While online businesses know in theory that poor customer service can cost them, few have ever been able to attach monetary value to less-than-robust customer support. A new study by online help desk company Siportly, has done just that.
The YouGov survey of 2,000 U.K. consumers found that 65 percent of them have experienced poor customer service online – either a matter of little effort on the part of the vendor or even downright rudeness -- with nearly as many of those (64 percent) stating they would not return to shop with a company that offered poor service.
With online retail reaching $76.6 billion in 2012, this translates to about $30.6 billion in potential lost sales from less-than-stellar online support.
While Sirportly acknowledges that the figure is an estimate, it still represents a worrying amount of lost sales.
“These numbers are staggering,” said Sirportly Founder Adam Cooke in a statement announcing the study. “Even if this is only half true, it is still a huge amount of money being lost by online businesses. The growth of online retail in the UK has brought with it opportunities and problems. Retailers need to treat online customers as well as they would do offline customers.”
Cooke added, “The challenge is that often online prices reduce margins and yet customer service can be time consuming and expensive to provide. Businesses that are able to adapt and offer outstanding service online, with great products and great prices are more likely to win and retain business.”
While many online companies worry about the attractiveness and the usability of their Web site, they forget about the quality of support personnel they hire to back it up.