Chapter 4
Customer Service
and
Advertising
1
AIS 360
Learning Objectives
Explain the implementation of customer
service online and describe its tools
Describe the objectives of Web advertising
and its characteristics
Describe the major advertising methods used
on the Web
AIS 360
2
Delivering Customer Service
in Cyberspace
Customer service—a series of activities designed to
enhance customer satisfaction (the feeling that a
product or service has met the customer’s
expectations)
Traditional: do the work for the customer
EC delivered: gives tools to the customer to do the work
for him/herself
E-service—customer services supplied over the
Internet
Foundation of service site responsiveness & effectiveness and order fulfillment
Customer-centered services order tracing, customization and security/trust
Value-added services online auctions, online training and education
AIS 360
3
Delivering Customer Service
in Cyberspace (cont.)
Value chain for Internet service
Customer acquisition (pre-purchase support)
Customer support during purchase—provides a
shopping environment that is efficient, informative,
productive
Customer fulfillment (purchase dispatch)—timely
delivery
Customer continuance support (post- purchase)—
maintain the customer relationship between
purchases
AIS 360
4
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management (CRM)—a
customer service approach that focuses on building
long-term and sustainable customer relationships
that add value both for the customer and the
company
Building a customer-centered EC strategy
Focus on the end customer
Systems and business processes designed for ease
of use
Foster customer loyalty
AIS 360
5
Customer
Relationship Management (cont.)
Actions for successful EC strategy
Deliver personalized services
Target the right customers
Help the customers do their jobs
Let customers help themselves
Streamline business processes that impact the
customers
“Own” the customer ’s total experience by providing
every possible customer contact
Provide a 360-degree view of the customer
relationship
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AIS 360
Customer Service Tools
Personalized Web pages
Used to record purchases and preference
Direct customized information to customers efficiently
E-mail and automated response
Disseminate general information
Send specific product information
Conduct correspondence regarding any topic
(mostly inquiries from customers)
AIS 360
7
American Airlines Offers
Personalized Web Sites
American Airlines (aa.com) unveiled the most
advanced personalized, one-to-one interactions
and transactions on its Web site in 1998
Intelligent agents enable the generation of
personalized Web pages for each of its 1 million
registered, travel-planning customers
Broadvision’s application dynamically matches
customer profiles to a database
Output of the matching process triggers the
creation of a real-time customized Web page
AIS 360
8
American Airlines (cont.)
The use of intelligent-agent technology
built a considerable edge over AA’s
competitors
Personalizing Web pages is becoming
more important in:
Increasing customer loyalty
Cementing relationships with customers
Fostering the community of AA frequent flyers
AIS 360
9
Customer Service Tools (cont.)
Call center—a comprehensive service entity in
which EC vendors address customer service
issues communicated through various contact
channels
Telewebs—call centers that combine Web
channels with portal-like self-service
Justifying CRM programs—two problems
Most of the benefits are intangible
Substantial benefits obtained only from loyal
customers, after several years
AIS 360
10
Metrics
Metrics—measures of performance; may be
quantitative or qualitative. How much customer
service to provide..
Security and privacy
On-time order
fulfillment
Return policy
Navigability
Response times
Site availability
Download times
Timeliness
AIS 360
11
Web Advertising
Advertising is an attempt to disseminate
information in order to affect a buyer-seller
transaction
Interactive marketing—marketing that allows
a consumer to interact with an online seller
Two-way communication and e-mail capabilities
Vendors also can target specific groups and
individuals
Enables truly one-to-one advertising
AIS 360
12
Internet Advertising Terminology
Ad views—number of times users call up a page
that has a banner on it during a specific time
period; known as impressions or page views.
Button—a small banner that is linked to a Web
site
Page—HTML document
Click—a count made each time a visitor clicks on
an advertising banner to access the advertiser ‘s
Web site (ad clicks and click throughs)
AIS 360
13
Internet Advertising Terminology (cont.)
