Even *more* important in the e-commerce world...

[john.dawe]

More than ever, it's important to keep your customers close. Even the most amazing store and incredible inventory won't bring in the sale, let alone repeat business - IF your customers questions and concerns aren't handled with care in a timely fashion.

I personally have had a presence in Internet sales since day 1. For as much as I'd like to believe that I've always provided extremely detailed information, available right at the shoppers fingertips, questions and concerns have always rolled in.

Are shoppers in a hurry? Maybe... Are they not taking the time to read? Possibly... Are there those who aren't yet comfortable shopping on this fairly new market place? Of course! But that's not here or there. If you don't provide the answers or calm those concerns, someone else will - and that someone else (your competitor) is just a click away.

Finally, there's the ripple effect. If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they can each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.

How do you handle customer care? Have you recruited family members to help? Forwarded phone calls to your cell phone? Have an in-house customer care team? Outsourced to a Call Center/Virtual Office provider? What works? What doesn't? Are you *almost* there - just need someone or something to fill in the gaps?

This forum is the place to chat and share ideas on how to provide the best customer care possible. Remember, your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, but your competitors sure will!