June 25, 2004 (Computerworld) --
When it comes to treating online customers with respect, Microsoft Corp. tops the list of the country's top 100 companies, according to The Customer Respect Group Inc. in Bellevue, Wash. The company on Monday is releasing its third annual ranking of the Fortune 100 companies in terms of how they treat their customers online. "We assess each of the company's Web sites in a uniform way -- looking at over 90 attributes that we've determined correlate to a successful experience of an online user," said Roger Fairchild, president of The Customer Respect Group. "We've put them in one of six categories, and we provide an overall score that we describe as the Customer Respect Index." Those six categories are simplicity, responsiveness, transparency, principles, attitude and privacy, he said. The study provides a comparative analysis of all companies within a group or industry and offers a comparison of their Web sites from a user-centric perspective, according to Fairchild. On a scale of 0 to 10, the Fortune 100 group averaged a 6.2. Microsoft scored highest, with an 8.7, while Supervalu Inc. in Minneapolis scored lowest, with a 2.7. "We saw that the companies at the upper end of the scale were high-tech companies," said Fairchild. Hewlett-Packard Co. ranked No. 2, with a score of 8.6, and IBM was third, with an 8.5 score, he said. "What sets them apart from the others is that, across the board, they got high marks -- particularly in the areas of simplicity and the way they're upfront and open about all their policies on their sites," Fairchild said. "At the lower end of the scale, the companies tended to be poorer across the board, and again, they got their highest marks in simplicity of their sites. But they were still below average and generally had low marks ... in the other categories -- responsiveness, attitude and privacy and so on." Fairchild said the group doesn't seek trends because different attributes are studied.
"Last year, we looked at 25 to 40 attributes when we analyzed the Fortune 100 companies, but this year, [we] looked at over 90 attributes," Fairchild said. "We look at it at a point in time: How do you score, and how do you compare and contrast against best practice leaders in your industry and your competitors?" Microsoft, like many high-tech companies, pays a lot of attention to site navigation, bringing in high marks for simplicity, he said. In addition, high-tech companies are attuned to what customers are seeking as an overall experience online, have done a good job stating privacy policies upfront and are reasonably responsive when people send in inquiries. Fairchild
The Impact of Social Networks on Mobility Strategies
The Impact of Social Networks on Mobility Strategies Download this webcast, free, compliments of RIM. Go to the webcast
Five Technologies Simplifying Infrastructure Management
Get this white paper now! (Source: Liebert) Today's data centers must support more devices, are consuming more power and generating more heat. Learn five infrastructure technologies that are making it easier for growing businesses to introduce new IT systems as needed while maintaining high levels of availability. Download this white paper
Computerworld Technology Briefing: Meetings @ the Speed of Business
Download this Technology Briefing now, compliments of Microsoft! (Source: Microsoft) For large organizations, Web conferencing gives a major boost to collaboration among far-flung offices. For smaller companies, experts say Web conferencing is no longer a luxury but a necessity for everything from webinars to customer presentations. But the real value lies in saving soft costs and in increases in productivity. Download this executive briefing
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
Accelerate your pursuit of perfection For almost 80 years, Kodak has been helping banks, insurance companies, healthcare providers, government agencies and other businesses produce billions of document images. So Kodak is uniquely positioned to know and deliver–what customers want: easy-to-use scanners that output the best possible image quality. Download this white paper now!
See your link here
Subscribe to
Computerworld 
or
Other Internet Business Stories
The Impact of Social Networks on Mobility Strategies
Get this white paper now!
Download this Technology Briefing now, compliments of Microsoft! 
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
This paper shows how Brocade StorageX enables tiers of storage across Windows and NetApp storage to align storage practices with organizational objectives. 
For almost 80 years, Kodak has been helping banks, insurance companies, healthcare providers, government agencies and other businesses produce billions of document images. So Kodak is uniquely positioned to know and deliver–what customers want: easy-to-use scanners that output the best possible image quality. 
Computerworld