Online commerce gives customers the best available prices, convenience, and 24/7 access to the products and services they want to purchase from any merchant around the world with a digital presence. Many people see this as a great convenience, but there are customers that want to interact with a human being during the purchasing process and later if they encounter a problem with their purchase. This is why many people still shop at brick and mortar stores, because they can see who they're talking to and they can always go back if said problem takes place. So how can an online merchant take these customers away from the physical stores?
The answer once again comes from a service Amazon provides, the MayDay button. This ingenious tool allows anyone with a Kindle to use video chat with the customer representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year; something brick and mortar stores can't do. The MayDay button also includes a handy co-browsing feature that allows representatives to see a user’s screen and assist him or her with the problem, even being able to draw on the user’s screen to help visually explain.
Granted, the in-store, in-person experience is something no online store can duplicate, but low prices, convenience and now a live representative to walk you through any problem or purchase may be enough to sway a lot of people from choosing Amazon over many online and physical retail shops.
The MayDay feature is available to all Kindle owners, this means you don't have to have a special device, belong to a club or pay additional fees in order to access this great service. The only downside is you have to own the Kindle, but the company is considering offering the service to its online marketplace in the future, making all its customers feel special.
Considering 81 percent of shoppers are willing to pay more for better customer experience, it makes you wonder why everyone is not using video chat technology to increase brand loyalty. One company that has learned from the benefit this service provides and introduced its own version of the MayDay button is Salesforce.
The Salesforce 1 Service Cloud SOS (News - Alert) allows VARs (value added resellers) to embed into their client’s mobile application a button that connects them to an agent with a live support as well as an on-screen guided assistance, just like Amazon.
Eventually this will become a standard option for any organization that has an online presence if they want to stay in business. Luckily new technology such as WebRTC is going to make it so affordable, even a one man operation will be able to talk to their customers live and in person, whether they are across town or in New Zealand.
Edited by Alisen Downey