Customer Reviews

E-Service: 24 Ways to Keep Your Customers--When the Competition Is Just a Click Away

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My career, delivering training for organizations throughout North America, not only requires I prepare in detail the specific programs I am hired to deliver but to keep up with other relevant issues in the training marketplace. This is one of the reasons I enjoy readinig and using Ron Zemke's books. He writes on relevant topics. This is the case for Tom Connellan and Ron Zemke's newest book E-SERVICE. Recently I loaned E-SERVICE to one of the Customized Training Coordinators for South Central Technical College, North Mankato, MN. Her first reaction was, "He (Zemke) has done it again. He has written a book with immediately useful and relevant information." I concur.

The content of this book is so valuable. We encourage organizations to make their processes, forms, and voice mail systems warmer and easier to use. Once you read this book you will see how important it is to keep these same principles (and practices) in mind when you encourage customers to conduct e-business with your organization. The book is literally a HANDS ON manual on what you want to consider and what you might do to make your website, your e-commerce site more effective, efficient, and productive.

The statistics and research are very valuable and validate how important it is to give your on-line commerce site serious consideration. The book becomes a great HANDS ON tool when you combine the research with what to do NOW and what to do NEXT.

Zemke and Connellan have struck gold again! Citing facts, figures and e-shoppers' perceptions, they present a compelling case. People may flock to dot com stores, but they also leave in droves. The conclusions: online sellers must not ignore critcal customer service lessons learned in storefronts, and online sellers also have a new set of customer service issues to address. The authors outline a detailed blueprint for how to do it, telling what customer service means in an internet environment and explaining exactly what steps must be taken to avoid losing customers online.

I have a bias which Zemke and Connellan apparently share: Literally anyone who has any contact with a customer (or client) is a "customer service representative." They include whoever answers the telephone; whoever greets visitors at the door or encounters them within the building; whoever delivers anything to a customer; whoever has direct contact with a customer's own customer, vendor, or service provider (e.g. banker, attorney, accountant, management consultant); and whoever in any other situation has an opportunity to add value to the customer relationship. You get my point. The authors of this book focus on a major challenge to all organizations: keeping customers, especially now when "the competition is just a click away." Customer retention is the name of this "game" and almost everyone within a given organization is a "player."

Zemke and Connellan organize their excellent material within fourteen chapters, presenting and then explaining 24 "key" strategies to maximize customer retention. These "keys" range from "Master the ETDBW [i.e. Easy to Do Business With] Design Basics" in Chapter 5 to "Use Incentives to Increase Spending" in Chapter 11. They then provide "A Seven-Lesson Crash Course in E-Service Improvement" in Chapter 12 followed by a thought-provoking chapter "The Future of the Net: Take These Predictions to the Bank" and, in the final chapter, a "Browser's Guide" which offers 80 "tips" such as "the long-term winners...will be those that have done the best job of supporting their customers and delivering that value in a way that seems effortless." I also appreciate the inclusion of "Notes" and "Additional Resources."

For small-to-midsize organizations especially, here in a single-volume are information and guidance sufficient to assist the design, launch, implementation, and refinement of an e-business customer service program. I think this book can also be of substantial value to much larger organizations which, I am convinced, should constantly re-evaluate such a program already in place. Recall the "bias" to which I referred earlier. Recent market research (generated by several million respondents) has revealed what is most important to customers: "feeling appreciated" and "ease of doing business" (or "convenience") were ranked either #1 or #2 among the attributes. Revealingly, "cost" is ranked anywhere between #9 and #14.

Do Zemke and Donnellan address all the "right" questions? No, but they don't miss many. Are all of their answers to various questions the "right" ones? Read the book and judge for yourself. In fact, I urge you to consult a number of other books which cover much of the same material. It would be imprudent (perhaps even stupid) to rely entirely on a single source. The authors identify several in the "Additional Resources" section to which I presume to add Treacy and Wiersema's The Discipline of Market Leaders (who have a great deal of value to say about "customer intimacy") as well as Customer Equity co-authored by Blattberg, Getz, and Thomas who provide a brilliant analysis of what could be called "the ROI of customer relationships."

E-Service is a terrific read if you are concerned about customer satisfaction in the age of "E". This book outlines 24 ways to use "E" service to differentiate your business from the competition.

Zemke and Connellan are well known customer service guru's and their observations and strategies in this new book are right on target. Great customer service is an integral, component to any business that wants to generate revenue from new and existing customers -- and the on-line world ups the ante. This book shares key ideas for enhancing the service end of your business using the web to keep customers coming back for more.

A must-read for every business person in this age of rapid change.

I picked up a copy of this book because a colleague emphatically recommended it several times over the last couple weeks. As an Internet strategy consultant, I figured this would be another "me too" book full of ridiculously obvious suggestions for improving a customer's web site experience. Instead, I found a thought provoking book written by 2 very experienced customer service experts. Zemke and Connellan do a very good job of analyzing the web through tried and true customer service paradigms. The "hockey stick" loyalty analysis was a great demonstration of the exponentionally positive impact of excellent customer service. As well, your suggestions on how to improve customer service were clear and actionable. Thanks for the quick and extremely useful read.

Give me one of the usual business books these days and my eyes glaze over. Heavy on theory, light on practical things I can do tomorrow to be more effective. E-Service is about as practical as you can get. Packed with great, easy-to-read examples and things to do to keep e-customers coming back. The last chapter on the Future of the Net is an eye-opener! Hang on, folks, we ain't seen nothing yet.

This book lays out exactly what you need to do to keep your buisness alive and thriving on the Web. It's got great site examples, useful research data, and lots of easy-to-follow advice on how to design and manage a customer-friendly e-commerce site. I'd encourage anyone who does business online to buy a copy.

Previous works from these two street-smart marketeers taught us the importance of consistant "top box" service. We learned that knock-your-socks-off-service is what transforms the casual customer into a vocal advocate. Well, we quickly learn, through this book, that customer service is even more important in the world of e-commerce. Fail me once and a quick search and one finger will take me to the competition. Pay attention to this book and instead of clicking down the block, the customer will bookmark your site for return visits. Nice job from two pros --- just what I expected!

E-service is a great guide to a successful customer service oriented website. Which is how every website should be! Learn what you can do to stand out from the competition.

Many books, articles, etc. have been read. But tricks for success in e-service has not been explained better. I would highly recommend this 5-star-book to anyone who would like to improve her/his skills/knowledge in e-commerce industry.