With tough economic times and increasing customer expectations for free shipping, how can retailers keep offering customers free (or competitive) shipping rates without sinking ship?

One way to run a tighter ship is to work with several carriers, and select the lowest priced carrier based on real-time, per parcel lookup to take advantage of fluctuating rates and competition. Rate shopping software like Anyrate or Logicor coupled with warehouse management systems can determine prices based on parcel dimension, weight, destination and delivery date.

Another approach is to nurture a relationship with one carrier which may cost more on paper but has its advantages. Good carrier relations help you negotiate better rates and even receive better service, which helps you satisfy your customers better. Price isn’t the bottom line when it comes to shipping if speed, reliability and customer service are compromised. You could end up paying far more in returned items that were damaged in transit, and lose long time customers to one bad experience.

What’s your experience? Has rate shopping saved you thousands? Has fidelity paid off?

Remember this cheesy commercial from the 80’s for Faberge shampoo?

Can’t see video? Visit this post on the Web.

Along with Faberge shampoo, the “Tell 2 Friends” adage has gone the way of the Dodo. In the Age of Twitter, it’s more like “Tell 2000 Friends.”

Consider this Tweet from Bazaarvoice CMO Sam Decker. Over 2000 of his followers potentially caught this tweet: “On hold too long with Zappos. I think my expectations are higher after hearing so much about their customer service.”

Zappos customer service did catch that tweet, and followed up swiftly with a coupon:

“Impressed @Zappos_Service saw my tweeted issue and emailed me a coupon as an apology. How many companies do that??”

And now I’m sharing the story with over 8000 Get Elastic readers.

Using Twitter for Customer Service

Consider watching Twitter in real time for mention of your brand name. It’s as simple as heading to http://search.twitter.com/ and typing in the terms you want to watch. You can even search like this:

“linda bustos” OR “get elastic” OR “getelastic” OR “elastic path” OR “roxyyo” OR “elasticpath”

Have your customer service reps keep a tab with the search and check every so often, or use a desktop client like Seesmic Desktop that will alert you for every instance of your tracked words.

This is also an example of how Twitter can be faster than email or phone communication - offering it as an option for Twitter users to contact your customer service reps directly rather than blasting a tweet to everyone can help avoid rants in the public forum.

Quick response is optimal, but any response is better than no response. How you handle positive/negative tweets is up to you, but the first step is to create that feedback loop so you can hear what people are saying about you.

A few months ago I went through the process of configuring a custom wheelchair at Spinlife.com. I needed help understanding the options and called customer service. Lisa walked me through the process like a knowledgeable saleswoman and prepared a custom quotation for me which I received by email.

Turns out I decided not to buy a new wheelchair and never returned to Spinlife to complete my order. Spinlife sent me a reminder email that’s done so well I had to share it on Get Elastic.

Why is this so great?

1. Designed for images off.

Except for the logo, 110% Price Guarantee and cross-sells, the content is displayed properly in Gmail which by default turns images off.

My only suggestion is to add alternative image text mentioning the 110% Price Guarantee which is a strong value proposition. This is also a good practice for visually impaired users.

2. Prominent value proposition.

The email is attempting to get me to convert from Spinlife though I have other purchase options including local stores (more than double the price). The Price Guarantee is appropriate and effective.

3. Clearly states this is a quote, not a bill.

I think it would be better to mention this is a quote, not an invoice directly above the Order Details as anything in the top right hand corner may be missed depending on how the customer scans the page. Otherwise, this is very well done.

4. The 3 action options are clearly explained.

The customer understands that the cart can be edited, the purchase can be deferred a bit longer with another reminder sent, or the customer can opt out of future notification.

5. Suggests other products.

“Looking for something else?” A great question to ask to make some money off the trigger, even if the customer no longer wants the quoted package.

After opting out, I was met with this message:

“Thanks for responding to our email.

Sorry this product didn’t work out for you. Your quote has been cancelled but is still stored in our system under the same number, so if you change your mind you can always call us at 1-800-850-0335 and provide either the quote number or your name.

The quote can be re-activated at anytime (although the price may change). Thanks for working with SpinLife, and we look forward to serving you at another time.”

Fantastic customer service.

Sucharita Mulpuru and Forrester Research recently released a report called Myths And Truths About Online Customer Reviews. The report covers a lot of ground, but I want to hone in on customer behavior after reading negative reviews. Many retailers have avoided adding reviews for fear negative reviews will hurt sales, despite the proven conversion benefits they deliver.

From the report, here are 7 actions consumers take after reading not-so-shining reviews (customers may take more than one action)

“After reading negative customer ratings/reviews about a specific product on a retailer’s Web site, how do you respond?”

• 47% search for an alternative product
• 37% read professional/editor-written reviews of the product
• 26% continue to shop for the product regardless of the negative ratings/reviews
• 18% look for a retailer/manufacturer that offers a money-back guarantee
• 7% contact the retailer for clarification of the issues raised in the negative review
• 7% contact the manufacturer for clarification of the issues raised in the negative review
• 6% post a follow-up question for the author of the negative review

Base: 2,890 US Web buyers who read and/or post online customer ratings/reviews on retail sites (multiple responses accepted)

Source: Myths And Truths About Online Customer Reviews Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research December 2008

How does your website address the actions customers take after encountering a negative review?

