The number of Internet purchases continues to increase,
making customer relationship management even more
critical in today’s Internet marketplace. Keeping
existing customers satisfied is much more cost effective
than acquiring new customers. However, the Internet has
been plagued by inaccurate color representation since
the advent of e-commerce. Color inaccuracy has many
negative consequences, the most important of which is
customer defections. This paper communicates the
findings of a survey conducted to assess consumer
opinions about Internet purchases. Results indicate that
consumers are aware of color inaccuracies and that their
reactions will negatively impact the marketer. Over 55%
of the consumers surveyed indicate that they will not
make future purchases from an online merchant that
delivered an item in a color that did not match their
expectations. With customer retention being one of the
goals of customer relationship management, it is
apparent that this issue must be acknowledged and acted
upon. pdf 2009
