inluminent

Kalsey pointed out an article on Business Week Online called E-Commerce: It’s All About the Experience that makes the remark “A technically proficient Web site is just half the battle. Without quality service — and an enjoyable process — customers won’t return.”

The article mainly discusses problems in today’s e-commerce, and I see a lot of what it talks about in my current employer’s e-commerce implementation (I’m not calling it a strategy, because there isn’t any of that at my employer’s company).

Gosh, there are some great little nuggets like “Customers have to enjoy their relationship with a business or they won’t develop loyalty” and “[companies] think that offering lower prices or bigger selection is enough to keep customers coming back, even if the ultimate purchasing process is marred by problems with deliveries or returns” and I can’t help pointing this one out: “the Web is no different from conventional stores and catalogs. Some treat their clients well, others don’t. Over time, buyers tend to stick with the former and turn their backs on the latter.”

This one quote: “To be honest, I don’t even think anymore about whether I’m getting a better price on Amazon: That’s not my principle motivator. Rather, I continue to use it because it’s hassle-free. The outfit seems to go out of its way to take care of me — even if that occasionally means eating some extra cost.” really drives is home for me. I agree completely with the author in that the store that makes it easiest for me to get what I want, when I want it the most wins my business.

That’s why I shop at Tom Thumb instead of Albertsons. They got me in the door with an ‘airline mile for groceries’ deal, and have kept me there with great customer service and variety of products. I almost never read the circulars from other stores anymore, and shop the sales items more than I normally would, because I just know they are giving me a great deal (whether they really are or not is of course debatable.

Message to e-commerce sites: Focus on your customers, ’cause all you’ll have left after they’re gone is your ‘damned cool’ technology.