by Leigh Goessl

Created on: March 25, 2009   Last Updated: March 10, 2010

In today's rocky economic climate offering excellence in customer service is a must. Saying the business environment is competitive is an understatement because competition is steadily growing every day, and companies have to fight harder than ever to gain a good portion of the market share and maintain competitive standing.

There are several factors impacting customer service in today's economy. Factors such as the Internet, e-commerce, organizational philosophy and the need to make a substantial investment in good customer service all play vital roles when it comes to servicing consumers and finding ways to offer top notch quality.

*Internet and E-Commerce

With the onset of the Internet and businesses investing in e-commerce, this has transformed the way business is done and has had a direct effect on customer service simply due to global competition. No longer do local businesses have to battle it out solely with one another. Market competition has risen to new heights with the significant growth of online commerce. As a result companies have to duke it out with other businesses that sell similar or identical products; businesses that may be located across the globe.

The Internet expands traditional brick and mortar stores and customers today have numerous choices. A company's competitors are literally a click away and it is very easy for consumers to comparison shop and to obtain the opinions and experiences of other customers as they make their purchasing decisions.

In addition to an expanded market, in the electronic age, there is the communication aspect of customer service to consider. Companies have to find a way to effectively communicate with their customers in electronic form and this is often a tricky balance because connotation and nuance is not present in communications. Businesses essentially have to discover ways to adequately offer top-notch service and products even though they may never set eyes upon their customers.

*Organizational Philosophy

Companies that provide consistent bad service are going to find themselves quickly sinking. Over the course of time these businesses will likely find themselves seeing their financial bottom lines in the red and notice an overall decline of business. Even the occasional bad service can have long term effects for your business if word gets out.

It used to be companies had a lot of latitude when retaining customers because there were few or no options for patrons to go elsewhere. Unfortunately this led

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