The study surveyed around 1,000 companies and online shoppers to find out how people use search for online support, do product research and take part in shopping activities.

Online shoppers who had a positive experience with a company were three times more likely to do repeat business with that company compared to those that had a neutral or negative experience. They were four times more likely to recommend a company they had a positive experience with and five times more likely to say they were satisfied with the outcome of the interaction.

For online businesses only 38.9 percent said they are able to offer a solid advanced search function for customers.  Close to all companies (97%) are planning investments to improve a customer’s ability to find services and information they want, with content enhancements being a top priority. Thirty-one percent said they had plans to add enhanced search features in the future.

 Tom Sweeney (Photo Credit: CRM2day.com)

"In our effort to encourage customers to serve themselves, organizations have removed the human factor from the on-line experience. The onus for delivering a positive experience now lies with the tools and content offered, and their relevance in helping customers achieve their objectives. With competitors just a Google search away, consumers must have easily accessible, quality information at their fingertips," said Tom Sweeny, Principal and Co-founder, ServiceXRG.

"Businesses can no longer ignore poor online customer service, as the Web is shaping up to be the critical battleground for organizations to maintain a competitive edge."