Tip: Design Web sites that build customer loyalty

The following is tip #4, Design Web sites that build customer loyalty, excerpted from Chapter 9 of the book Technology and Customer Service: Profitable Relationship Building, by Paul R. Timm, published by Prentice Hall Publishing.

What you'll learn in this chapter:

• Internet Web sites provide a new avenue for building customer loyalty.
• Web technologies such as e-mail, webchat, and online knowledge bases are revolutionizing customer service in the new economy.
• Web-based customer care can be a cost-effective alternative to traditional service channels.
• Successful e-service delivery requires attention to the Web as a communication medium.
• In the near future, "virtual service" may replace Web self-service.

More on building customer loyalty: Review the top 10 customer loyalty concepts   Take the customer loyalty quiz

Using the Web to build customer loyalty
Migrating customer service to the Internet is more than a simple exercise in HTML coding. Far from it! The Internet introduces a whole series of operating issues, from the fact that the customer is not physically present to the expectation that online means anytime, anywhere satisfaction with less than two-second delays. Failed expectations are common -- even for the big guys. More than one major retailer has had to bring down its site after a failed Web launch. Here's a top ten list of strategies for avoiding e-service implosion. By putting these strategies into practice, you'll be well on your way to establishing an A-plus presence on the Web. We'll describe each strategy in more detail in the following pages.

1. Be there and be quick.
2. Make site navigation simple.
3. Respond quickly.
4. Provide communication alternatives.
5. Pay attention to form and function.
6. Track customer traffic.
7. Benchmark service levels.
8. Teach your site to learn.
9. Build an ongoing e-relationship.
10. End high.

Download the entire chapter for more details on these strategies and other information on building customer loyalty. This chapter includes application activities to determine what kind of Web site and Web service works for you, and how those tools can help build customer loyalty.

Building customer loyalty: Four tips in four minutes

 Home: Introduction
 Tip 1: Use effective call centers to build customer loyalty
 Tip 2: Offer help desks to build customer loyalty
 Tip 3: Apply the power of CRM to build customer loyalty
 Tip 4: Design Web sites that build customer loyalty

These chapter excerpts from Technology and Customer Service: Profitable Relationship Building, by Paul R. Timm, are used by permission from Prentice Hall Publishing. Purchase the book here