DOT.COM DELAYS MEAN INSTANT TURN-OFF

DOT.COM DELAYS MEAN INSTANT TURN-OFF

Lucrative online customers are being turned off by businesses that fail to provide adequate customer support and expect them to hang around and wait for service. This is the stark warning issued by market-leading customer response solutions company, NetCall.

Backed up by the Henley Centre's Teleculture 2000 report that claims 78 per cent of consumers would go to another company if a single transaction was handled badly, it is clear that online retailers must improve their customer handling processes. Otherwise customers who swoop to their websites will vanish just as quickly to locations that offer better service.

Launching a campaign to promote a more people-friendly, professional approach to online trading, David Rothschild, chief executive of NetCall declares, The e-tailing business is completely different from high street shopping. With people leading such busy lives, every second counts. Rapid response and fast fulfilment is the name of the game. Waiting patiently for service may be the norm in banks and shops, but once online people play by different rules. 'I want it and I want it now! is the defining characteristic of most online shoppers."

Amid the frenzy of firms that rushed into e-tailing, vast sums have been squandered by traders who fail to match customers expectations. Casual online 'window shoppers can easily be converted to impulse buyers -- but not if essential information is missing or the customer has to endure a drawn-out exchange of e-mails with suppliers. Many e-tailers have still to take on board the psychology of online purchasing and need to identify the key triggers that turn online interest into sales.

NetCalls web, WAP and TV callback services enable businesses to target customer service more effectively by making it easy for online customers to ask for personal assistance. A simple click, call, connect process automatically connects an online customer to an advisor who can answer queries and close the sale. Real time screen interaction takes the concept a stage further by enabling retailers to talk to customers on the phone and simultaneously guide them to new products and services on their website.

Call information is captured to form a comprehensive audit trail of all calls, giving retailers vital customer response statistics to improve sales tracking and measurement. Retailers can also alleviate the irritation of call queues with a new solution from NetCall that allows customers to hang up while retaining their position in the queue and receive an automatic call back when an operator is free to speak to them.

Progressive retailers recognise the competitive advantage offered by implementing customer response solutions. The aim is to build customer loyalty and retention while enabling a retailer to operate more efficiently. NetCall offers broad functionality to the way a call is controlled and delivered so that retailers can build bespoke applications tailored to their needs.

David Rothschild concludes, Recent jitters in the dot.com market point to the need for a much more customer-focused approach. To capitalise on the potential of e-commerce many companies must rethink their business model and customer service operations. The online shopping experience should be as easy, quick and customer-friendly as possible. As competition hots up and customers become more discriminating, only those businesses that meet this challenge will survive."

 For enquiries regarding this news release please contact Theresa Prevost or Helen Limbrick at Warman & Bannister, tel: +44 1223 314545
 For enquiries regarding the Teleculture 2000 report please contact Sarah Minns, The Henley Centre on 020 7955 1800.

About NetCall

NetCall develops and delivers customer response solutions for e-commerce that can entirely change the way a company deals with its customers. NetCall enables businesses to radically improve customer service and capture response to online, WAP, TV and print-based communications by instantly connecting people to someone they can talk to, at anytime in real time. NetCall's HyperPhone LinkTM technology is a powerful interactive toolset that can initiate a live phone call and capture customer data from any digital stimulus.

NetCall applications are low-cost, reliable and scalable; they integrate easily within any existing telephony and IT environment with no need for additional software and hardware. The company uses its proprietary software to manage calls across its international network of servers and telephony nodes situated in the UK, USA and South Africa.

Over 2000 companies subscribe to NetCall's services. The company has OEM relationships with IT partners to develop new applications. Its solutions span many vertical market sectors including retail, travel, leisure, call centres, financial services, distribution and logistics, TV and classified advertising.

NetCall achieved highest ranking of any technology company in the latest (March 2000) Bain & Company/Management Today e25 index of European e-commerce.

NetCalls European headquarters and R&D centre are based near Cambridge UK. NetCalls North American HQ is in Boston, USA. The company is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.

For more information/photography contact Adrian Smith/Theresa Prevost/Helen Limbrick at Warman & Bannister, +44 (0)1223 314545 or email TheresaP@warban.com