SmallBusinessNewz

If you've been reading SmallBusinessNewz for a while, you can probably tell that we can't get enough of the customer satisfaction talk. It is after all, one of the most important elements to running a business.

Our own Jason Miller has posted a good look at ways to get and keep customers over at WebProNews. I suggest reading it, particularly if you are in the business of running an online store.

Everybody loves lists though, and Jason's article has three of them, so as a time saver, for those of you interested, allow me to duplicate those lists here for a look at some interesting facts.

List 1: Many Sites Have Failed to Serve Their Customers.

1. Only 37 percent offer multiple images views of products.

2. Only 33 percent offer customer reviews.

3. 62 percent have difficult to read fonts.

4. Only 14 percent allow customers to change the font.

5. Only 43 percent offer free shipping.

6. Almost two-thirds do not offer in-stock information on the product page.

7. While just over half of online retailers have physical stores, only 10 percent offer in-store pickup.

8. 58 percent do not offer shipping costs early in the checkout process. One third have checkout processes with more than 4 steps.

9. Only 58 percent correctly answer an e-mail question within 24 hours.

10. Around 80 percent don't seem to get that more ways to pay means more ways to buy. 20 percent offer pay-by-check, 10 percent offer Google Checkout, 20 percent accept PayPal and 18 percent offer Bill Me Later.

List 2: The Tips

- Search is fundamental. Be there at every entry point possible.

- The landing page is crucial. You should have a landing page relevant to the search term. Yes, this is going to take some time to develop. But it doesn't take any time for a potential customer to abandon you. In fact, it takes half a blink to form an impression, and if that page isn't loaded in under four seconds, it takes less than half a blink to hit the back button. Just remember, information seekers scan from left to right, top to bottom, so keep those keywords, beginning with the search link, to the right and not buried in chunks of text. Make sure it's clear where links lead, especially if navigating a customer away from a landing page.

- Product information should be complete, answering all the customer's questions. A survey found 77 percent said "buying from a particular merchant is 'very to somewhat' influenced by the quality of content (descriptions, copy, images and tools) on a particular website.

- Images are vital. One day, when smell-o-vision, holographic imaging, and virtual reality tactile-experience suits are reality, we can better recreate the actual store-bought experience. Until then, we have pretty pictures, even video demonstrations. Get Elastic has a pretty comprehensive guide to making the photo experience better for customers.

List 3: The e-Tailing Group's 10 features and functionalities as the most important to customers:

1.    Product overview
2.    Merchant's guarantee
3.    Stock status/availability
4.    Quality of image
5.    Customer service links
6.    Product specific information
7.    Long description
8.    Size chart
9.    Toll-free number
10.  Ratings and reviews

These are some pretty useful things to know if you are running an online business, particularly if customer retention seems to be a problem.

Comment on Jason's Article.