The Fall 2004 “Online Customer Respect Study” seeks to objectively measure corporate performance from an online customer’s point of view, rating suppliers with a Customer Respect Index (CRI) on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest. The CRI and study comes from The Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm.
Through interviews and analysis of more than 1000 Web sites across a wide range of industries, criteria for analysis was derived around six nodes, according to the developers. As they explain, “These attributes have been grouped together and measured as indicators of Simplicity (ease of navigation), responsiveness (quick and thorough responses to inquiries), Privacy (respects customer privacy), Attitude (customer-focus of the site), Transparency (open and honest policies) and Principles (values and respects customer data).”
According to the study, here are the top suppliers, with their CRI:
• UPS was the leader in the Mail, Package and Freight Delivery Sector. The sector average CRI was 6.2, and UPS had an 8.2 rating.
• For Transportation & Logistics, Greyhound was the leader with a 6.7 CRI in a sector with a 5.3 average.
• Polaris Industries with a CRI of 6.5 lead the Transportation Equipment sector, which averaged a CRI of 5.3.
• In a sector averaging a CRI of 5.7, Yellow Corporation was the leader with its CRI of 7.6.
One disturbing factor that emerged from the study comes in the area of customer privacy. While 79% of firms have privacy policies on their sites explaining how customer personal data is used, six major transportation and logistics suppliers have no policy show at all, 13% of all respondents share personal data with affiliates or subsidiaries and 22% share data with business partners without user permission.
Terry Golesworthy, Customer Respect Group president, notes that, “If a company expects consumers and businesses to spend time at its Web site, make purchases, and visit the site again, it must build trust. Based on our findings, transportation and logistics firms that use best practices to improve their Web sites will see a dramatic return on their investments.”
The complete study names the names and provides greater detail on all supplier companies covered in each research cycle. For information on the study or to have questions answered, visit http://www.customerrespect.com/.
