Related Tag Articles: customer

Real online business is about delivering true value, not regurgitated valueless spam

20 June 2012

When developing your website and your overall business presence online, there are really only two main pathways you can travel. The first, and the most obvious, is the path most taken. This is the path full off of those little back alleys and dirt roads where everything is sloppy and bumpy. The dust is constantly spiraling through the air because everyone’s rushing down it, thinking they’ll get to their destination quicker. The second path, the clean, smooth, longer way around, is the path of professionalism. In short, the latter path is the path you travel to set up a real business.

Take a break from this article for 30 seconds and go Google a weight-loss product. Look for the top 5 results of products from non-national brands. You will find in the top 5 results at least 2 different products that are exactly the same, and you will find at least 3 websites that are so poorly constructed, using language that is so overused, that you would be surprised how they could even sell.

Well, don’t worry. If you do that search again in another month, you will find different results. Their money will run out and their business will fizzle out. Garbage naturally settles to the bottom. This is exactly why you need to recognize a real online business and avoid using the same old drivel to attempt to sell your brand and your products.

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How do you structure up a returns policy for your retail website

25 November 2011

Sooner or later, someone is going to want to return something they bought from your online store. How you handle this process can decide whether or not that customer returns to buy from you again, even after having a bad experience with one product. Your returns policy will depend on what kind of industry you are in. For example, you cannot have the same returns policy for electronics and for underwear, but there are certain things you can do to make sure it is as usable as possible, without costing you a fortune.

1) Know the Law

Consumers are savvy about their rights, and so you need to be too. Regardless of your product, there are certain minimum consumer protection laws in most countries that govern when a person is entitled to a refund, and in how much time. You can choose to stick to the minimum here, or you can tailor it to suit your website specifically. Either way, if your returns policy does not meet the minimum legal requirements, someone will eventually call you out on it.

2) Protect Yourself

While it’s important to worry about your customers, it is equally important to make sure that they don’t bankrupt you by constantly returning products you cannot resell. Make sure that if you sell something consumable, or something that loses value immediately after being opened or used, that you protect yourself as much as possible against abuse of your returns policy.

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What makes a good web hosting company?

05 August 2011

A good web hosting company is not impossible to find it just takes a bit of research, which of course means you have to allocate some time in order to find one that you can rely on. You need to find a company that won’t let you down.

Web hosting is an essential service which everyone needs to get their websites connected to the World Wide Web. They provide the data centre that enables connectivity to all websites. Individuals and businesses alike require their services no matter how large or small the website happens to be.

There are many forms of web hosting packages available. Some of them are free of charge while others cost a small amount of money. Companies who provide these services get most of their revenue from advertising which explains the low cost of it.

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How to create a successful survey for your business

13 May 2011

If you need to know more about customer feedback, learn more about your target audience or PR coverage, the best way of doing this is to conduct a survey. Sounds easy enough but it can be a struggle to get started.

There are companies who specialise in this field and they will take all the strain out of doing it oneself. They are experts, they know how to word a survey in order to get the desired results.

Should the budget not stretch to employing one such company then it is up to the individual to get a survey up and running. To do this well there has to be a clear objective in sight. Staying focused will mean that the results will be useful. Every bit of information has to put across to the person filling out the survey in a clear and interesting way with as little technical jargon as possible.

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What is the Future of Online Marketing?

29 April 2011

When one thinks about online marketing today it is pretty evident that search and social media are developing at a rate that is quite bewildering.

Proof of this fact is the traffic that Google or Twitter, now attracts to their websites. What is more astonishing is that Facebook now tops Google in weekly web traffic. The conclusion is that social media is intense.

With this in mind it is necessary to look to the future of mobile devices such as mobiles and iPads because they offer other search channels to the user and, it goes without saying, to the marketer as well.

Marketers have to recognise that these channels are where the customer is now looking on a regular basis. The social user is constantly hungry for information and likes to share this information with others. This being said it is an obvious platform for a new concept in online marketing.

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Providing Customer Service to the Customer Service Team

10 December 2010

Managing your own business is certainly difficult on your own. This is why people hire well-trained professionals to assist them when their business grows in size. The hope: these professionals will be well equipped to handle the business and help it to grow and profit. However, its still up to you to provide the customer service at times.

This is even true for your customer service team. Believe it or not, you'll have to provide ample customer service to your customer service team if you want everything to run smoothly and remain on track.

Although you hired your customer service team to assist your customers, they will still need both guidance and assistance to ensure smooth sailing. For example: do your employees immediately know your position, or do they share your same business vision and focus? If not, its important that you start off by making sure you're all on the same page.

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