Customer satisfaction with e-business Web sites has reached a new high, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index second quarter report, released Tuesday.
The annual e-business report measures customer satisfaction with search engines, portals and online news and information sites. Overall, the e-business sector climbs an impressive 6 percent to a score of 79.3 on ACSI’s 100-point scale.
After a slip last year, Google soared 10 percent in 2008 to resume the top spot for portals and search engines. Google’s score of 86 is one of the highest for any service company in all of ACSI. In recent years, Google has continued its successful transformation from a search engine to a full-service portal. Google added features like email, chat, maps, and news while maintaining its highly functional search engine brand.
“It’s a changing marketplace and consumers are using the Internet differently than they used to,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of Ann Arbor-based ForeSee Results, which compiles the numbers. “People are starting to go directly to the Web site or use bookmarks if they know what they’re looking for, rather than using a portal. And if they don’t know where to find it, they’re going to use a search engine. Google is best positioned to take advantage of this trend, while the rest are struggling to maintain relevancy.”
After a promising rise in 2007, Yahoo fell 3 percent to 77 amid distractions from merger overtures from Microsoft. Instead of focusing on the consumer experience, Yahoo’s energies were tied up fighting off a hostile takeover bid in an effort to preserve its legacy and independence. In that time, Yahoo lost several key managers and consumer perceptions may have been adversely affected by extensive negative press surrounding the merger.
Microsoft’s MSN remained unchanged at 75. Unable to increase market share, MSN resorted to prize giveaways that did nothing to drive traffic or satisfaction. So the company decided to put its resources into acquiring a rival in hopes that the combination could finally threaten Google’s supremacy.
Ask.com slipped 1 percent to 74, just a point below MSN. While the search market is clearly dominated by one superpower, Ask.com shows promising signs. Ask.com is the most improved of the companies primarily focused on search, having surged 19 percent since it was first measured in 2002. The company committed to a customer-centric, long-term development plan and remains focused by adding features aimed to increase user privacy positioning the company for future growth.
AOL registered a disappointing satisfaction score of 69, despite a 3 percent increase. With a score that is 17 points below Google's and eight points behind closest portal competitor Yahoo, AOL grapples to compete on any front.
In addition to measuring portals and search engines, the annual e-business report also measured news and information sites.
This category was led by MSNBC.com at 76, followed by ABCNews.com and NYTimes.com at 75, and CNN.com and USAToday.com at 73. In aggregate, the news and information category was unchanged at 75, and while some sites have increased a point or two, satisfaction remains essentially at parity with a spread of only 3 points between top and bottom performers in the category.
“The increase in overall e-business satisfaction is driven largely by a remarkable jump by Google, but tough economic conditions may be contributing to greater satisfaction with the sector,” said Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI at the University of Michigan. “In an environment where dollars are tight and gas is $4 a gallon, consumers derive great satisfaction from services that don't require them to spend money or get in their car."
More at www.theacsi.org.
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