Transparent Customer Relations are the Key to SuccessCategory: Publishing
Article posted by: Andrea Lachmuth
Walter Meyer, executive director of Onlineprinters GmbH, in an interview with Trusted Shops.
Neustadt an der Aisch - For Walter Meyer, executive director of Onlineprinters GmbH located in Middle Franconia, a region of Bavaria, Germany, transparent customer relations are the key to success. The online printer impressed its customers with the evaluation portal of Trusted Shops, issuer of seals of excellence. Customer satisfaction is reflected in evaluations of the international online shop www.onlineprinters.com.
To what extent will customer evaluation change e-commerce?
Customers increasingly use the internet as source of information before they make a purchase decision. Content placed in the internet by users plays a steadily increasing role in online shopping. They want to know: What do other users write in forums and blogs and which experience has been made with the online shop of my interest? This feedback on a positive experience from a like-minded person gives the buyer confidence and assurance: Here I cannot make a mistake with an online purchase. Independent evaluations are guideposts. Having such a serious and certified customer evaluation portal on my website saves the online buyer time. He does not need to google through forums in order to obtain information on products and the reliability of our company. With the transparent evaluation portal on the cover page of our online shop http://onlineprinters.com we gain a bonus of trust with potential new customers. You read “excellent” and a positive gut instinct develops spontaneously. This supports the purchase decision. The result: Certified online shops with an independent and public evaluation portal will strongly expand their competitive advantage in e-commerce.
Which significance does customer evaluation have for your business success?
Customer evaluations have always been important for our online printing company. We have been maintaining a link for “praise & criticism” in our internet shop for years. Here e-mails from customers arrive every day that give us feedback or require clarification. Our quality manager takes care of all e-mails personally. Admittedly, this is work-intensive, but this communication is a central theme in our continuous product improvement and quality control. We have been searching for a long time for a system that simplifies the interaction with customers. The implementation of an independent evaluation system from Trusted Shops has exactly met our needs.
What does a good customer evaluation system have to do?
Communication in Web 2.0 is not a one-way street. The customer decides, where and when he clicks and at the end of his trip through the web he forms an opinion - also about us. We, as online printing company, use this chance and maintain the interactive communication with our customers that arises through customers’ comments. An online shop that has a bad image cannot hide this in the internet. By implication that means for us to approach our customers and to give them the opportunity to express their opinion about us publicly. As top online printing company in Europe, we are very interested in utilising a uniform evaluation system for our German and international online presence. The imagery "five stars = excellent" is understood at first sight by all customers in Europe and has signal effect for clicks.
How do you deal with negative evaluations?
Those who publish customer satisfaction in their online shop must also accept the risk of criticism. Negative feedback is bitter. It appears in the internet and has a public effect. We respond personally to every negative commentary and pursue individual solutions to problems. It is our ambition to satisfy all customers.
My tip: Continuous internal quality management should prepare the way on a long term basis, before an online shop begins with customer communication through a public evaluation system. However, my personal experience shows that the confidence in one’s own competence, in the company and in the staff will be reinforced when one’s own quality is reflected daily through customers.
Why are also negative evaluations important for a shop operator?
Each negative evaluation is an incentive for us to become even better and to eliminate weak spots. Of course, a lot of positive commentaries are a confirmation that we are on the right path. We are extremely proud that 99 percent of the customers give us an “excellent” in the overall evaluation.
To what extent do you also use the customer evaluations for internal process optimisation?
The customer evaluations are itemised in the areas reliability, website, delivery, merchandise, customer service and comments. Through this ratio our staff has an indicator for the quality of their work. In our internal work groups and team manager conferences the customer evaluations are reflected and integrated into the internal improvement process. Our staff and in particular those that do not have customer contact really appreciate this feedback.
Why did you decide on the customer evaluation system of Trusted Shops?
Internal quality management is a prerequisite for a certification. That must come from the online shop operator. As shop operator, I do not receive a seal of excellence without a positive evaluation of the products, service and safety of ordering- and payment processes. We have decided for Trusted Shops since consumer associations recommended the provider of seals of excellence. The public customer evaluation portal is a continuous challenge for the Onlineprinters GmbH to remain in communication with not only the customers that evaluate us but also with the certifier that judges us through customer feedback. The readiness to engage in communication with the customer is often neglected in the anonymous online ordering process. Customer opinions are a guidepost. This interaction with the customer is our key to success on the way to become the leading online printing company.
Posted By: Andrea Lachmuth
Web: http://www.onlineprinters.com
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Onlineprinters GmbH
Department Manager for Press & Public Relations
Rudolf-Diesel-Strasse 10
91413 Neustadt an der Aisch
Germany |
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