Getting a customer is not easy.
Getting a visitor to decide that he or she wants to buy the product or service you're offering, getting out their credit card and giving you their hard-earned money is not a piece of cake.
Most visitor's to your Internet site, 97 - 99% of them if you're lucky, will not buy your product. They turn away from your site, your offer...and they will probably never return. In other words - if you work hard, if you use the right techniques and if you're talented maybe you'll get 1 - 3 % of the people who visit your site to buy. But it's not easy.
First you need to make sure you actually get enough visitors to your site. And if you use paid advertising, like pay-per-click search engines - this will cost you money. If you plan on getting visitors for free, this will take you time.
You need to make sure that your visitor is persuaded to buy. And if he or she won't buy the very first time they visit your site, you need to get them to come back again later.
Getting a customer ? a "first-time" customer ? takes a bit of effort.
But the efforts are worth it. Because once you have that customer, he will be a valuable asset.. Your customer will become your main income source. Why? Because your already existing customers are much more likely to buy from you again and again.
By calling this "customer life-time value", you're putting a name to it. And a value. How much will your average customer buy from you over the next 10-15 years? Customer lifetime value. The online businesses that make the most money are the ones that know how to use their existing customer base to maximize profits.
I guess the old saying that you need to take care of your customer, is particularly true on the Internet.
I'll give you an example.
A guy called John runs a site where he sells a product for $ 100. He gets a small amount of visitors - 100 visitors a day; that's 3000 visitors a month. He manages to sell to 1% of his visitors, which means he sells for $ 3,000 a month. He gets 30 new customers a month.
After a year he's earned $ 36,000 from his 360 customers.
His friend Neal runs a site, too. He gets 100 visitors a day and sells a product that costs $ 100 and manages to sell to 1% of his customers. 30 new customers a month; 360 customers a year. What a coincidence, right? Anyway, Neal has got a really nice product. A product people love. He also offers great customer service. Neal's customers like him very much.
They wouldn't mind buying from him again.
After his first 12 months online, Neal sends all his 360 customers an email offering a second product. A so-called back-end product.
This doesn't take him long. After all, it's just ONE email.
The second product is a little more expensive, it costs $ 300, but it is a product that his customers really need. A product they want. (He knows this because he asked them in a survey what product they would be interested in; what products they really needed.)
Since Neal is a great guy offering great products and excellent customer service, as many 30 % of his customers buy the second product. That's 108 people.
Now here's the interesting bit. The second product costs $ 300, which means that Neal has an additional yearly income of $ 32,400!
Look at the figures! Neal has doubled his yearly income just by selling a second product to 30 % of his customers. He hasn't had to go to great lengths to get new customers, but he's using his existing customers to double his profits!
John makes $ 30,000 a year, Neal makes $ 62,400.
And the one and only difference is that Neal sends out one extra email!
Neal still only gets 100 visitors a day. He still only gets 1% of them to buy his first product, but he offers them all a second, back-end product. He maximizes the profit potential of his customer base.
Strategies like "back-end offers" and concepts like "lifetime value" shifts the focus from the short sighted "take the money and run" strategy that is so much in use on the internet today. You've seen these sites all over. They only focus on getting a massive amount of traffic and then selling visitors an overpriced product that doesn't deliver what is promised.
Customers feel fooled. Why would they ever want to buy from this salesman again?
The more successful sites focus on building a strong relationship with their customers. And your main goal shouldn't be to make sure your customers are satisfied...you want them to be extremely satisfied. If you deliver the goods, your customers will trust you more. And if you have their trust, you can sell them anything.
Here are a just few pointers of how you can establish a great relationship with your customers:
1. Delivering a great product
Give your customers exactly what they want. And then some more. One of the best ways to get people to buy from you again and again is to only sell high quality products. If you ever consider selling a crap, overpriced product, ask yourself why you'd want to loose all that future income from your customers.
2. Responding quickly
When you run an online business, you'll get a lot of email. People will ask you about all kinds of things, and they will expect answers immediately. Set up autoresponders to make sure they get a pre-written email the minute they send you one. Tell them that you've gotten their email and that you will read it within the next 24 hours. And make sure you do. When you've read it, always reply to them, even if you can't answer their questions.
3. Taking care of customers after purchase
Too many online businesses forget about their customers once they've bought the product. And if they take the time to write to them again, it's only because they're trying to push another product. Don't get me wrong, you want to push that second product, but consider at least pretending that you care about how your customer is doing. Sending an email doesn't cost a penny. Why not send more emails where you're not trying to sell them anything. In the long run, this strategy will make you sell more! Ask how they're getting on with their product, give them tips, give them a free gift, congratulate them on their birthday etc. Care more, and you'll sell more.
The bottom line? Think long-term. Realize that your existing customers will buy from you again and again if you just let them. Let them.
About The Author
Steve Atlas writes regularly for the Internet Marketing Dictionary - http://www.internet-marketing-dictionary.com
tidy up service Glenview ..Your web site should always adhere to standards!A professional web... Read More
I am constantly bombarded with all sorts of advertisements, single-page... Read More
When your company built its website, did you think about... Read More
You're almost set. The content of your website, e-book, or... Read More
1. Who needs an artists website?Not everyone! If you are... Read More
A well designed web site is great to have, but... Read More
The Internet is a relatively new medium. What works for... Read More
Novice and professional graphic designers, we are aware that you... Read More
We have all seen websites showcasing their testimonials either spread... Read More
I'm not a professional web site designer and openly admit... Read More
The most important person that you need to please when... Read More
Where does a person start when setting up a website?... Read More
1. Use .gifs rather than .jpgs. GIFs are smaller in... Read More
As part of your event planning you should seriously consider... Read More
Questions to ask when designing a Web Site for your... Read More
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as... Read More
Not too long ago while looking for businesses that do... Read More
"Oh, my eyes, my eyes! What an eye sore. Quick,... Read More
Over the course of the last decade, the Internet has... Read More
It's a fact, Page Not Found, known as a 404... Read More
Most of us at times need advice on different aspects... Read More
If someone doesn't know you personally, will they trust you... Read More
Since you'll spend lots of time and money to create... Read More
The landing page or entry page of your visitors is... Read More
Here's a really simple way... any novice can create a... Read More
full-service cleaning Mundelein ..Whether a business has just got off the ground or... Read More
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very... Read More
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as... Read More
What the heck is going on lately? Most internet websites... Read More
One visit does not make a sale. Be sure to... Read More
If you are reading this, I assume you either have... Read More
Last Thursday afternoon I was working on a garage door... Read More
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. First impressions often leave lasting impressions. Impressions... Read More
In cascading style sheets you can specify how your web... Read More
Before you start worrying about marketing your website on the... Read More
Have you ever walked pass a shop that, for some... Read More
There are several graphic software packages available to help you... Read More
The trend today to overuse animation in a website's opening... Read More
1. Don't load your web site with a lot of... Read More
Why is the quality of your text layout and design... Read More
Hire a designer or a programmer for your website is... Read More
When your company built its website, did you think about... Read More
Since you'll spend lots of time and money to create... Read More
One of the challenges of moving a web site up... Read More
When you begin the design of your Web site, one... Read More
10 Basic Things Your Website Should Have ...__ all short... Read More
In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics... Read More
If you have a website, you want your visitors to... Read More
The title tags of your web pages are more important... Read More
Don't just put your slogan in the title tag when... Read More
Web Design |