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In the online world, companies competing for customers find that their competition is only a click away.

Since launching its Web site nearly a decade ago, Meridian-based Crucial Technology has revised the site continuously. A subsidiary of Micron Technology, Crucial makes memory upgrades to personal computers. The company turns 10 this year. This month, it won its fifth consecutive BizRate Research Circle of Excellence Platinum Award from Shopzilla.com, a leading shopping search site.

Crucial Technology was among 58 online retailers recognized for consistently providing quality customer service.

"We keep a finger on the customer's pulse at all times," said Kathy Lansdowne, customer support manager.

Lansdowne said that means ensuring the site is designed so customers can navigate through it easily and have their questions answered quickly. The company has integrated shopper-friendly features, including a newly released tool that will automatically scan a customer's computer to determine how much memory is installed and what options are available for new memory.

Lansdowne and Rick D'Ambrosio, the company's marketing communications manager, talked about the importance of customer feedback.

How important is it to listen to suggestions from customers?

Lansdowne: Customers are always willing to give you their suggestions. They want you to succeed, they want you to still be there. It's just a matter of listening to that and taking action on what you hear from them.

D'Ambrosio: A lot of companies get blinders on, and they may or may not make changes (to their Web site) because their internal processes are working. But their customers work, navigate and shop in a completely different way.

What are the consequences of not listening to customers?

D'Ambrosio: Back in the early days it was a little bit of a novelty to shop online, and a lot of people forgave mediocre customer service because they wanted to experience the process of shopping online. But today, your competition is literally a click away. Customers now expect a lot more from an online retailer, probably even more than they would from a traditional retailer.

You use both online chatting and customer surveys to get feedback. How has that been received?

D'Ambrosio: It's really become a Web standard to not do things that are intrusive like pop-ups and things like that. But we threw up a pop-up when a person was leaving (the site) and asked a very simple question, "Why are you leaving?" We then gave them four or five reasons to choose. Initially, we thought that would make a lot of customers angry, but they loved it. It's feedback from things like that that drive the changes we've made on Web site design and content. Sometimes it's as simple as changing the way we explain a product or the way we help customers find an item.

Lansdowne: Online chatting is a great tool, and our customers love it. When a customer is online going through to find something, all they have to do is click on chat. They are instantly connected live to one of our agents who are able to find the spot on the Web site they're looking for and push it to them.

How has the company's approach to the design of its Web site changed?

D'Ambrosio: Back in the early days, it was designed by thought and opinion -- "I think we should do this." But over the course of last five or six years we've tried to take a lot of that out of the equation and really design based on what customers are asking for.

What kind of feedback is most helpful?

D'Ambrosio: A lot (of businesses) are looking at the wrong kind of feedback. Whether consciously or subconsciously, they only want to listen to the good stuff. It took me quite a few years to tune out the good stuff and hear the bad stuff, because that's going to be the impetus to help you change your business. If you stop and listen to the customers who are yelling at you, they have a lot of information and in the end are the ones who probably really want you to succeed.