CPM (cost per thousand impressions)—fee an
advertiser pays for each 1,000 times a page
with a banner ad is viewed
Hit—request for data from a Web page or file
Visit—a series of requests during one
navigation of a Web a site; a pause of request
for a certain length of time ends a visit
AIS 360
14
Why Internet Advertisement?
3/4 of PC users gave up some television time
Well educated, high-income Internet users
are a desired target for advertisers
Internet is by far the fastest growing
communication medium
Advertisers are interested in a medium with
such potential reach, both locally and
globally
AIS 360
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Why Internet Advertisement? (cont.)
Cost
Online ads are cheaper than those in other media
Ads can be updated at any time with minimal cost
Richness of format
Use of text, audio, graphics, and animation
Games, entertainment, and promotions are easily
combined in online ads
Personalization
Can be interactive
Can target specific interest groups and/or individuals
AIS 360
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Advertising Networks
Advertising networks (ad server networks)—
specialized firms that offer customized Web
advertising, such as brokering ads and helping
target ads to selected groups of consumers
One-to-one targeted ads and marketing can
be:
Expensive
Very rewarding
Very effective
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods
Banner--on a Web page, a graphic advertising
display linked to the advertiser’s Web page
Keyword banners
Random banners
Benefits of banner ads
Customized to the target audience or one-to-one
ads
Utilize “force advertising” marketing strategy
Direct link to advertiser
Multi media capabilities
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
Limitations of banner ads
High cost
Click ratio—the ratio between the number of
clicks on a banner ad and the number of times
it is seen by viewers; measures the success of
a banner in attracting visitors to click on the
ad
Declining click ratio—viewers have become
immune to banners
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
Banner swapping—an agreement between two
companies to each display the other’s banner
ad on its Web site
Direct link between one site to the other site
Ad space bartering
Banner exchanges—markets in which companies
can trade or exchange placement of banner ads
on each other’s Web sites (bcentral.com)
Still the largest Internet advertising medium
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
Pop-under ad—an ad that appears underneath
the current browser window, so when the user
closes the active window, they see the ad
Interstitials– an initial Web page or a portion of it
that is used to capture the user’s attention for a
short time while other content is loading
E-mail
Several million users may be reached directly
Problems: junk mail, spamming
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
Standardized ads—on February 26, 2001, the
Internet Advertising Bureau, an industry
trade group, adopted five standard ad sizes
for the Internet:
1.Larger and more noticeable than banner ads
2.Look like the ads in a newspaper or magazine
3.Users read these ads four times more
frequently than banners
4.Appear on Web sites in columns or boxes
AIS 360
22
Advertisement Methods (cont.)
5. Skyscraper ad—full
column-deep
Classified ad—a
newspaper-like ad
Sometimes as
many as four on
one Web page
Interactive—click
on a link inside
the ad for more
information about
a product or
service
AIS 360
Special sites like
classifieds2000.com
Online newspapers,
exchanges, portals ,
Regular-size classified
ads is free
Larger size or with
some noticeable
features is done for a
fee
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
URL (Universal Resource Locators)
Advantages:
Minimal cost is associated with it
Submit your URL to a search engine and be
listed
Keyword search is used
Disadvantages:
Search engines index their listings differently
Meta tags can be complicated
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
Optimizing Web content improves discovery by
a search engine
Keywordcount.com
Searchenginewatch.com
Paid search-engine inclusion
Several search engines charge fees for
including URLs near the top of the search
results
A debatable issue is the ethics of this
strategy
AIS 360
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Advertisement Methods (cont.)
Advertising in chat rooms
Virtual meeting ground
Free addition to a business site
Allows advertisers to cycle through messages and
target the chatter again and again
Advertising can become more thematic
More effective than banners
Used for one-to-one connections
Advertorial—an advertisement “disguised” to look
like an editorial or general
information
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AIS 360
Summary
Implementing customer service
Objectives and characteristics of Web advertising
Major online advertising methods
AIS 360
27