Online retail is becoming ever more competitive, meaning that for retailers the experience and service they provide for their customers is crucial to winning and retaining business.So new research from Experian should act as a wake-up call to ecommerce companies. It found that an estimated £1.02bn of online shopping transactions were abandoned by UK consumers in 2011, with 20% giving up on t...
Whatever industry you are in, customer service revolves around providing fast, accurate answers to customer queries. However ensuring that your agents have the up to date information needed to deliver these answers can be difficult, as it is scattered across multiple IT systems, stored in physical folders or even kept in agents’ heads. The key to delivering excellent customer...
From the BBC iPlayer to YouTube, video is one of the fastest growing ways for consumers to access content on the web. Faster broadband connection speeds and wifi on mobiles make video simple and quick to view wherever we may be.Part of the reason for the growth of video is the power it has to get a message across in a highly visual, simple to understand manner. This makes it perfect for customer s...
The current recession is claiming more victims amongst hard-pressed retailers, with Game the latest company to file for administration. And new figures show that it is not just bricks and mortar retailers that are suffering, as UK ecommerce growth is also slowing. While UK shoppers spent £5.4 billion online in February 2012, this was the weakest growth since January 2010, with sales only cli...
The launch of the new Apple iPad has dominated many sections of the media over the last week as retailers and rivals have tried to capitalise on the buzz around the launch.However an unfortunate pricing error has led to the wrong sort of headlines for Tesco. A misplaced decimal point saw the retailer advertise the new iPad 3 for £49.99, rather than £499, on its website. As news spread ...
On the Eptica blog we’ve extensively covered the impact of social media on customer service and the real time opportunity that it provides for consumers to complain (or even praise) your company. There’s now even a social media network dedicated solely to handling customer complaints. Called Gripevine, it promises to connect dissatisfied customers directly with companies, allowing...
Over the years the car industry has had a mixed reputation for customer service. For example individual garages have been caught charging for MOT work that didn’t need doing while in other cases second-hand cars have broken down the moment the warranty runs out.So it is good to see a government and industry-backed initiative that promises to prioritise customer service in the sector. Called ...
In today’s business climate, increasing efficiency while still delivering great service is the central aim of leading organisations. Balancing these two demands can be difficult, but by implementing an Eptica-based knowledge management system, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has achieved both cost savings and improved customer service levels.NHSBSA’s Sherlock project uses ...
In tough times, customer service can be the best way of giving companies a competitive advantage. That was the theme of this year’s Institute of Customer Service (ICS) Conference, which took place yesterday at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square. Speakers from government, including Norman Lamb MP, minister for employment relations, consumer and postal affairs, joined companies such...
Social media opens up a whole new way of communicating with customers. However companies need to understand that it is fundamentally different to other channels. Social media is much more of a two way conversation and, as it is held in public, the world can see the results. So while many companies have moved onto social media and are using it for customer service, what is vital is how engaged...