參與感留住線上客戶

Many business leaders, disappointed by online sales growth, see Web consumers as disloyal and unwilling to spend.

But that"s because the managers are not exploiting what customers value most: engagement.

Online automobile shoppers want information about cars, yes, but they also want to learn about such other topics as travel, sports, apparel, and finance, our research shows. Online shoppers for upscale clothing might typically want information on art or even business.

許多企業領導人對網路銷售的成長情形感到失望，認為網路客戶既不忠誠，也不願意花錢。其實部分原因是經理人不懂得利用客戶最重視的價值：參與。

在網路上購買汽車的人，確實希望得到汽車相關資訊。但我們的研究顯示，他們也想了解有關旅行、運動、服飾和金融等其他方面的知識。在網路上購買高級服飾的人，通常也可能想知道藝術，甚至企業方面的資訊。

Most firms limit their sites to providing narrow information about the products or services that are for sale. Indeed, the majority of managers we spoke to in our global study told us they believe that a broad array of information diverts attention from the core offerings. But we found it helps customers search for solutions, invites them to think of all the ways the core products might add value to their lives, wins their loyalty, and entices them to buy. In fact, we found that exploiting consumers’ desire for engagement is the single dominant driver of superior shareholder value for e-commerce companies.

大多數公司網站提供的資訊，只限於他們銷售的產品或服務的資料。在我們進行的全球性研究中，接受訪談的經理人大多表示，他們認為提供各種廣泛資訊，會分散客戶對公司核心產品的注意力。但我們發現，豐富的資料可以協助客戶找到解決方案，促使他們思考公司核心產品可能對他們生活帶來的各種益處，因此願意花錢購買，也會對公司展現忠誠。我們發現，利用消費者的參與意願，正是為電子商務公司創造卓越股東價值的最重要動力。

Our research involved an analysis of more than 1,700 e-commerce sites, along with interviews of 238 consumers and 112 managers in the United States, Europe, and Asia over four years. Some 57% of the managers were disappointed by their firms’online sales growth, but only 17% had a plan to change their sites to improve sales – an indication that they didn’t even know how to start turning things around. Most believed that price was the only important way to attract online customers.

經理人。這些經理人約有57％對公司網路銷售的成長情形感到失望，可是只有17％擬定計畫要改進網站以促進銷售。這表示他們甚至不知道應該如何著手扭轉形勢。其中大多數經理人相信，價格是吸引線上客戶的唯一重要方法。

We scored the sites on the five practices that customers said they cared about most, and we found that a higher overall ranking on those practices is associated with greater company value, as measured by Tobin’s Q, the ratio of market value to asset replacement value. In addition, the shares of the 25 companies with the highest-ranking sites outperformed the S&P 500 by two percentage points, on an annual basis, from 2003 through 2006.

我們根據客戶提出的五種他們最重視的實務做法，為這些網站評分，發現公司在這些做法上得到的總體評分愈高，公司的價值就愈大。後者是根據諾貝爾經濟學獎得主托賓的Q比率（Tobin’s Q）來衡量，也就是公司市場價值與資產重置成本的比率。此外，從2003到2006年，網站得分最高的25家公司，每年股價上漲幅度比標準普爾五百股票指數（S&P 500）高出兩個百分點。

Four of the practices are increasingly common and expected by consumers – without them, sites can’t hope to keep buyers around long. They are: personalized shopping, clear categorization, order tracking, and in-depth product-or service-related information. It’s the fifth practice – customer engagement through the provision of information on related products and services– that represents the most significant opportunity.

A high ranking on this practice is a stronger predictor of the company’s Tobin’s Q than the rankings of any of the other four. The top 25 companies for customer engagement outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 12 percentage points, on an annual basis, throughout the period. Only about 23, of the sites in our sample made use of customer engagement practices.

這些做法中，有四種日益普遍並受消費者歡迎，缺了它們，網站不可能長久保有客戶。這些做法是：個人化採購、明確分類、追蹤訂單、與產品或服務相關的深入資訊。第五種方法就是提供客戶相關產品和服務的資訊，以吸引客戶參與，這是擴展電子商務的最好機會。第五項的排名高低，比其他四項的排名，更強烈反映出公司的托賓Q比率。在研究期間，客戶參與度最高的25家公司，每年股票上漲幅度，比S&P500指數高出12個百分點以上。但我們取樣的網站，只有大約23％採取行動以爭取客戶參與。

Ralph Lauren’s e-commerce site is a good example of how to engage users. Through the online “luxury

lifestyle” RL Magazine, consumers are invited to regularly revisit the site to learn about fashion, art,sports, healthy diets, and business – facilitating brand attachments and associations that go beyond the core product. Corporate performance reflects the success of the e-commerce site: The firm’s Tobin’s Q increased from 1.6 in 2003 to 2.6 in 2006, and its stock price more than tripled from 2003 to 2007.

羅夫羅蘭（Ralph Lauren）的電子商務網站，就是吸引客戶參與的優良範例。它發行一份討論「奢華生活方式」的線上期刊《RL雜誌》，邀請客戶定期造訪這個網站，以獲得時尚、藝術、運動、健康飲食和企業方面的資訊，公司藉此促進客戶對品牌的忠誠，並促使客戶把品牌和這些資訊相連結，而不僅是關注核心產品而已。公司的績效顯示這個電子商務網站的成效良好：從2003到2006年，公司的托賓Q比率從1.6提高到2.6，股價則在2003到2007年之間上漲三倍以上。

One very effective way for a company to start learning what its customers are interested in is to offer Web visitors a wide list of topics and ask them to vote on which they like. The fi rm can use those responses to help it decide which attributes – wealth, attractiveness, exclusivity, for instance – it wants customers to associate with its brand. The next step is to provide supplementary information that will help customers make those associations. Porsche, for example, uses the Web to offer adventure tours and travel information, reinforcing the brand’s image of passion and high performance.

要了解客戶對什麼有興趣，一個非常有效的方法，就是在公司網站上提出各式各樣的主題，請造訪公司網站的人投票選出自己喜歡的主題。公司可以根據投票的結果，來決定應讓客戶將公司品牌和下面哪些特質相連。這些特質包括：財富、魅力、獨特性。下一步是提供輔助資訊，以幫助客戶作這方面的聯想。例如，保時捷（Porsche）利用網站提供冒險之旅和旅遊資訊，強化品牌的熱情和高性能形象。