If you’re looking for a corporate Website that commands respect, you can’t go wrong with those of Nike and Gillette. On the other hand, the sites of Van Heusen and L’Oreal command little respect among consumers, according to the Boston-based Customer Respect Group.
In its First Quarter 2005 Online Customer Respect Study of the country’s largest consumer firms, the consulting firm interviewed adult Web users and analyzed more than 2,000 corporate Websites to determine the attributes that create the online customer experience and measure a company’s “customer respect.”
The attributes are simplicity (ease of navigation), responsiveness, privacy, attitude (customer focus of the site), transparency (open and honest policies), and principles.
Among the companies ranked, Nike scored the highest, with a customer respect index (CRI) of 7.9. The average CRI of its market sector, apparel, was 6.3. Van Heusen scored the lowest, with a 3.0.
In the furniture sector, Steelcase was number one (CRI of 7.0), and Herman Miller brought up the rear (5.8). Gillette headed the household and personal products sector with a CRI of 7.7, while L’Oreal ranked last in the segment with 3.9.
Among other findings: * 37% of the firms did not respond consistently or at all to online inquiries. Only 36% of all inquiries were answered within a day. * 97% of the Websites have privacy policies in place explaining how they use customers’ personal data. * 86% use cookie technology, but of those, only 10% explain the advantage of cookies and the data they hold.
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