Customer Service and the Internet

Customer service and the Internet

Customer services incorporated by the Internet provides an enhance asset value to companies. The benefits result from using the web as part of a total customer service scheme. Allows customers accesses to help 24 hours a day. Every time a customer finds an answer online, it eliminates the cost of a phone call or an email reply. This yields significant savings and frees up operators to handle issues that really warrant their attention.

The web is also an extremely scalable communications channel, allowing companies to handle spikes in customer queries without having to temporarily add operators or phone lines. Most importantly, the web provides customers with immediate answers to their questions--resulting in higher levels of customer satisfaction and retention. Customer service is an important aspect in a web-based environment, but it must be implement effectively with the customer in mind at all times (www.bnet.com). Web self-service reduce cost of customer service. When customers help themselves at a Web site instead of having to call a conventional help desk, savings can range from $10-$45 per incident. By implementing web services the percentage of customers who can help themselves online also increases, dramatically reducing overall customer support costs (searchcrm.techtarget.com). Faster customer service leads to increased customer satisfaction. Customers hate to sit on hold and waste their time getting nothing but the run around. With online services customer can get faster answers to their questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Web services also develop the perception that a company site has a good handle on its customers' needs thereby strengthening their overall confidence in that company. Increasing use of lower cost online transaction channels. Providing web services encourages customers to use the Web site more often, which means customer become more likely to use it for transaction and support, thus overall lower company's cost and increasing revenue of sales.