The secret of success in electronic commerce lies in placing a new emphasis on a well-established area. That area is customer service, which is now the only point of     1    between a business and the buying public.
    There are a number of factors in a real-world shop that     2    people's perceptions of a business: these     3    the location and the appearance of the premises, the quality and the pricing of the merchandise or services, and the behaviour of the staff.
    However, if a company is trying to make a good impression with online customers, most of these factors do not     4    a part. In the     5    of these factors, the way customers are     6    when they have a reason to call has a fundamental effect on a company's ability to retain them as customers. Even more than regular telephone or in-person customers, web customers are impatient, easily frustrated and always conscious that they have other places where they can     7    their business. Preventing them from doing that means meeting them on their own     8    and providing them with what they want.
    This necessity, in     9    , means that companies that sell over the net must get back-end functions right. Imposing     10    requirements on customers will not work; a business that     11    on customers emailing for assistance instead of using the phone, for example, will lose repeat custom.
    If the phone is used, it must be answered     12    , and the staff should look for ways of helping even the most awkward customers     13    , as is more usual, trying to find some     14    to blame the customer for any problem.
    An important, final point is that it is vital that all addresses, web links and phone numbers work properly and efficiently. This ought to     15    without saying. Experience, however, shows that it does not.