Blogs not important in online shops

Weblogs are only of any significance as a customer forum to one in four users
E-mail customer service and customer reviews still come first

Customers still attach greater importance to online shops offering an e-mail customer service

E-mail customer service and customer ratings continue to be the key sources of information
Weblogs have up to now played only a minor role in online shops. Although nearly half of all respondents state that they know of at least one online shop that provides weblogs, only a quarter regard it as necessary. By contrast, direct contact with customer service agents, for example via e-mail, is of particular importance to nine out of ten buyers. In addition, customer ratings in online shops play a decisive role for 80 per cent of respondents. These are the findings of the trend survey "Vernetzte Kunden - Wie Web 2.0 das Online-Shopping verändert" (Online consumers - how Web 2.0 is changing online shopping) conducted by novomind AG in collaboration with wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com.
 
The advantages of weblogs in online shops
Yet the weblog does offer certain advantages: namely, the archive function saves older blogs over the long term, which means that useful information about products and user tips can be gathered in the online shop. The commentary function additionally makes it possible to give blogs a clear structure. RSS feeds keep Internet users up to date because they are informed immediately a new entry is posted. Thanks to this additional service, customers can be bound more closely into the website. Other clear benefits are the minimal work and low costs involved in hosting a weblog.
 
41 to 50-year-olds extremely active in posting customer reviews
Despite the advantages, a third of respondents have never posted user tips on the Net. What’s more, only one in eight occasionally or frequently offers such assistance to other users. The striking thing here is that 41 to 50-year-olds are the most active. In fact, nearly one in two people in that age bracket has already written their own reviews. There are differences between the genders here, however. Whereas almost 20 per cent of men post information in weblogs for other users, this is true of only two per cent of women. The ladies clearly place far greater importance on an e-mail dialogue with a customer service agent. It is hardly surprising then, that on average, women know of more than three online shops with an e-mail customer service, but of only one with a weblog function.
 
E-mail management systems make for greater efficiency
According to these findings, the e-mail customer service continues to be a very important communication channel between online shops and buyers. That is why companies should in future focus on e-mail management systems. In order to meet customer expectations, however, the system must be an efficient one, like novomind iMail™, the system from the Hamburg software developer novomind, which provides customer service agents with targeted assistance in the processing of incoming e-mails.
 
novomind AG: innovative software for professional customer communications
novomind is a software developer in Hamburg and the fastest-growing company in the field of electronic customer communications and mail management. As the leading provider of innovative solutions for digital customer communications, novomind AG provides software for service-oriented and personalised customer dealings. The software not only optimises efficiency in customer administration significantly, it also gives the user a faster return on investment. The portfolio of the Products division includes the novomind Self-Service Suite™. The software package contains all the communication modules necessary for a customer service centre on a central knowledge basis: e-mail management, virtual customer consulting and systems for interactive, real-time communication. The novomind AG Services division implements complex e-business applications. More than 40 major companies have already decided in favour of novomind technology, among them Citibank, Otto, Yello Strom and the German pension institution Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund. Club Bertelsmann, EnBW and Mexx as well as public-sector users, such as the German Bundestag (parliament) and the German Department of Trade and Industry, have already successfully introduced novomind systems to optimise their customer communications, turnover and PR.

---

<< back