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
last minute cleaning help Arlington Heights ..Web advertising has taken many forms, including those that appear... Read More
There are many ways to add fancy bells and whistles... Read More
Did you know that many folks make "buying decisions" when... Read More
You can create a website that attracts customers, not repels... Read More
Read the title of this article over a couple of... Read More
Learning how to convert visitors to your web site into... Read More
Home PageHome page should clearly indicate what the site is... Read More
Unless you are an inventor, most likely you are selling... Read More
If you've just finished building your new website (or revamping... Read More
They may look cutting edge, but if you want a... Read More
This is a two-part article about creating a web site... Read More
Are you going to design or redesign new website or... Read More
Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution. Unfortunately,... Read More
I can't figure out people who have products or information... Read More
Before doing anything on the technical side, you need some... Read More
Creating your web site can be a tricky process. Choosing... Read More
Many websites make the mistake of being all flash and... Read More
There's no doubt about it - the first page your... Read More
Are you serious about get this website done fast and... Read More
In this article we will be looking at why you... Read More
The great debate: how much copy you should have on... Read More
The way you design your web site affects your visitors'... Read More
Don't knock it; "Keep It Simple, Stupid" is a great... Read More
A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective... Read More
Every action has a beginning phase where you launch your... Read More
same day cleaning service Wilmette ..I've seen articles (and websites) that suggest you can buy... Read More
No, that's not the real question. The real question is... Read More
Many people today are tired of the Microsoft software that... Read More
There are six important characteristics that can play a major... Read More
1. Lack of overall strategy and clear definition of success:Most... Read More
Here's the single most important part of your website: YOUR... Read More
Every day internet marketers are inundated with the latest fad... Read More
A question we frequently get asked is, "how do we... Read More
What pages need to be included on your website? The... Read More
If you are reading this, I assume you either have... Read More
Why is the quality of your text layout and design... Read More
In retailing there is a saying that sales are made... Read More
Before I discovered the concept of Web site templates, I... Read More
An "include" file is a piece of code that can... Read More
Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More
A website should firstly be searched out by visitors before... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering web design... Read More
When it comes to marketing your website, you should really... Read More
There are several very good reasons why you should consider... Read More
I've written about META tags in the past, and I... Read More
My mother used to take me along when she visited... Read More
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as... Read More
There are many ways to add fancy bells and whistles... Read More
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money... Read More
Back to basics. Forget funky design, good copywriting is the... Read More
Web Design |