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Awhile back you had a
great idea. An idea that you thought could make you a decent income, with
very little effort. Then, you had another great idea—to sell your first
great idea on the Internet! What better way is there to market and sell
your idea to the world, you thought. So, you bought a domain name, found a
web host, and hired a high-priced web designer. Before you knew it, your
new business was up and running on the web. With the help of a search
engine optimization firm, your site shot to the top results of Google and
Yahoo. Plus, you added an affiliate program, along with some other
marketing ventures. Soon, tons of targeted traffic started flowing to your
site…
A couple of weeks went by and the euphoria of owning your own business on
the web began to wear off. Sure, your site looked great, your
product/service was the best, and you had tons of traffic hitting your
site, but where was the income you expected? You’d made a few sales, but
really you were expecting more—weren’t you?
Unfortunately, you’re business isn’t starting off as the stunning success
you had hoped for. But, there’s good news! You probably aren’t that far
off. This article will tell you the one aspect of your online business
that can help you convert more sales than any other!
One advantage that most business owners like about the Internet is the
opportunity it provides for them to take a hands-off approach. Get a
website up-and-running, come up with a marketing program, and you can make
money even while you’re sleeping—especially if you offer a service or
software product. Internet businesses are great part-time or side
businesses, because they can take as much, or as little, time as you want
to devote to them.
The problem is that while spending a very small amount of time on your
Internet business is great for you as the business owner; it can be
not-so-great for your customers and potential customers, thus limiting
your sales potential. Think about your product or service. Now, picture
setting up a brick-and-mortar location to run your business from. Would
you buy or build this building, set it up for business, and then leave it
sitting there with the door locked all of the time? Would you leave the
door unlocked so customers could come in and look around, but not have any
staff available to assist them? Would you leave the door unlocked so
customers could come in and look around, setup a self-checkout aisle so
they can make purchases, install a security camera for safety, but still
not have a single staff member on hand to assist customers. Hopefully, you
answered ‘no’ to all of these questions, and you probably found the ideas
ridiculous. Yet, is this how your run your online business? Most websites
let visitors look at products, and make secure purchases, but they don’t
offer assistance to the visitors. That is why providing customer service
is the key to making an online business successful. Buying and selling on
the Internet can be different than in brick-and-mortar locations, but in
some ways it is not that different. Customer Service is one of those ways.
Customers want to be treated a certain way before most will buy your
products and services, regardless of whether or not you are selling them
from a building or a website.
If you provide top-notch customer service on your website, the same way
you would if you had setup a brick-and-mortar location, you will take your
business profits to the next level. Will it take a little more of your
time and attention? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.
You see, visitors come to your site because they are interested in what
you have to offer. But, they also have questions and concerns before they
buy. Will this product meet my needs? How do I checkout? Is there a return
policy? Is this business even credible (a particularly challenging issue
on the web)? If you aren’t there to answer these questions, the Internet
most likely will offer this consumer several other sites that they can buy
the same products from. Just like that, they’re gone—and probably forever.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what is top-notch customer
service? The answer may surprise you. Many sites offer phone and email
support. However, this is not the most effective support online. Phone
support can be expensive, either for you or the customer. If you have an
800#, you’re paying for all the calls. Plus, you (or your staff), can only
handle one call at a time. If you don’t have an 800#, your potential
customer has to pay. Plus, the customer may only have a dial-up
connection. So, they actually have to leave your website to contact you
(or use up their cell phone minutes). Your #1 goal is to NOT have
customers leave your website—even to call you!
Providing email support is equally ineffective. The reason is because the
customer never really knows if and when you’re going to get back to
him/her. They may need a product sent today for next day arrival. If so,
they’ll probably be hesitant to email you simply because they don’t know
if you’ll get back to them in an hour, a couple hours, a day, a week, or
ever at all. They’ll go somewhere else where they can be assured that the
product will meet there needs and can be shipped for arrival next day.
Email can be effective at times, but it can cause concerns for the
customer, and it is ineffective when time is critical.
So, what is the best way to provide online customer support? The answer is
live chat. I know you’re probably thinking that live chat is
time-consuming for you as the business owner. You don’t want to sit in
front of your computer all day, or hire someone else to, just waiting for
customers to chat with. That is understandable. However, with most live
chat software, your customers can leave a message if you’re offline, and
it at least gives the impression to them that you care, and that customer
service is important to you. So, even if you can only cover live chat a
couple hours a day, it is still worth it! And, the more that you can cover
live chat, the more successful you will be.
Live chat provides an opportunity for your customers to have their
questions and concerns handled immediately. Plus, talking to you someone
directly will ease their concerns about the credibility of your business.
You get to know your customers and they get to know you. The chances of
them buying increase dramatically. The chances of them making repeat
purchases from you also increase, because you’ve developed a relationship
with them. Plus it is affordable for you. Several live chat systems are
very affordable, and most allow reps to handle multiple chats at once,
which is quicker and more effective than phone support. All in all, live
chat is a great customer service solution for both the business owner and
the consumer.
By making customer service a priority on your website, and utilizing live
chat software, that great idea you had awhile back will really reach its
potential. |
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