Customer Empowerment Essay -- Economics

Customer EmpowermentThe Choice is YoursThe Internet has permanently changed the relationship betwixtconsumers and the retail industry. Electronic commerce has providedconsumers with more options, more alternatives and more opportunitiesthan ever so before.Consumers are no longer limited to physically visiting of import streetor big-box retailers. Instead, they are able to choose from productsand services from companies larger-than-life and small, located all oer theworld, without leaving their homes.Tangible points of comparison amongst retailers, which now git beautomatically aggregated by computer software buying agents in seconds, includemore than selection and price. Shipping costs, beget policies,privacy practices and personalization of products are examples oftangible points of comparison.Equally as important are intangible points of comparison, specificallythe node flummox. Everything from the look and feel of the home scallywag to the shopping and buying process de fines this experience. Itencompasses eitherthing the customer sees, clicks, reads, or otherwiseinteracts with. The customer experience is the key to dotcom survival.Consider the options available at the Lands End tissue site. Consumerscan browse the catalog online or shop with a friend, chat with acustomer representative on the phone or online, ready a model to tryon clothes virtually, ask questions more or less specific products, place anorder and track past orders. Concern over the customer experience hasclearly driven the design of the Lands End clientele model, creatingnumerous options unavailable in the physical world.Of course, this overlooks the most powerful and unfathomed option toconsumers on the Internet the ability to leave one lineage and enteranother within seconds. And if a satisfactory purchase cannot be made,online auctions provide alternative shopping venues that directlycompete with many traditional retailers.Central to the creation of a positive, unique a nd personalizedshopping experience are technologies employed to remember customerpreferences. Tracked preferences help expedite, and sometimes fullyautomate, the shopping process while offering targeted marketing anddiscounts.Online chat, publicise boards, user reviews, auction sites, consumerfeedback, online help and other customer-oriented features are als... ...e the price was respectable too high (because of the pricing error). Iasked him if he could change it and he said no. He also knew that theywould be throwing out the oranges short if they didnt sell. Hisfrustration in not being able to worsen such an obvious problem inhis own department was evident.The Lesson.I tell these two contrasting stories because they relate directly tocustomer joy and profitability as a function of employeeempowerment. Two good food product chains with two very differentapproaches to management.At Fresh Fields, every employee is aware of his or her impact onprofit and is empowered to withst and independent action to maximize it.The finality to give two high-ticket(prenominal) cookies to a customer is not aninsignificant decision. It is a business decision that may influencethe relationship between a store and its customer.Unfortunately, it is a decision that most employees in traditionallymanaged organizations have no position to make.My hope is that these two examples will clearly show how customers andprofits can be won or lost when employees are enabled to take self-possession of day-to-day problems. Once again, it just makes sense.