact business results.
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