Benchmarking customer service on the internet: Best practices from family businesses

Benchmarking

Volumn 13, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 355-373

  Levenburg, Nancy M ^a  

^a GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Customer services quality; Electronic commerce; Internet; Service industries

Indexed keywords

EID: 33744776614     PISSN: 14635771     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/14635770610668839     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. Andriopoulos, C. and Gotsi, M. (2000), "Benchmarking brand management in the creative industry", Benchmarking, Vol. 7 No. 5, pp. 360-72.
2. Armistead, C. and Kiely, J. (2003), "Creating strategies for managing evolving customer service", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 164-72.
3. Berry, L.L., Zeithaml, V.A. and Parasuraman, A. (1990), "Five imperatives for improving service quality", Sloan Management Review, Summer, pp. 29-38.
4. Bommer, M., O'Neil, B. and Treat, S. (2001), "Strategic assessment of the supply chain interface: a beverage industry case analysis", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 11-25.
5. Carlson, C. (2000), "Customer service: an essential component for a successful web site", Marketing Health Services, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 28-31.
6. Chen, W-H. (1998), "Benchmarking quality goals in service systems", The Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 113-28.
7. Chordas, L. (2002), "Frugal IT budgets don't skimp on customer service upgrades", Best's Review, Vol. 103 No. 2, p. 104.
8. Crespy, C., Miller, V. and Becker, T. (1993), "Export benchmarking: export practices associated with superior performance", The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 36-45.
9. Day, G.S. and Hubbard, K.J. (2003), "Customer relationships go digital", Business Strategy Review, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 17-26.
10. Dining Road Trip Team (2003), "Ed Debevics - Chicago", available at: www.georgiadining.info/debevic.shtml.
11. Dorsch, J.J. and Yasin, M.M. (1998), "A framework for benchmarking in the public sector: literature review and directions for future research", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 493-503.
12. Drew, S.A.W. (1995), "Strategic benchmarking: innovation practices in financial institutions", The International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 4-17.
13. Fornell, C., Johnson, M.D., Anderson, E.W., Cha, J. and Everitt, B. (1996), "The American customer satisfaction index: nature, purpose, and findings", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60 No. 4, pp. 7-18.
14. Greenspan, R. (2003), "2002 e-commerce holiday wrap-up", Cyberatlas, available at: http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/retailing/article/0,60611563551,00.html.
15. Jones, T.O. and Sasser, W.E. (1995), "Why satisfied customers defect", Harvard Business Review, November/December, pp. 88-99.
16. Kolesar, M.B. and Galbraith, R.W. (2000), "A services-marketing perspective on e-retailing: implications for e-retailers and directions for further research", Internet Research, Vol. 10 No. 5, pp. 424-38.
17. Krishnamurthy, S. (2000), "Deciphering the internet advertising puzzle", Marketing Management, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 34-40.
18. Lambert, D.M. (1992), "Developing a customer-focused logistics strategy", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 12-19.
19. Lee, C-S. (2001), "An analytical framework for evaluating e-commerce business models and strategies", Internet Research, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 349-60.
20. McCann, J.E. III, Leon-Guerrero, A.Y. and Haley, J.D. Jr (2001), "Strategic goals and practices of innovative family businesses", Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 50-9.
21. McGaughey, R.E. (2003), "Internet editorial", Benchmarking, Vol. 10 No. 1, p. 73.
22. Maddox, L.M., Mehta, D. and Daubek, H.G. (1997), "The role and effect of web addresses in advertising", Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 47-60.
23. Mentzer, J.T., Bienstock, C.C. and Kahn, K.B. (1995), "Benchmarking satisfaction", Marketing Management, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 40-6.
24. Miles, R.E. and Snow, C.C. (1978), Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
25. Modahl, M. (2001), Now or Never: How Companies Must Change Today to Win the Battle for Internet Consumers, Texere Publishing Ltd, London.
26. Parasuraman, A., Berry, L.L. and Zeithaml, V.A. (1991), "Understanding customer expectations of service", Sloan Management Review, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 39-49.
27. Piccoli, G., Spalding, B.R. and Ives, B. (2001), "The customer-service life cycle: a framework for improving customer service through information technology", Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 38-45.
28. Roberts, M.L. (2003), Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies, McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.
29. Scheleur, S. and King, C. (2003), "Retail e-commerce sales in second quarter 2003 were $12.5 billion, up 27.8 percent from second quarter 2002", United States Department of Commerce News: Service Sector Statistics, US Census Bureau, Washington, DC, available at: www.census/gov/mrts/www/current.html.
30. Shen, F. (2002), "Banner advertising pricing, measurement, and pretesting practices: perspectives from interactive agencies", Journal of Advertising, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 59-67.
31. Shostack, G.L. (1977), "Breaking free from product marketing", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 73-80.
32. Simpson, M. and Kondouli, D. (2000), "A practical approach to benchmarking in three service industries", Total Quality Management, Vol. 11 Nos 4/6, pp. 623-711.
33. Smith, A.M. (2000), "Using consumer benchmarking criteria to improve service sector competitiveness", Benchmarking, Vol. 7 No. 5, pp. 373-88.
34. Smith, G.A., Ritter, D. and Tuggle, W.P. III (1993), "Benchmarking: the fundamental questions", Marketing Management, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 43-8.
35. Soh, C., Mah, Q.Y., Gan, F.J., Chew, D. and Reid, E. (1997), "The use of the internet for business: the experience of early adopters in Singapore", Internet Research, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 217-28.
36. Sterling, J.U. and Lambert, D.M. (1987), "Establishing customer service strategies within the marketing mix", Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 1-31.
37. Strauss, J., El-Ansary, A. and Frost, R. (2003), e-Marketing, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
38. Surjadjaja, H., Ghosh, S. and Antony, F. (2003), "Determining and assessing the determinants of e-service operations", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 39-53.
39. Survey of Family Business Issues: Report of Findings (2003), Center for Family Business, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.
40. Van Looy, B., Van Dierdonck, R. and Gemmel, P. (1998), Services Management: An Integrated Approach, FT Publishing, London.
41. Walker, O.C. Jr, Boyd, H.W. Jr and Larréché, J-C. (1999), Marketing Strategy: Planning and Implementation, 3rd ed., Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.
42. Walsh, J. and Godfrey, S. (2000), "The internet: a new era in customer service", European Management Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 85-92.
43. Wilson, A. (2002), "Attitudes towards customer satisfaction measurement in the retail sector", International Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 213-22.
44. Zaino, J. (2002), "Behind the numbers: IT investment boosts business-services sector", Information Week, No. 917, pp. 79-80.
45. Zeithaml, V.A. (2002), "Service excellence in electronic channels", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 135-8.
46. Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc. (2001), Analysis of the U.S. Small Business Internet Environment, US Small Business Administration, Washington, DC, pp. 32-3.
47. Evans, C. (2001), "An e-strategy for online e-business", Information Systems Management, Fall, pp. 8-21.
48. Glazer, R. (1991), "Marketing in an information-intensive environment: strategic implications of knowledge as an asset", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 55 No. 4, pp. 31-61.
49. Miciak, A. and Desmarais, M. (2001), "Benchmarking service quality performance at business-to-business and business-to-consumer call centers", The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 5, pp. 340-54.
50. Nelton, S. (1998), "Firms' expanding internet presence", Nation's Business, Vol. 86 No. 8, p. 57.
51. Pratt, J.H. (2002), E-biz: Strategies for Small Business Success, Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Washington, DC.
52. Urwin, S. (2000), "The internet as an information solution for the small and medium sized business", Business Information Review, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 130-40.