Ajax in Business

The

recently concluded summit of Gartner CRM summit, businesses owner and manager were made to realize the stronger influence of customer input.Years ago when websites are dominated by companies that sells things and offer services. The information is definitely one way and customers are left at the mercy of the efficiency of the product. These companies have efficient customer service but it’s a reactive effort of the customers. This only comes after the product was purchased or the service was experienced. The customers would have to pay for something before experiencing the bad news about the service. There was no way of seeking information and independent reviews first because there are no sites that could service people who wanted to express themselves. It’s a comfortable internet world for businesses then.

But with the advent of Web 2.0, the table is now turned and businesses are cornered. Each of the online or even simple stores experience the effect of Web 2.0 as customers are given a free hand to rate the product or service. They may not be able to review the product on the site itself but there are avenues right now where they can freely express their opinion – and it’s not just a simple site. Every restaurant in the country now could be chronicled online and reviews could be done at anytime by anyone. Travel sites encourage customers to place their reviews and tips on a particular place. There are podcasts that enable the customers freely rant what they say about something. Youtube.com is even earning billions in advertisement because of the uploads of the customers. The bad news is that there is literally no way these companies could control. If a simple restaurant is plagued with bad reviews online, business will be affected and what they could do is just to react to the customers’ complaints. The reactive solution to the problem naturally is to use the Web 2.0 experience to harness the customers’ reaction to the things being placed in the website. Instead of running away from the complaints, the company will now welcome them. Real time updates on companies’ websites using the latest technologies such as Ajax and Flash will enable the customers to freely place their information online and address them as soon as possible. Of course, these could be regulated but it’s one way to interact with the customers and make sure the business is updated with their concerns. Where do Ajax come in? Ajax will not only improve customer’s satisfaction through acceptance of their reviews but generally, the use of Ajax in websites is revolutionary. Gartner emphasizes the importance of customer experience not only in feedbacks but also in the general design of the website itself. With use of a powerful website, customers will no longer wait for a long time before the website responds with the order or any inquiry the customer has. The conference hopefully will not only answer the problems of businesses with the new trend but customers will hopefully have a better overall service.