Talking Web Sites
By John Pearson
OK, your Web site's up and running. After a bit of trial and error, you finally have order processing running smoothly. You might even have lots of people visiting your sitebrowsing a bitand leaving. What should you do now?
Ironically, maybe the next thing you need to do is make the experience of visiting your Web site more like going to a brick-and-mortar store. When you visit a store like Macy's or Nordstrom's (or Wal-Mart!), what happens? As soon as you walk in, someone greets you and asks how he or she can help you.
You can add that capability to your Web site with an approach called Web-based customer interaction (WBCI). In particular, this approach means that you attempt to discover what your customers are looking for, answer their questions, and make it easier for them to find their way around your "store."
Web-Based Customer Interaction Management Tools
Various vendors
See "
Online" for a list of product URLs
Contact for pricing |
The different products in this area vary greatly in price, delivery system, and capability. Some companies, like eGain, attempt to provide all the options: live chat, email, FAQs, and customer resource management (CRM) in a single package. Several link the customer service aspects directly with sales automation tools. Others provide only a few services and less integration with existing CRM tools.<>
