The text helps readers get up to speed on the use of emotionally intelligent interfaces (EII). EIIs are driven by data from previous customer transactions to provide each client with the individual attention they deserve. The book explains how to create the infrastructure needed to support EIIs.
For anyone involved in developing, specifying or managing the Web component of their business, here is a strategic plan that will work! Harvard professor Bryan Bergeron clearly and compellingly explains how to take advantage of current
e-commerce technology to convert "clicks" into "sticks" - loyal, delighted customers who keep coming back for more!
"How do you win consumer loyalty in today's economy? Merely satisfying a customer won't result in a loyal customer. It's not enough to meet or even exceed a consumer's needs once and then slack off into business as usual. Loyalty is the fruit of a focused, continuous, well-executed plan of relationship building."
Bryan Bergeron
Whether you're a traditional brick and mortar Fortune 1000 company with an evolving presence or a dotCom startup, the number one challenge in this era of consumerism is building consumer loyalty. Today, consumers are armed with more and more Internet-fueled information and newly acquired sophistication. Make no mistake: they are not predisposed to loyalty. They are drawn to convenience: lowest price, shortest time to delivery and highest quality service. You can't expect customer loyalty - you have to earn it. Fortunately, every customer contact is an opportunity to improve upon a customer relationship and to learn more about customer needs.
So asserts author and Emotionally Intelligent Interface (EII) designer Dr. Bryan Bergeron in this groundbreaking book that explains why EII's are such a critical factor for eCommerce success - and how to take advantage of today's EII technology to more effectively build long and lasting customer relationships.
EII's act as a portal into customer wants and needs. The interface is driven by data from previous interactions, explicit customer preferences, and based on customer profiles. For example, frequent customers of amazon.com are greeted by name when they log on and offered the option of reviewing recommENDations in a variety of categories, based on past purchases. They have the option of sharing their preferences on toys, books or CDs, so that the company can make "smarter" recommENDations in the future. Traffic to The Sharper Image's web site jumped several hundred per cent after the company introduced 3-D animation that allowed shoppers to manipulate products. And Lands' END not only uses 3-D technology to help female shoppers visualize how an outfit would look on them, but also allows online shoppers to interactively "chat live" with customer service representatives.
Full of clear examples, insightful analysis, and practical expert advice, this unique guide is essential for turning customer data collected by intelligent agents into a strong competitive advantage. Part I reviews the current eBusiness environment, introduces basic customer service principles, and outlining the strategic relevance of EII's. Part II examines the technological aspects of EII's, including data warehousing, intelligent agents, and virtual personalities - and provides some historical context on computer-human interaction. Part III presents a sensible strategic plan for preparing the information infrastructure needed to implement EII's into your eBusiness, with due consideration of the organizational factors involved.
