McKinney and her team found that the U.S. economic downturn has produced a strange paradox: Online retailers and dot-com companies are failing in record numbers, but online purchasing increased 24 percent in the past year. The problem for retailers, of course, is how to pull profits out of this puzzle.

What Is Your IQ?

To measure customer satisfaction, the e-commerce retailer first must know what counts, according to McKinney. In her initial research, she identified two primary components: information quality (IQ) and system quality (SQ).

Although distinguishing between information and system quality is not common in information systems research, McKinney found the distinction useful when examining why customers like or dislike e-commerce sites.

"For example, customers dissatisfied with site retrieval and delivery mechanisms are likely to leave the site even if the information available on the Web site is of high quality," she explained. "Conversely, if a Web site lacks the information that customers need, its entertaining design or ease of search will not keep customers from leaving the site."

The researchers looked at a number of issues related to IQ satisfaction, including relevance, timeliness, reliability and usefulness. SQ factors include access, usability, navigation and interactivity. They designed a series of experiments to assess the importance of these qualities.

Expectations First

A key element in the research, said McKinney, was measuring customer expectations and how the Web site failed or succeeded in meeting them. Including this component helps online retailers see if their Web sites satisfy their customers, in terms of both IQ and SQ components.

Aberdeen Group research director Kent Allen told CRMDaily that this is where the rubber hits the road for e-commerce. So many CRM technologies, he said, have been designed to face inside the enterprise -- helping internal employees do their jobs. As companies begin facing their CRM efforts outward, though, they will find better ways to increase satisfaction, he predicted.

"You will see CRM and e-commerce collapsing into customer life cycle management," he said. "It's not just about selling, but about educating, attracting, engaging, hopefully transacting, and then fulfilling and measuring."

Data vs. Design

McKinney seems to be formalizing a dilemma that industry observers have been pointing out for some time. For example, John Ragsdale of Giga Information Group told CRMDaily that as e-commerce systems integrate more with back-end enterprise software, the information provided through self-service Web sites is only as good as the data in the warehouse.

On the other hand, Deloitte Consulting partner Mark Peacock stressed that the utility of a Web portal or other customer-facing site can be greatly diminished by poor design, regardless of the wealth of information provided. Thus, the design and navigability of the site, as well as the accuracy and quality of the information, contribute to the customer experience.