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Last updated
15 March 2001
A web site isn't a panacea for member service. Computerworld (R01 March/April 2001 p 11) recently published a list of online blunders developed by the Gartner Group. These are where companies missed an opportunity in their effort to provide a web presence. Much of the list is directly appropriate to associations where "customer" can be replaced by "member."
Requiring a password to access customer service. My guess is that this is a 'hoops and hurdles" issue - people don't like things that hinder them getting what they want.
Making the customer service section hard to find. Again, the issue of barriers and hindrances to getting the job done.
No search capability - making it difficult to find what is needed on the site.
No site map - another tool to facilitate finding things easily.
Not internationalizing the site - a form of hubris? How do you think of others outside your community?
Not responding to customer messages - are you there? How does anyone know?
Unanticipated out of service periods with no other alternative available - there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get something done when you want it done.
Unfriendly responses. Politeness and courtesy reflect on your association.
No integration between 'click and brick' - is the web site well coordinated with your headquarters so they complement each other and the association volunteers - or is it more like a right hand not knowing what the left is doing?
Requiring customers to download software to get service. This is a consideration for the fact that not everyone does things the way you do. Use standard file formats and don't expect everyone to be using the same software you are. Also keep in mind that others may consider the need to run custom software a privacy or virus issue.
What strikes me about this list is that it is a people thing. Why is taking care of people such a source of blunders? Why does it seem so difficult to make it easy for your members to benefit from their association? For example, putting a newsletter on the web should not be done because it might be cheaper. It might be (and then again it might not) but the reason a newsletter should be put on the web should be, first and primary, to improve communications with members. It's a people thing, not a means for you to weasel out of expenditures or the effort needed to get the job done.
The web does provide a new opportunity to communicate and interact with your members and with your larger community. But a web site is not a magic bullet. Many have learned that the web is not a set and forget operation. Instead it should be part and parcel of the ongoing association activity and very carefully coordinated with other activities and publications. Answer the phone, reply to messages (politely and promptly), make it easy for members and others to find what they need and you will be providing your association good leadership.
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