What Do Buyers Want?

I have written about retails troubles before, but this KPMG global survey asks 18,430 consumers about their most recent online shopping experiences.

“Today’s consumer no longer goes shopping, but is shopping, all the time and everywhere. And in a truly global online marketplace, competition is no longer limited to local shops during regular business hours. Consumers can easily buy from retailers and manufacturers located anywhere in the world – or from those with no physical retail locations at all,” comments Willy Kruh, Global Chair, Consumer Markets, KPMG International.[KPMG]

That means the competition is blood red. It is leaving bodies in the road (American Apparel, Sports Authority, etc).

It also means that buyers are always shopping for your stuff too! Retail buying habits bleed into what we do – B2B selling.

Key point from KPMG: “Excellent customer support was the number one loyalty-earning attribute, cited by 65 percent of the respondents.”

A key point from a phone call today: “Who is taking care of the customer experience?” If you are in UCaaS, who is managing the user experience? Who is making certain that the users can access softphones and that they work? Who is training and re-training on system features and functionality?

From the time the contract is inked, the real work begins. In that sense it isn’t a retail experience, where free shipping or 1-click shopping are priorities. Implementation, deployment, training and user experience. Who’s doing that well?

Tags: customer service, hosted pbx, retail, UC, UX, voip
Related tags: shopping, experience, retail, training, global