Editorial|&utm_term=|Website-Editorial-NAT(Website)|"> Auction.com's new VP of customer engagement Kristine Chin tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, Chin, a former eBay executive, will take on this newly created role and be responsible for spearheading a cohesive and comprehensive, companywide effort to gain a deeper understanding of its customers and raise awareness of their needs—now and into the future. We spoke exclusively with Chin about the purpose of customer engagement in the auction process.

GlobeSt.com: How does customer engagement fit into the real estate auction process?

Chin: Since Auction.com is an e-commerce marketplace, we are dependent on buyers, sellers and partners recommending and trading on our site. It's absolutely critical that we offer our clients an efficient, trusted, and straightforward process to trade real estate. We're constantly looking for ways to make our customers' lives simpler by using technology in innovative ways.

GlobeSt.com: Is the need for this level of service specific to Auction.com?

Chin: While, technically speaking, anyone in a service-oriented business should be fully dedicated to optimizing the experience of their customers, it's all the more crucial for us at Auction.com. No other company supports buying and selling of real estate via an online platform like Auction.com does. If you think about it, these are probably the most stressful—and certainly the most complex—transactions that most people will ever execute, and so they require a higher level of customer focus and awareness than lower-priced, lower-risk, lower-complexity transactions.

GlobeSt.com:  What aspects of your past experience at other major tech companies are most applicable to types of sales at Auction.com?

Chin: Prior to Auction.com, I spent 12 years at eBay growing ecommerce marketplaces in product management for eBay's largest sellers, business development/partner strategy and as general manager for eBay Motors. I bring the following expertise:

·         Ecommerce for high-sales-price items—The second most expensive item that a customer will purchase in his lifetime is his car, and the first most expensive item is his house. High-priced items have lots of moving parts and a complex sales process. Working on vehicle sales, where over 70% of vehicles sell to a remote buyer, helped to contribute immediately to this leading real estate e-commerce marketplace.

·         Scaling ecosystem changes—When I started working on automotive parts and accessories in 2008, sales were just coming online, and market share was fragmented. By 2012, eBay had 50% of the online market share. In designing for and growing this category, it was critical to start with customer needs and then drive product, marketing, sales, account management, customer service and other teams to support the customer. I'm honored to be doing this again for Auction.com.

·         Innovation—Technology and industry are a powerful combination. Growing the eBay Motors business required hands-on experience conceptualizing, building and iterating until the automotive customer was delighted with his purchase. Auction.com is a proven leader in the marketplace with an appetite for learning and trying new approaches. I'm looking forward to defining new ways to move real estate with this team.

GlobeSt.com:  What are the company's goals when it comes to customer relationships?

Chin: We ultimately want to establish positive customer relationships that lead to buyers recommending the platform to their friends and sellers proactively coming to the platform to trade property efficiently and effectively. We're constantly strategizing on new ways to attract the attention of buyers, sellers, brokers and realtors and working towards integrating what matters most to these audiences into our business decisions.