8 Ways to Save Sales from Negative Customer Reviews

1. Add link back to category that allows sort-by-customer-review.

Link to category (Diapers.com):

Sort by Customer Review on category page (Backcountry.com):

2. Include star ratings on cross-sells.

When showing alternative items (cross-sells and similar items), it may be helpful for the customer to sort similar items by star rating if you show more than a few suggestions on the product page.

Before / After:

3. Use Expert / Staff Reviews

Including an official staff/expert review and marking it as such builds trust with the product AND your call center. Make it “sticky” as part of your product page so it doesn’t get lost in the haystack of customer reviews.

If you don’t have an official staff review, you can have staff submit reviews and be identified as such with the Power Reviews product (below) or with your own custom build:

Bonus for expert video reviews, like Crutchfield:

Crutchfield also includes a “Customer Favorite” and the “Staff Favorite” on category pages above product results:

4. Show money back guarantees right on product page when available

Backcountry already links to a 100% Guarantee, but the link is not very conspicuous. The guarantee badge is not so pretty, but it stands out being more proximal to the product image.

Before:

After:

5. Allow customers to ask and answer questions on your page. Like Bazaarvoice offers or Backcountry built in-house:

6. Include manufacturer’s website URL and contact number on the product page.

Before:

After:

Make sure the link opens in a new window so you don’t lose your customer, and warn about the new window.

7. Enable comments on customer reviews.

According to the research, 6% post follow up questions for the reviewer (Amazon allows you to leave a comment on a review which may include a question). But there is no guarantee the review writer will ever come back to answer the question.

If you set up a system in your community where a reviewer gets alerted of comments on their reviews, these may become spammy/annoying — unless your incentives for community participation are attractive enough to that reviewer to come back and answer the question(s).

But there’s still value to comments. With a comment thread, even if the reviewer doesn’t answer the question, other community members can. And even better, a negative review may be clarified by a comment.

For example, a common complaint for GPS systems is slow satellite acquisition. A commenter on a review at Amazon replied: “Our satellite acquisition problems on the [model] were completely solved via a software update, which the CSR walked us through.”

Another responded “Unfortunately, it sounds like the receiver chip in your unit is probably the **** chip (not well received) instead of the *** chip (highly received). Hopefully a firmware update will help.”

Now shoppers reading reviews can understand there is a solution to the problem with the product, and decide whether it’s an acceptable problem and solution.

8. Know when to offer live chat. Here’s where you can get creative. Consider tagging customers who sort by average customer review on the category page with an attribute that associates them with an interest in customer reviews. If they linger on the product page for more than X minutes, invite them to chat.

This can also help you control live chat costs. You don’t want to offer your CSR services to every single customer. Customers who always sort by lowest price are likely A) less profitable and B) not concerned with chatting about the qualitative virtues of a product. They rely on your search and sort features to tell them if a product/price is attractive or not. Pop-ups interrupt this process and may irritate customers.

Think Positively About Negative Reviews

The recent Belkin fiasco is a perfect example of why you should welcome negative reviews - without a few negatives the reviews seem inauthentic. Customers want to see a mix of positive and negative reviews - so offer them, but make sure you support the customer who wants additional information, alternative suggestions or personal assistance.

And don’t forget, accepting negative reviews also helps your copywriting.

I’ve written before how showing products in context with product images can help increase conversion. Showing a product in use, on a model or its relative size reduces customer anxiety about the appropriateness of a product. Of course, video can be even more effective (just ask Shoeline.com who achieved a 44% increase in conversion with video).

But creative manufacturers like Timbuk2 also describe products in context with creativity and humor. A member of outdoor gear retailer Backcountry.com’s community noticed Timbuk2’s unique way of explaining the volume of its messenger bag capacity, and it found its way to Backcountry’s product page for the Timbuk2 Messenger Bag.

Customer question: Whats the volume of the extra large?

Answer:

The extra large bag has a TPRCV of 20.

What is TPRCV you ask?

The geniuses at Timbuk2 explain it best:

We know you don’t have time to buy the wrong size bag. We also know you’re imaginative and visually oriented problem solvers living in a three dimensional world where toilet paper is routinely available.

Soft, stackable and building block-like, toilet paper rolls can be easily arranged to simulate the internal dimensions of any bag.

Working in tandem with our R&D department, our marketing team recently completed an assessment of each bag. We have identified, down to the roll, the maximum capacity for each bag we tested. The resulting TPRCV (Toilet Paper Roll Capacity Value) can be used in a simple, at-home comparison of corresponding stacks of TPR, helping you make an informed decision about what size bag best suits your purposes.

You will need a flat, level surface, a maximum of twenty-one toilet paper rolls (TPRs), your imagination, and your design and rendering skills.

For best results, use two-ply.

By: Matt Fuller
August 9, 2008

This is a “cheeky” example of how to put a product in-context. For some, “20 toilet paper rolls” is more helpful than 26.25 x 14 x 9in.

Exercise: For the products you carry, anticipate what kinds of use or sizing questions customers may have, and what information is not made obvious by the current image and description. (Hint: read a lot of customer reviews - from your site and competitors).

PS: Backcountry has a leaderboard for user-generated content to recognize the contributions of photos, reviews, questions and answers. “Gear Gurus” are encouraged to use their real names to build real community. Check it out here.