Abstract For quite a long period of time, customer advocacy has been at the core of eBay's strategy. In basic terms, when it comes to empowering customers to make the right buying decisions, the relevance of customer advocacy cannot be overstated. This text largely concerns itself with eBay's approach to customer advocacy today.
Customer Advocacy: Is it Still Part of eBay's Core Strategy?
In the past, eBay has earned significant praise for having customer advocacy as part of its core strategy. This text will carry out a detailed evaluation of eBay's website in an attempt to determine to what extent customer advocacy still remains part of the corporation's core strategy.
Customer Advocacy: An Overview
Companies that embrace customer advocacy tend to focus on doing that which is considered most beneficial to the customer. In that regard, such companies strive to act in the best interests of their clients at all times. A company pursuing customer advocacy gains by having the trust of its customers, and thus building a rather strong long-term relationship with such customers. Companies that wish to build long-term relationships with their clients according to Ferrell and Hartline (2008, p. 342) "must strive to develop a relationship with each customer rather than generate a large number of discrete transactions."
Is Customer Advocacy still Part of eBay's Core Strategy?
The very first sign of eBay's commitment to customer advocacy is its revolutionary buyer protection program. In this case, the company promises to refund the buyer his or her "full purchase price plus original shipping…" should such a buyer fail to receive an item that he or she has already paid for or should the buyer receive an item which isn't as described (eBay, 2012). This in my opinion is a clear indicator of the eBay's commitment to doing that which is considered best for its clients. In this particular program, an unsatisfied customer is first encouraged to contact the seller after which he or she (the buyer) can contact the company's customer support team if the seller fails to resolve the problem. In my opinion, this program effectively protects buyers from unscrupulous sellers who either deliver defective products or fail to deliver items that are already paid for. The seller in this case is also protected as illegitimate or false claims are not covered by the buyer protection program (eBay, 2012). Such a program is an indicator of eBay's commitment to act in the best interests of not only the buyer but also the seller.
EBay also continues to maintain a platform through which customers can give feedback on their experiences with the products they purchase. The company in this case allows buyers to leave three kinds of rating, i.e. A neutral, negative or positive rating. Given that these ratings serve as a foundation for sellers, the company in a way acts in the best interests of sellers by providing a platform for previous buyers to certify the authenticity of such sellers. To access feedback left by a previous customer, buyers simply click on a link provided for that purpose. This way, a buyer can access very useful information on the experiences previous buyers have had with the seller. By availing a platform on which customers can share their experiences, eBay in addition to facilitating the availability of accurate and meaningful information also creates an atmosphere built on trust.
It is also important to note that eBay has sellers it categorizes as top-rated sellers. These are sellers who have a good reputation based on their track record, buyer rating and the time they take to ship items. Hence any customer who buys from a top-rated seller is in this case assured of excellent service. In addition to the badge identifying sellers who are top-rated, on each member's profile is a percentage of positive feedback the said seller has received over time. A higher percentage of positive feedback is often an indicator of how reliable a given seller is. Awarding reliable sellers a badge in this case can be seen as an example of customer advocacy largely because such a move enables customers to make informed purchase decisions based on honest and accurate information provided by eBay. In addition, a top-rated seller is likely to make more sales as the said badge raises the trust levels of buyers. A top-rated seller badge is in most cases prominently displayed alongside the item being offered for sale.
It can also be noted that today, the company still maintains an active two-way communication with its customers. In its 'customer support' segment, the company offers users of its platform an option to contact its support staff. This provides both buyers and sellers with yet another opportunity to seek clarification as well as additional information from the company. This in my opinion is also an indicator of eBay's commitment to doing that which is most beneficial to its clients.
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