Online Retail - How it can REALLY work

We continue to look to our American cousins when starting any research on online retail best practices, why? Well one of the main reasons, isn't just they do it better, they've just been using social applications and social platforms as part of their marketing mix longer than the UK has.  Longer doesn't always mean better - but it does mean that they've been able to learn, make mistakes and then perfect their strategy along with other factors to make a business stand out.

Tony Hseih, the 35 year old serial entrepreneur says he goes through 1,000 tweets a day that are either directed at him or mention Zappos.  Add to that another 2,000 email messages they get per day that then takes 6 people to go through and respond to.

Zappos customer loyalty team fields between 5,000 and 6,000 calls every single day.  "Our biggest branding tool, as unsexy and low-tech as it may sound, is actually the telephone" says Hsieh.  "And if we get the interaction right, its something they will remember, maybe for the rest of their life, and tell their friends and family about".

Zappos has gone from start up, to $1.2 billion dollar revenue sales in just 10 years. How - well here are some of the reasons....

10. Ambition.  The Zappos Ambition - To build a collection of businesses “powered by customer service.’’ To be equated with service in the way Richard Branson’s Virgin businesses are thought of as cool and hip."

7. Call Us! - Zappos telephone customer support number is on every single page of their website.  When you call them, they have no scripts, no annoying introductions.  They'll just treat each caller as the first caller they've had, have a chat and make them feel like their problem is the most important, not the 101st call they've had today.  Clever, but obvious too, right?

6) Social Media - No ROI agenda.  But this is a little controversial.  Everyone is talking about how does social media needs to bring a ROI.  We don’t assign metrics to it,’’ Hsieh says. “It’s really just about our unwavering belief that making the customer happier is going to win in the long run.” 

5) Free shipping both ways.  Giving people more reasons to try for the first time and then continue to come back time and time again.

4)  The four key points to online retailing.

• Do what you say you’re going to do, promptly.
• Deliver the exact products ordered, on time.
• Take returns without a hitch.
• Avoid complaints and frustrated customers, who might flood your phone banks, email boxes and tweet streams with angry (and costly) messages.

3) Multi-Chanel  Core Customer Interaction Channels:

• Telephone
• Email
• Twitter
• Blogs
• Streaming video
• Partnerships with Facebook, YouTube

2) The Phone Strategy: The toll-free 800 number on the top of every webpage to encourage callers. There are no scripts in front of customer service reps, when they take a call. As with twittering or appearing in a streaming video, the reps are encouraged just to be themselves. Be chatty. Tell jokes. Find facts (Is that your dog barking? What kind is it?). Whatever works. No particular approach is proscribed. Except one: Spend as much time on the phone as it takes. Describe the return process in detail, if the caller is not familiar with it. Figure out what kinds of shoes match a particular dress. Just talk, if the caller is lonely, they’ll remember!

1. The Difference Maker : Customer service and interaction

This is how social business is done right - using the channels to be there, when others aren't.  Provide a fantastic service, where others can't and be there 24/7.