Want to Double Your Online Sales?

What if I was to tell you that you could be much more successful and have more sales if you established good relationships with your customers? 

Who has the time to build a relationship with their customers?  I’m sure that’s a question that is running through many of your minds.  After all, there’s marketing that needs to be done and a website to maintain.  There’s no time to interact with customers!  Oh, but if you only knew…

I’m not talking about sending subscribers a newsletter every month or offering a guarantee on your product… I’m talking about being a friend and a mentor to your customers!  Customer service is something many online business owners never really think about.  After all, people just come to a website, buy a product, and that’s it.  That’s the extent of the relationship between online business owner and customer - especially if you’re an affiliate marketer who is sending traffic to the person actually selling a product.

That’s where many people make the biggest mistake when it comes to building a successful business.  They think it’s about the quantity of customers versus the quality of customers that they serve.  In the business world there’s this 80/20 rule.  80% of your business will come from 20% of your efforts, or 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. 

So, how do you go about establishing a one-on-one relationship with your customers and increasing your online sales?  Here are a few tips:

1. Answer their emails in a timely manner with no auto responders involved.  “Timely” meaning with 24-48 hours of the email being sent to you.  Emails not being answered is one of the common complaints from people. 
2. Send your customer a personal thank you card to let them know how much you appreciate their business.
3. Ask your customers when their birthday or anniversary is and then send them a special gift on that day.
4. Start a blog and have online discussions with customers about issues relating to your industry.  Send them an email thanking them for leaving a comment on your blog. 
5. If you have your customer’s phone number, call them and get feedback on the product they purchased through your website. 

When was the last time any online business person did any of these things for you?  I would say that it is probably 1 in 1,000!  Doing these things will make you stand out from the rest and you can best believe that people will remember you the next time they need something that you have to offer! 

In essence, business is about relationships and treating your customers just like how you would want to be treated.  Pretty soon you’ll have so many customers raving about you that you won’t even have to pay for marketing.  Your customers will do all the marketing for you! 

This article was written by Maria Palma, to which I am truly grateful. You can find out more about Maria and her inspiring writing by visiting her website: Customers Are Always