A Need for Survival

Authors

Authors: Sanjib Dutta & Anil Kumar Kartham,
Senior Faculty Member, Faculty Associate,
ICMR (IBS Center for Management Research).

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Serving the 'King' Contd...

After all, long term relationship and mutual trust are the key to customer service. The Internet allows to deliver customer service on a 24/7 basis-7 days per week, 24 hours per day. This is a great opportunity- Online service can be as simple as FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions), or as complex as interactive text, voice, or video service delivered in real time.

Some classic examples of these type of services offered by the firms are as follows:

* The passengers of Indian railways can check their ticket status along with train timings/schedules through web and personal mobile.
* British Airways provides online booking and payment facility for ticketing and helps in planning an itinerary in easy steps.
* Websites of Hertz and Avis give the details of different types of vehicles, their features number of days the vehicle is required, pick and drop time and facility to calculate hire charges while confirming the booking.
* FedEx has well established logistics system and the package can be tracked just by entering the airway bill number on its website.

Moreover, almost every website provides a facility to download application forms, free articles, training material, and product and services details etc., which really saves the valuable time of the customers and without incurring any costs. Nowadays, most of the news channels like AAJ TAK, NDTV etc are operating on a 24/7 basis. More and more companies worldwide are trying to go the web way in this technology driven era.

Online Consultancy Services are the practices of giving expert advice within a particular field online. Examples:

* www.economictimes.com provides online legal consultancy called "Ask Experts" by charging Rs. 500 for each query.
* www.apollolife.com provides advice on health matters for different target groups like individuals, doctors, medical students etc. It provides updated information on the health, news, tips and features on the healthcare, diets, fitness etc. Thus, rich content in the websites is really helpful as it delights the customers by providing lively, informative and engaging content.
* Asian paints provide a free online interior consultancy for visitors who log on to its website.

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