Limelight Networks Survey Identifies Top Online Customer Service - doc

Top 3 Online Customer Service Features Most Important to Brand Loyalty
More than 1,600 shoppers ranked the following three online customer service features as most important in their decisions to make online purchases and return to sites for future shopping:

• The ability to track my shipment and delivery status online at the site or on my mobile phone (79%)
• Online customer service chat or IM (45%)
• Video demonstrations of required assembly or installation (39%)

The Features that Drive Consumers to Use Online Self-Help
Surveyed consumers also ranked the website features that would make them most likely to use online self-help rather than call customer service:

• Live 24x7 chat with a product expert or customer support representative (52%)
• Personalized, secure login that remembers my preferences and product model numbers (43%)
• Searchable database with summaries of videos, online manuals, etc. (35%)
• Instructional step-by-step video demonstrating how a product is used, assembled or installed (31%)
• Forum to chat/IM/discuss topics live with other users (13%)
• Mobile support information so I can get support while I am away from my desktop computer (11%)

Adding online self-help features such as vides demonstrations and IMs may head off a percentage of product returns and cut down on overall customer service costs. During and immediately after the holidays, retailers see a dramatic spike in customer service calls. This study indicates that retailers who add these self-help options may significantly reduce the number of incoming calls to their customer service representatives. This creates the potential for substantial operational savings.

Consumers who Demand Online Customer Service the Most
The research found that respondents who spend more than $301 a year shopping online for travel services, clothing and accessories, and electronics demand online customer service features more than respondents shopping for any other services or items. The following are the percentage of surveyed consumers who find online customer service extremely or very important in their decision to purchase on a site and return to the site to shop again:

• 76% shopping online for Travel Services
• 65% shopping online for Clothing and Clothing Accessories
• 59% shopping online for Electronics and Computers/Computer Equipment

The survey also revealed that those who shop online more frequently –who said that in addition to holiday shopping, they shop online more than once a month – demand customer service features more than those who shop online less often:

• 53% of those who shop online more than once a month find online customer service extremely or very important compared to,
• 45% of those who shop online once per month, and
• 40% of those who shop online every 4 to 6 months

SOURCE: Limelight Networks