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Saturday
- September 16, 2000
B2C Sites Scramble to Add Customer Service
Features
With Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, not even
two weeks behind us, business-to-consumer (B2C) Web sites
are already vigorously working to add new customer-oriented
features to their sites in time for the holiday buying season.
IDC recently surveyed more than 100 B2C respondents on what
features their sites have and which features they plan to
add. According to the market intelligence firm, customer-touching
features are a priority for the holiday rush.
"If the results of our survey are any
indication, B2C sites are busily preparing to add customer-oriented
features in an effort to win loyalty and avoid another round
of negative publicity from unhappy customers," said
Molly Upton, editor of eBusiness Trends, a weekly
online newsletter published by IDC.
IDC's Internet Executive ePanel results revealed
the percentage of B2C sites that offer interactive customer
service will increase a spectacular 110% from 20% in the
spring of 2000 to 41% by spring 2001. Special content/services
for registered visitors will skyrocket even further. Less
than 23% of B2C sites offer this capability in spring 2000,
but almost 48% are planning to add it within months.
Online order tracking is another feature B2C
sites are busy developing. The percentage of sites with this
capability is expected to almost double from less than 22%
to almost 40%.
"Undoubtedly, companies are rushing to
add this capability so that they can avoid the fiasco of
1999, when many customers weren't made aware of late shipments," Upton
said.
Government Web Use Criticized
According to USA Today:
"Federal and state governments still have
a long way to go in exploiting the power of the Internet,
with few offering user-friendly Web sites to help people
do business with governments online, a survey found.
Among the states, Texas ranked first and Rhode
Island last in efficient use of the Internet, Brown University
researchers said. The White House Web site ranked near the
bottom among federal Internet destinations.
'Most of these sites are struggling just to
get one service online,' said Darrell M. West, the Brown
political science professor who led the effort..."
Click
here for the full story. [Link no longer active]
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