Oracle Report: Buyer Choices Depend on Device, Channels

How are customers using the Web to make their buying choices? That’s the key question in a new report from Oracle.

The report, entitled The Connected Customer 2012: Evolving Behavior Patterns, was based on an online survey conducted in April by Oracle Retail’s E-Tailing Group. The aim was to examine consumer browsing and buying behavior across Net, mobile, social and cross-channel options. It included responses from 1,033 consumers who shopped online four or more times in the past year. The report focused on respondents who owned smartphones and/or tablets.

Shopping in a Multi-Channel Environment

The report found that determining the path buyers are taking requires more research than it used to, because consumers have access to an ever-increasing number of device and channel options. Shopping within a multi-channel environment is becoming the norm with these buyers, the report found. Smartphones and tablets are increasingly part of the “shopper’s arsenal,” although device choice depends on need, timing and location.

Buyers are becoming much more accustomed to making online price comparisons, because of the increasing convenience in doing so. They also demand comprehensive product information along with education about a product category before making their buying decisions.

The top reasons for shopping online include:

• More opportunities to research products (81 percent)
• The opportunity to comparison shop (81 percent)
• The ability to shop more conveniently (77 percent)

Buy Online, Follow Up in Store

Although more than half of respondents said they like to shop on the internet because it is less expensive, physical stores clearly fit into connected buyers’ shopping strategy. Nearly half, (48 percent) said that they often research online but follow up with a store visit. For a substantial number of respondents, in-store advantages include getting the best fit on clothing, touching and feeling the product, interacting with a “savvy store associate” and the ability to obtain a product right away rather than waiting for it to arrive.

Among the Oracle report's recommendations for both e-Commerce retailers and those who run physical stores, were:

• Building a "comprehensive shopping experience" with all the information needed to make a sale
• Using category-centric content — such as videos or how-to instructions — to engage customers
• Making sure the shopping experience includes strong imagery, supporting copy and the introduction of social elements.

The takeaway for retailers: soon, pretty much every customer will be an educated consumer thanks to their smartphones, tablets and the number of channels available to them. Engage them — with information, social media outreach and a comprehensive shopping experience.

 

 

Source : cmswire[dot]com

How Support.com Turns Data into Actions -- and Results

A customer represents two things: an immediate dollars-and-cents sales opportunity, and a store of valuable data, including buying habits, behaviors and opinions. Technical support company Support.com has some ideas on how to use this data to improve the way your employees influence customer experience.

When a Stranger Calls, Data Answers

We thought it was fitting to take a closer look to see how a tech support company uses data to improve the way their personal technology experts turn data into actions and the impact these actions have on customer experience and satisfaction. We spoke with Paul Vaillancourt, senior vice president of Contact Center Operations at Support.com to learn more.

Support.com provides remote technology services to consumers and small businesses directly via an online portal and channel partners (which include retailers and anti-virus companies). Personal Technology Experts must pass rigorous testing and training before helping customers.

Unlike other companies, everything at Support.com is analyzed. From the moment a call is answered to the moment the case is resolved, calls are recorded, scrutinized and archived on-site. Additionally, because one single system is used, data is instantly available, eliminating time it may take to transfer data from one CRM into another.

Influencing the Behaviors of Others

How tech experts are trained can determine whether companies meet their overall goals and whether customers’ problems get solved. As a result, when Support.com noticed a higher than normal attrition rate, they focused their attention on the training process to better understand how they can improve the effectiveness of tech experts.

First, they listened. Before tech experts get to answer actual customer calls, they undergo rigorous training and then a nesting period, during which they role-play. They listened to what those who decided to leave said in their exit interviews, as well as to feedback they received from others. They learned that experts were overwhelmed by the complexity of their tool set. As a result, Support.com changed how they introduced experts to calls, having them listen more to actual customer calls before they role-played (which they did more of as well).

Then they created a goal. Goals were actual behaviors, rather than a metric. Instead of saying that they wanted to decrease the length of the call by two minutes, they said: we want experts to solve problems quicker. In order to solve problems quicker, it was important to understand how experts could glean better information from callers. They determined that not enough probing questions were being asked. Sure, experts were active listeners, but they weren’t necessarily asking questions that could uncover useful information in a timely matter. Once experts were properly trained to listen for keywords and specific prompts, call times were shortened.

Finally, they give constant feedback. PTE’s are given score cards which contain six weeks' worth of data, including average call length, call disposition, contacts per hour, attendance and a quality score. The score card also compares an expert’s results to other experts as well as company goals, so individuals can see how their behaviors impact overall goals.

Creating a Culture of Intentional Actions (and Outcomes)

What Support.com’s process for listening, analyzing and producing actionable insights really highlights is the impact that a company culture built around data can have on customer experience. Every company says that they are dedicated to ROI — but not every company invests in the actions of their employees to really understand how behaviors translates into outcomes.

 

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Source : cmswire[dot]com

Gartner: Fake Social Media Ratings, Reviews to Hit 10 to 15 Percent by 2014

Feel comfortable buying Facebook Likes or Twitter followers? The practice is becoming more and more accepted, and fake social media ratings and reviews could hit 10 to 15 percent by 2014, according to research company Gartner.

In its recent report, "The Consequences of Fake Fans, 'Likes' and Reviews on Social Networks", the company says that trust in social media remains low, but could rise from single digits to as high as 33 percent by 2014.

Who to Trust

It may sound obvious, but people tend to trust those most like them and also people they know in real life. That partly explains why many people don't trust what they read when it comes to Amazon.com reviews, for example. However, people do trust websites that have lots of reviews.

A May 2012 online survey of 2,000 people from econsultancy.com found that companies with 50 or more reviews see nearly a 5 percent boost in conversions. The survey indicated that 31 percent said they use reviews to help them make a purchase. These numbers no doubt influence the rise of companies like SocialJump, who charge US$ 75 per thousand Facebook likes. 

While Gartner is realistic about how popular this practice is becoming on Twitter, Google+ and YouTube, the report cautions that companies should be aware of the risks associated with using these services. According to the report, any short term gains could nullified in the long run if the public finds out about the inflated numbers and starts viewing those companies as untrustworthy.

Regulators are Taking Notice

In 2011, the FTC levied a US$ 250,000 fine against Legacy Learning Systems for hiring marketers to post fake reviews on several websites. Gartner also cited campaigns by Sony, Wal-Mart, Nestle and Volkswagon as having been found to be misleading. Many of those campaigns were run by large marketing firms, but some companies were found to have been deleting negative comments on their social media sites.

In 2010, retailer Ann Taylor was suspected of giving out gift cards in exchange for favorable blog reviews. The case was investigated by the FTC, but no economic sanctions were filed. Additionally, the FTC settled with PR company Reverb communications the same year over fake reviews.

In a more connected world where people are interacting more than ever via some kind of mobile device, the report shows people still value real transparency and have little tolerance for deception. Let us know in the comments if you've come across some reviews or ratings you were certain were paid for. 

Editor's note: Check out our coverage of the advantages and pitfalls of "buying" fans, and why marketers are struggling to master social marketing. 

 

 

Source : cmswire[dot]com