Customer Service

In the age of online shopping and city-sized warehouse stores, brand loyalty is at a crossroads. Consumer preference is now increasingly driven through new experiences like product reviews, social media and other forms of communication that both allow and empower consumers to compare prices, products and services. Best quality and best pricing are musts for consumers in the decision-making process. As such, brands and retailers must take a long, hard look at their short-term discounting strategies.

The average conversion rate on retailer websites sits in the low- to mid-single digits. In comparison, the average conversion rate in offline stores is over 60 percent. Closing this gap could represent one of the largest sources of growth opportunity for retailers today and yet our work with retailers suggests they're not focusing on the crucial ingredients to make it happen. Retailers have a secret sauce that many multicategory online retailers don't: high-quality, experienced merchants who are on the front lines and understand what their customers want.

Etsy launched a seller rating system called Customer Service Stats in February to the concern of sellers who feared Etsy would use them to affect their standings in search. Sellers also feared Etsy would eventually share the ratings with buyers, despite

Say you're going to start a company, and the first thing you want to do is provide amazing customer service. Are you going to hire the brilliant person who alienates customers? Or are you going to hire the friendly person who can't solve a problem? You probably want both qualities

Recently, we learned that Amazon gives special treatment to its own merchants. The site expunges reviews that criticize Amazon's own shipping, fulfillment, and packaging. The practice flies in the face of all the best practices for hosting website consumer reviews — and isn't that risky? The reality is that because of its size, market dominance, and generally sterling customer service reputation, Amazon might be able to get away with this conduct. Smaller companies, however, shouldn't try to do the same.

As the country's oldest retailer (established in 1818), Brooks Brothers has had its fair share of customers over the years. In that time the men's business and casual apparel retailer has learned that to continue its legacy as one of America's most respected brands, it must listen to what those customers have to say and then make changes based on that feedback. At the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York City yesterday, Ken Seiff, executive vice president of direct and omnichannel at Brooks Brothers, discussed his company's customer-centric philosophy.