Customer Interface: Web enabled changes

1
Customer Interface Web enabled changes

• Internet technology has shifted the ways
  consumers interact with firms.

2
7 Design Elements of the Customer Interface (7
Cs) from Mohammed, Fisher, Jaworski, and
Paddison (2002)

• Context
• Content
• Community
• Customization
• Communication
• Connection
• Commerce

3
Context

• Aesthetics and functional look how things are
  presented (section breakdown, linking structures,
  and navigation tools)
• Graphics
• Colors
• Design features
• Ease of navigation
• www.ceoexpress.com
• www.tiffany.com
• www.apple.com

4
Content

• What things are presented - Digital subject
  matter presented in
• Text
• Video
• Audio
• Graphics

5
Content Dimensions

• Offering Mix products, info, services
• Appeal Mix Cognitive (low price, reliability,
  availability, customer support, personalization)
  and Emotional (humor, novelty, warmth, or
  stories)
• Multimedia Mix (text, audio, image, video,
  graphics)
• Content Type (determines time sensitivity of
  site)
• www.rei.com www.burton.com

6
Community

• Set of relationships built around common
  interests adds value above the individual
• Consumer to consumer
• Consumer to firm
• E.g., message boards and live chats

7
Customization

• Ability of site to modify itself or be modified
  by the user
• Tailoring when modified by itself (based on
  past behavior or behavior of users with similar
  preferences
• Personalization when modification is initiated
  and managed by user (login registration, cookies,
  personalized e-mail accounts, content and layout
  configuration, storage, agents)

8
Communication

• Dialogue between the website and its users
• Firm-to-user (e-mail)
• User-to-firm (customer service request)
• User-to-user (instant messaging)
• Three types of communication broadcast (one-way)
  through mass mailings, FAQs, e-mail newsletters,
  content update notifications, broadcast events,
  interactive (two-way) through e-commerce dialogue
  for order placement, tracking, and fulfillment,
  customer service, user inputs, and hybrid (combo)
  

9
Connection

• Network of links between the site and other sites
• Clickable links to send user to other sites
• Clickable links on other sites sending user to
  target site

10
Commerce

• Transactional capacity of site sale of goods,
  products, or services and accompanying services
  such as
• Shopping carts
• Shipping
• Payment options
• Checkout
• Order confirmation capabilities

11
Each of the 7 Cs Need to Fit and Reinforce the
Other

• Content
• Context
• Community
• Communication
• Customization
• Connection
• Commerce