How to gain and retain online customers!
It's the most basic rule of business: you need to sell some to
earn some. Salesmanship therefore, or the art of closing a
sales, is of paramount importance for any business venture.
After all, we can't expect any earnings if we don't make any
sales
Winning customers is essential for the success of our
enterprise. And this is also true for online businesses. In
fact, some would say that winning customers online has its share
of pros and cons. The good news is that the entire world is your
market, and you could potentially reach more people through the
World Wide Web. The disadvantage? The Internet offers a more
impersonal channel in our dealings with people, making it more
difficult to garner their trust and favour.
So what are we to do then? Fear not, dear friend. As with
everything else in life, we should try to accentuate the
positives to compensate for the negatives. Here are a few ways
by which you could gain a good number of customers, and keep
them for a long and profitable business for you and your family.
Always deliver quality goods or services. There is no better
vehicle for our business message than our products themselves.
Consistently offering things that are more than worth our
customers' time and money will brand us as enterprises that are
committed to quality products and services. This would only
serve us well in future dealings with the same clients.
Additionally, this would make our clients as advertising
vehicles for our business as well, as they would spread the word
about the excellence of our service to people belonging to their
network.
Always try to over-deliver. People love receiving more than what
they paid for. If you consistently give them some extras, their
minds would be conditioned to trust your business for future
transactions.
Provide bonuses. In addition to the product you're selling, add
some more goods that would perk up the package. Do this in a
manner that you will make your customers aware of the value of
the bonuses if they were otherwise purchased. This would
definitely increase the worth of your product, and such would
make it more favourable for a successful sale. Additionally,
your bonuses would foster good will with your clients, and this
could go a long, long way for future orders.
Build relationships. The importance of building good
relationships with your customers cannot be undermined. As we've
discussed earlier, the Internet is a rather informal venue for
personal dealings. So try to humanize your approach so that your
customers can relate to you as someone who is more than just a
business provider, but also as a friend.
Make use of a mailing list. A mailing list is an Internet
marketers number one weapon. By capturing the contact details of
people who may not have been interested with their current
offer, they will be able to condition the same people for future
sales. And this could serve their businesses well for quite a
long time, as one successful sale can beget another and another
after that. So invest on an excellent autoresponder service and
prepare those follow-up messages well. Take good care of your
subscriber base, and they will take good care of your business
in return.
Winning customers is more than just luck. It entails a lot of
strategizing and good planning. Retaining customers involve the
same level of commitment as well. In the highly competitive
world of online marketing, trust plays an integral role in
achieving our goals. Try your best to win your customers' trust.
Take care of it. And for sure, this trust would fuel good
business for you for many years to come.