Boosting consumer satisfaction.

• Position: E-commerce - Brief Article

How does your website's customer service measure up against the competition? With consumers purchasing more than $66,000,000,000 worth of online goods each year, this might be a good thing to know, say marketing professors Swinder Janda, Philip Trocchia, and Kevin P. Gwinner of Kansas State University, Manhattan.

"In order to increase demand for their offerings, online retailers need to better understand their current and potential customers," Janda points out. "By understanding which factors consumers consider to be most important when assessing online service quality, retailers can be in a position to improve their online marketing performance."

Research shows that less than two percent of online visits result in a purchase, meaning that, of the 95,000,000 Americans online, very few are willing to release their bank account numbers. According to Janda, incorporating Web-based customer service features that are relevant to consumers could result in significant marketing success for online retailers, who can compare what customers want with what their website currently offers, then make changes accordingly.

"Even with the money being spent online, we found that most consumers prefer to conduct online research, but then go on to make their purchases at traditional brick-and-mortar stores. These trends indicate that, although there is growth in the number of Internet users, there is not a commensurate growth in people buying goods and services directly online," Janda indicates.

Performance, the biggest factor in determining whether or not to purchase, deals with how well an online retailer meets the customer's expectation regarding physical fulfillment of the order. "Physical fulfillment goes beyond the merchandise itself," he explains. "Consumers view the performance of online retailers in terms of how efficiently the online order is fulfilled." Items used to measure performance include easy-to-understand online order forms, prompt e-mail order confirmations, fast-loading websites, quickness of delivery, error-free order processing, and clearly stated return policies.

The second most important...