Remember High Tech can equal High Touch
Do you remember the commercial where the sales manager handed
out airline tickets because the sales staff was loosing touch
with their customers? That impactful commercial typifies the
fear many corporate executives have when approaching the natural
extension of e-business. I believe high tech equals high touch.
Here are some essential concerns to keep in mind when
approaching e-business. These questions can help you focus your
electronic growth so that you will humanize your e-business
strategies.
1.)Today, how do you communicate on a daily with your customers?
Look at your current business model and consider how you take
orders. By building an online order taking process, you can
offer your customers the best of both worlds with traditional
and online ordering. This online extension of order taking will
save your customers time and create good will toward your
company. Technology can extend order taking by linking with your
existing inventory control and accounting systems therefore
streamlining your processes. The streamlining will reduce your
customers' paperwork and cost per transaction as well as making
it easier to interact with your company.
2.)What are the repeat questions your customers ask? A simple,
focused web presence can head off those repetitive questions
from potential customers. Yes, your are right in that you can
turn face-to-face questions into a sale. You need to remember
today's customers are using email and the Internet to scout
potential vendors. Today buyers do their research before picking
up the telephone. Online FAQ's will provide the background they
are seeking so they are more informed when they contact you.
This gives your sales associates an advantage. They can turn
that potential call into a personal, human interaction if sales
associates do not have to repeat FAQ's.
3.)How many of your customers are online and actively using
e-mail? Ignore your customers and they will go away. This common
phrase is a lesson in how not treat your customers. A recent
study by Jupiter communications revealed that 42 percent of
companies tested didn't respond to relevant email inquiries and
took more than five days. If your customers are using email (and
they are) then you must be ready to respond. Consider your
business model. Who responds to customer inquiry? How will you
handle email requests? How will they be delivered? Should you
outsource? How will you track? Can you capture email for future
marketing purposes?
4.)Is your product developed to customers' specifications with
periodic approval? A majority of business on the Internet is
conducted within an Extranet. This is a closed environment
protected from general Internet traffic designed for
communication with buyers. If your company is in frequent
contact with the customer asking for approval at various points
of product development, then an Extranet must be a
consideration. You can design a system that allows your customer
to view the product and give check off approval. They can view
architectural designs, CAD drawings, photographs, detailed
specifications, or work-in-progress. The added, and personalized
bonus, is that your customer can do this at their convenience.
You can call or visit but the time during that visit is spent
working on the customer relationship - not order specifications.
5.)Do you cross sell or up sell when taking an order? New
designs in web interfaces can deliver with the same selling
dynamic. You can suggest other products during a customer
search. New software even allows you to save the search. You can
capture your prospects email and categorize it for future
marketing efforts. For a truly personalized touch, follow up
inquiries with a telephone call - or personalized email. You can
ask your customers if they would like this feature - taking
service to all time high.
6.)Let your customers know you are online. If you build it, they
will not come. The old thought that if 'I go online, new
customers will come running' is false. You need to employ new
and traditional methods of marketing in order to let potential
customers that you are online. A recent online company sent a
simple postcard announcing their new online service - within
three days of the mailing, they noticed a 65% increase in
traffic. You may not see this type of increase but you need to
consider all avenues of marketing to notify customers of your
new service.
Moving into e-business should not replace traditional methods of
selling. Approach the process as an extension of your current
model and look for additional opportunities to communicate to
your customer. Finally, keep your customers in mind when you
develop your model. As we said in the beginning, keep that
concern in front and you will develop a profitable, humanized
e-business.