As a user, it is hard to resist calling the company when you have a specific question. Why bother reading the whole FAQ looking for the answer, when it is so easy to call someone and directly ask for it? For the companies, answering quickly to any request is a must for the conversion, but this can be compromised by the number of requests. So the question is: how to make sure the phone contacts are really not answered by the FAQ, and try to reduce the number of personalized information requests? ING Direct is a very successful online bank, and has managed to find a good balance, in my point of view.

more

Spams can be a hassle, and I agree sometimes you have to find a way to get rid of them. With current email systems and a few unsubscriptions, it’s become quite easy though, and I, for example, almost never see a spam: they go directly in my junk box. But according to how you use your email address, it can be more difficult. Last week, I tried to contact a company, and was surprised never to get an answer. Today, I finally realized it had been sent. Not only was the answer in my junk box, but it was an automatic reply. And this was not coming from the company itself, but from a website providing anti spam solutions. Basically, I had to click on a link, and then enter a captcha, before my first email was actually sent to the company. I was not a spammer, and could have become a client. Why make it so difficult to contact you? Except if you are overbooked for a few years, I wouldn’t advice going to so restrictive solutions. Let users contact you: this kind of process can definitely make a company loose customers and is of course quite bad for conversion.

more