Customer Interaction (E-mail Response)

Did you ever have a lemonade stand when you were a child? If not, I am sure you know someone that did. When I was young, my sister and I often used this entrepreneurial approach to make money in the summer.

Although the job seemed easy, it was seldom a matter of mixing up the lemonade and putting up a sign that said "Lemonade For Sale" and watching the money roll in. If we had a good location, our physical presence and our signs attracted both customers and prospects to our stand. However, often these folks needed additional information before purchasing our lemonade. Fielding the following questions was common:

• Is the lemonade cold?
  
  
• Do you have anything else besides lemonade?
  
  
• How much does a glass cost?
  
  
• Is it cheaper if I buy two glasses?
  
  
• Does it contain sugar or an artificial sweetener?
  
  
• Can you bring a gallon over to the baseball diamond for my little league team?

Usually one of us would answer questions and collect the money while the other served the customers. It was definitely a two person job because of the level of customer service needed to move the product.

Most businesses today are a bit more complex than my lemonade stand. Just imagine all the questions the Microsoft's various software projects can generate. In addition, my lemonade stand generated a modest amount of traffic since it was located on one street corner in a small town. But with an Internet presence, your web site is essentially positioned on every street corner in every town in the world. Therefore, your web site has much greater reach than my small business did. All in all, a well advertised, attractive, informative web site will generate a tremendous amount of e-mail customer traffic and inquiries.

And what is the expectation of the customer? Since businesses are now often said to be operating on "Internet time" (where expectations of service are immediate), the customers want information fast. Therefore, well run businesses assign an individual (or a team if the volume requires it) to function as the Customer Interaction Technician. The Customer Interaction Technician is responsible for responding to customer information requests that are received through the company's web site.

Although this position is technically an "Internet" position, often this role is filled by customer service personnel that staff the Help Desk. Because the nature of the work is customer service-oriented, it is a natural fit as part of a customer support group. Still the Customer Interaction Technicians will need to work closely with the rest of the web development team to ensure smooth communication takes place with the customers. Now let's take a quick peek into the world of the Customer Interaction Technician.

Entry Level Job Profile - Customer Interaction Technician

Equivalent Job Titles - Customer Support Analyst, Customer Response Technician.

Average Compensation - Not reported in the surveys I have seen, however it should be comparable to Help Desk Technicians - $39,713.^xxii

Responsibilities - All facets of customer communication including the following:

• Responding to e-mail inquiries.
  
  
• Taking customer telephone calls (web sites generate telephone traffic, not just e-mail traffic).
  
  
• Responding to e-mail.
  
  
• Routing customer requests to the appropriate department when required (sales, marketing, fulfillment, service, etc.).
  
  
• Mailing requested information to customers (either via e-mail or snail mail).
  
  
• Training customers - Teach customers how to properly use the product or service to minimize future inquiries.
  
  
• Make suggestions regarding improvements to web site functionality or content based on customer suggestions.

Skills - To successfully perform these duties, you would need to possess the same skills as a Help Desk Technician. To review, these skills are:

• Business Skills (industry specific) - For instance, when answering inquiries for Chase Manhattan Bank, a background in banking services would allow you to be more effective at your job.
  
  
• Technical Skills - Including familiarity with Windows, Microsoft Office and databases. An elementary understanding of web page development (HTML, DHTML, JavaScript) would be helpful, but is not 100% necessary since you will not be developing web pages.

• "Soft" Skills - Those intangible "people" skills that foster good customer communication. They include, but are not limited to the following:
  
  
1. Listening skills.
   
   
2. Excellent verbal and written communications skills.
   
   
3. Customer service skills (such as the ability to tell customers "no" when appropriate, without aggravating them).
   
   
4. Patience - Not all customers are as savvy as you are regarding the web, your company or communication through e-mail.
   
   
5. Time management skills - A busy web site generates a lot of traffic. Being able to prioritize your time and multitask is essential.

Career Changing Opportunities - If you already have experience working with other people or the public, you may already have many of the "soft" skills necessary for this type of work. Managers, administrators, teachers, human resource professionals, marketing and sales professionals and bank tellers are all examples of people that already need to work well with others.^xxiii Obtaining the technical skills to augment your customer service skills should be all you need to be successful.

Education - A two-year college degree or equivalent training at a technical institute is desirable, as well as customer service training. Community colleges (and other two-year schools) may provide degrees or certificates in help desk support, which should prepare you adequately for a customer interaction role.

Certifications - Many of the same certifications that would be beneficial to a help desk technician are applicable to this position also:

1. Help Desk Analyst (HAD) – Sponsored by the Help Desk Institute, this certification deals with the skills necessary in entry-level help desk positions. (www.helpdeskinst.com/hdi-certification/)
   
   
2. HelpDesk 2000 – Sponsored by STI Knowledge, the HelpDesk 2000 certifications focus on developing skills for modern help desk professionals. (www.stiknowledge.com/certification_advisory/index.asp)
   
   
3. Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) – The MOUS (pronounced "mouse") certification is widely recognized as showing proficiency with MS Office applications. For help desk jobs, shoot for the expert level of certification. (www.mous.net)

No matter what realm of web development you enter, you can be assured of a challenging, ever-changing career. The way we use the web changes every day, requiring the site you are working on to change also. One thing is for certain, you will never be bored working in web development and administration.