Moira Clark

Online Customer Experience: A Review of the Business-to-Consumer Online Purchase Context

Customer interactions with an organizations website create opportunities for positive experiences that can lead to long-term relationship building. The range of potential interactions is now quite diverse, including product information search, purchase transaction and/or service delivery. The domain of customer experience (CE) is well developed in the face-to-face context, but little attention has been paid to exploring the concept in the online context. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the online consumer literature in order to inform understanding of the antecedents and consequences of online customer experience (OCE) in the purchase context. The paper offers four important contributions for both academics and practitioners. First, it adds to understanding of OCE in the purchase context and, second, specifically recognizes and discusses the antecedents of OCE by drawing on existing literature relating to online consumer purchase. Third, it proposes the potential consequences of OCE and provides a framework for future testing. Finally, the paper addresses a problem of relevance to both academics and practitioners, and proposes future research and managerial implications.

Segmentation and customer insight in contemporary services marketing practice:why grouping customers is no longer enough

The bulk of market segmentation literature has concerned the generation of segments, with far less attention on what segmentation is used for – particularly surprising given the common speculations that the role of segmentation is changing due to CRM practices and the wider range of forms of customer insight which they enable. We explore market segmentation in the services and product-service systems context through twenty-five interviews in five UK-based companies, highlighting practical considerations in implementing market segmentation programs (see Young, Ott and Feigin 1978, for a similar early approach). Within this case set, market segmentation, using a variety of segmentation bases, is still regarded as essential for customer selection, proposition development and mass communication. Addressable and interactive communications with individual customers, though, are increasingly based on individualised customer analytics and propensity modelling, which aid the determination of the likelihood of uptake of specific propositions. Events and triggers informing companies of how to deal with customers individually are also considered to be particularly effective rather than simple allocation of the customer to a particular characteristic segment. Implications for theory and practice in market segmentation are outlined and further research is called for to explore this important area further.

Customer service 140 characters at a time: The users' perspective

Abstract Electronic word of mouth (eWoM) has been adopted by Internet users as a way of communicating their consumption preferences and experiences. Consumers are able to reach out to others, unknown to them, and have online conversations that can influence their behaviour. Organisations need to understand how to respond to these brand-related conversations conducted via social media. By looking through the lens of social capital, this paper contributes to social media and social capital research by studying the perceptions that 44 social media users have of companies that interact with them online. The users value social networks and support as part of their online relationships. However, several new value categories are identified when compared to previous research. Further research is required to investigate possible segmentation approaches and alternative methodological choices.

The ethical dilemmas and challenges of ethnographic research in electronic communities

Research into the phenomenon of electronic communities is a rapidly emerging field. Coupled with the ferocity of viral marketing and the substantial take-up of social networking sites online, newly found electronic communities of consumers are in abundance (Hagel & Armstrong 1997; Anderson 1999; Kozinets 1999, 2002; Wachter et al. 2000; Johnson 2001; Siu 2002). Marketers are quickly realising the importance of these communities by studying consumer interactions with one another as a means of: understanding consumer behaviour (Bagozzi & Dholakia 2002; Boyd 2002; Maclaren & Catterall 2002; Powers 2003; Szmigin & Repell 2004); exploring emerging market opportunities (Kardaras et al. 2003) and in fostering the development of committed relationships and increasing brand awareness, among others (Kozinets 2002). One approach aimed at a detailed, interpretive understanding of consumer activity is ethnography. Virtual ethnography – also called technography, netnography or ethnography on the internet – is quickly establishing itself as a rich alternative to more common methods of inquiry, such as survey research, aimed at understanding in depth the cultural implications of the internet.

Emerging segmentation practices in the age of the social customer

This paper reports on an exploratory study of segmentation practices of organisations with a social media presence. It investigates whether traditional segmentation approaches are still relevant in this new socio-technical environment and identifies emerging practices. The study found that social media are particularly promising in terms of targeting influencers, enabling the cost-effective delivery of personalised messages and engaging with numerous customer segments in a differentiated way. However, some problems previously identified in the segmentation literature still occur in the social media environment, such as the technical challenge of integrating databases, the preference for pragmatic rather than complex solutions and the lack of relevant analytical skills. Overall, a gap has emerged between marketing theory and practice. While segmentation is far from obsolete in the age of the social customer, it needs to adapt to reflect the characteristics of the new media.

Business Success through Service Excellence

Foreword Acknowledgements Managing service excellence Customer intelligence Operational effectiveness Engaging people Leadership and values Organizational agility Service excellence best practice Appendix 1 - Service excellence awards - self-assessment.

Toward a classification system of relational activity in consumer electronic communities: the moderators' tale

Increasingly, consumers are turning toward electronic community as a form of expression, giving marketers the opportunity to understand and communicate with consumers in specialist fields. Vast differences exist in the nature and performance of electronic communities, making selecting a community difficult. This article proposes a classification system based on in-depth personal construct interviews with experts from a leading European moderating organization. It reports on the empirical results of 10 differentiating features of relational activity across communities: content of discussions, diversity, frequency, quality of interaction, levels of commitment, interpersonal perceptions, reciprocity and complementarity, power and conflict, self-disclosure, and levels of satisfaction reported in community relationships.