Social media gaining importance in ecommerce customer service
Parcel delivery company Hermes UK said it believes social media needs to play more of a role in ecommerce customer service, after conducting a survey of its key retail customers. While phone and email remain the preferred options for customer service, Leeds-based Hermes UK said its survey suggested social media and web chat communication channels could allow for better customer satisfaction.
The company said 42% of its surveyed retailers stated that speed of response or inability to contact customer service contributed the most dissatisfaction among shoppers.
Among communication channels, 40% of Hermes customers believe webchat will become an integral part of customer communication, with 21% stating Twitter and 15% Facebook as playing a greater role.
According to the survey, the aspects of home delivery that has contributed most to customer satisfaction in recent years include parcel tracking (according to 35% of those surveyed), proof of delivery (20%), with text message or email alerts cited by 13%.
Dawn Redman, head of customer service at Hermes, said Hermes UK was now working closely with its customers to take advantage of the latest innovations in the market.
“Enabling greater access to customer service in the most effective way will enhance the home delivery process, achieve high levels of consumer satisfaction and ultimately creates brand value,” said Redman.
Hermes UK currently makes about 140m collections and deliveries each year, working with online retailers including Next Directory, Readers Digest, Lakeland and ASOS.
Customer loyalty
Meanwhile, a separate survey from UK mailing management company P2P Mailing pointed to the importance of delivery companies getting it right when it comes to ecommerce home delivery.
The survey found that 87% of shoppers in the UK would switch to an alternative retailer if they experienced delays or problems in delivery.
P2P Mailing said its survey of 2,000 UK consumers, carried out by research agency Mindmetre, found two thirds stating that poor delivery standards was the “worst thing that can go wrong” in online shopping.
But, getting the online shopping right would convince more than 90% of shoppers to buy more online.
The survey also confirmed the belief that consumers are reluctant to shop from overseas because of delivery issues.
Paul Galpin, managing director of P2P Mailing, said: “The results could not be clearer. Get online shopping delivery wrong, and your business will suffer as a result. Just two mistakes can be enough to persuade a customer to defect to a competitor.”
The P2P Mailing survey report came as the second part of a study on UK online shopping habits, following a look at fufillment issues published last July.
