All projects: Gel, Jobs, Gootodo, Games, Uncle Mark, Goovite, Blog, Bit Literacy
Customer experience in the news (June 2007)
Three customer experience pieces I saw in the news recently:
- - -
In Online Sales Lose Steam, The New York Times reported this past
Sunday that online retail growth is slowing. The article offered
only anecdotal reasons why, but I think the customer experience
remains the key driver of online business: one customer complained
that buying from etailers still felt too much like work.
- - -
In "Bringing free software down to earth," The Economist reports on
Mark Shuttleworth's effort to create a user-friendly version of the
Linux operating system, which has historically been too difficult
and obscure for practically anyone except, well, Linux geeks:
...the truth is that most computer users do not know or care about the politics of open-source software. Mr Shuttleworth says most people simply want to read their e-mail, browse the web and so on.
The article goes on to describe that - unfortunately, in my opinion - Shuttleworth is spending a lot of time creating three-dimensional online worlds for Linux users to collaborate. What happened to people simply checking e-mail?
Link to Linux story (reg. required)
- - -
eBay is redesigning: "Under pressure from analysts and investors to jump-start growth in its core auctions business, eBay is making a series of upgrades intended to make the site more friendly to buyers."
I hope they're using good customer experience-focused strategy and research (like what's listed here)... I've always thought eBay was one of the more cluttered and difficult e-commerce sites. Kudos to them for taking the plunge, despite their installed base of users who may be resistant to the changes.
I am really worry by whatI read in the news media. Phrase such as: "eBay just added a ''bid assistant'' program that lets people put multiple items on a wish lis" make me me nervous.
Hope they will get user experience specialist that understand both novice and expert users
I start getting nervous when I hear about the pressure Wall Street puts on companies to increase value in ways that concentrate on benefits for one set of *stake*holders at the expense of others (e.g. GM and Costco vis-a-vis the "drag" on *share*holder value by employee health benefit costs.) Costco's positon was that a content, and stable employee-base better serves the customer, and keeps them coming back to their store, which seems like it should be a priority.
Based on the article, it seemed that in the past eBay had made changes gradually in order not to upset their sellers. The article also pointed out that they were painfully aware that they derive a large % of their revenue from the fees charged to sellers. What I wonder, is if they alienate sellers couldn't this possibly end up adversely impacting buyers in some form or fashion, in the long run?