Online sales 'still require good customer service'

Those in sales jobs should treat an online transaction the same as if they were closing a deal face-to-face, an expert warns.

Geoff Galat, vice president of marketing and product strategy at online customer experience management firm Tealeaf, claims consumers will treat sales made over the internet as they would in a shop environment.

He says poor customer service will still damage a brand in a significant manner and suggests this needs to be taken into account by staff in online sales jobs.

A survey released by his company finds 40 per cent of shoppers who experienced a low level of customer service stopped using the website for purchases after this.

Mr Galat says: "What's really interesting is that when people experience issues they share these experiences with the specific intent of discouraging others from doing business with that company."

He warns staff in online sales jobs that poor customer service "lives forever" and may continue to damage the company long after the transaction in question.

In the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index released in July, shoppers from the UK spent £26.5 billion online in the first two quarters of the year.

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Filed: 23-09-2008