Finding Wireless Products on the Web.

In the first heady days of e-commerce, buying a book or a music CD online was a mysterious and exciting experience, undertaken only by people who thought they were on the bleeding edge of cyberspace. But the recent watershed holiday season showed that shopping online has become much more mainstream, as record millions of Americans bought or received gifts from e-tailers selling everything from Barbie dolls to kayaks.

In short, consumers have embraced online shopping - and every day, it's becoming a bigger part of their lives. Research firm Jupiter Communications projects that 85 million people will be shopping online by 2003. As these consumers become experts at buying online, they "graduate" to buying more complex and/or big-ticket items online - things like cars, computers, and in the case of our Web site, LetsTalk.com, wireless phones and service plans.

The buying process for these items may be a bit more complicated than that required to buy a book. But consumers, having reached a key comfort level with the Net shopping environment, are ready to shift more shopping to the Web. Therefore e-tailers must respond with tools that meet the demands of the New Online Shopper:

1) "humanized" customer service

2) in-depth product information

3) a "clicks-and-bricks" structure

4) product customization

Customer Service with a Human Touch

As consumer comfort level with online shopping increases, so do consumer demands for a better online shopping experience - both better products, and better customer service. Simply allowing a consumer to buy your products online isn't enough to sustain an e-commerce business. Now every e-tailer must respond to the desires of sophisticated online shoppers for a buying environment that not only matches, but surpasses, the Old Economy world.

E-tailers hoping to attract consumers to make big ticket or complex purchases over the Web can't ignore the importance of human contact in customer service. In the early days of online shopping, Web companies thought they could jettison such hand-holding, or limit it to toll-free customer service lines - but no more. Customers want to ask questions about products, order status or exchanges according to their schedules.

When buying complex and expensive products, online shoppers will not be satisfied with a mere static "Help" section on the e-tailing site. A recent study from Jupiter Communications on financial services online found that the more complex an online product or service, the more consumers will demand "human hand-holding" before they complete the purchase. For example, here at LetsTalk.com, we offer customer service via toll-free phone numbers, live chat directly on our site, e-mail or help from salespeople at our brick-and-mortar outposts.

Information Seals the Deal

Consumers who buy complex or big-ticket items also want to be educated about the purchase before they click a "Submit Order" button. Information can make the difference between a completed sale or an abandoned shopping cart. A consumer buying a CD online for $12.99 doesn't need to know how it's manufactured and what sort of guarantees it carries. A consumer buying an $400 cell phone, a $3,000 laptop computer or a $30,000 car will not be comfortable about closing the deal unless she's reassured that she knows everything there is to know about the purchase. These demands also come into play when consumers are buying bundled products - for example, a computer bundled with Internet service, or a wireless phone and a wireless service provider. When the deal goes beyond a one-time purchase, consumers need reassurance that they've picked a reliable service provider that matches their needs. For instance, our LetsTalk.com site features "find and compare" tools that let shoppers weigh the merits of their wireless pur chase against other similar brands or services.

What should a savvy e-tailer provide to keep customers happy in this second wave of e-commerce - especially if the products or services carry a significant price tag? Service needs to take the form of an advisor - a shopping companion who can make suggestions and offer advice to the bewildered buyer. By asking an online shopper key questions about his or her needs, usage patterns and price ceilings for products, the advisor can quickly steer the shopper to the goods they want. These advisors can be created from a combination of automated software solutions and a human customer-service staff.

"Clicks and Bricks" Know How It's Done

It's this kind of customer service that "clicks-and-bricks" -- those companies that combine Web retailing with real-world shopping outlets -- excel at. A recent survey by consulting firm Patricia Seybold Group on e-commerce sites' responsiveness to customers bears this out. More than halt of the sites in the survey's top 20 were part of existing catalog companies or brick-and-mortar stores. These companies carry the knowledge gleaned from serving customers in the offline world into the online environment, with excellent results.

Web is Natural Environment for Customized Products

But aside from toll-free numbers, great return policies, and helpful online advisors, there's one aspect of the customer service experience that will help separate the success stories from the also-rans in the future -- and that's personalization. For example, the Web, not a car dealership, may well become the place where consumers pick out the vehicle of their dreams, and have it delivered to their homes or offices.

Expect this kind of personalization and customization to continue as shoppers realize the Web's potential for creating products that are like no one else's -- and that can't be found in any brick-and-mortar store.

At LetsTalk.com, we're already seeing this demand in the wireless market. Customers tell us they're willing to buy phones that are already programmed with frequently dialed numbers. Soon, we expect to see greater consumer demand for phones that will pay for parking meter charges, or open garage doors.

If e-tailers are to successfully compete with the still-thriving real-world retail sector, they must sell the Web's ability to simplify complex purchases -- especially since that's where consumer demand will come from. Imagine being able to buy a Volkswagen Beetle with a BMW engine over the Web ... or using a real-estate developer's Web site to order the perfect house, complete with paint colors, window treatments, and kitchen fixtures you select. That's the consumer dream the Web retailing world can fulfill.

Delly Tamer is president and CEO of LetsTalk.com, an online retailer of wireless products, located on the Web at www.fetstalk.com.