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| Internet |
 Website Savvy - Customer Service through
Your Website By Joan Pasay of Jampact Media Inc. Most of the talk today about websites is centered on securing more business and expanding sales territories. It is true that a properly designed website coupled with a realistic and workable marketing plan will definitely help your chances of increasing your business sales and territories. However, there is something else your website can do and most companies miss this golden opportunity - your website can be used to service your existing customers! Generally it is easier to get a repeat sale then a new one. Why? Because your company has already proven itself. Your client knows you and what you can offer. You can increase your revenues by using your website to service your existing customers. 1) Offer a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section - Customers always have questions. Keep a log of the types of questions you are asked by your customers. Determine which of these can be posted online. Update these FAQs as new, frequent questions arise. These FAQs work great for product-related companies as well as for service companies. This feature will save you the labor of having to answer the same questions over and over, and provide your customers with answers 24/7. 2) Provide online PDFs available for download - A PDF (Portal Document Format) is a file that can be read by anyone without requiring the software by which it was created. This format is quickly becoming the norm for providing files online. PDFs allow your customers to save the file on their own desktop, or print the file. The following can be provided online for the benefit of your customers: a) Product catalogues - this is an inexpensive way to let your customers view all your products and have a hard copy for themselves. b) Service manuals - if your service requires lengthy instructions for your customers, offer the service manual as an online PDF. 3) Start an e-newsletter - By now most of you have subscribed to a free e-newsletter or two, and receive these emails on a regular basis. E-newsletters are great. An e-newsletter is one of the most affordable ways to promote your business with existing customers. The overall objective of the e-newsletter is to remind your clients that you still exist and are open for business. When your client receives your e-newsletter in their email box they have to either read it or delete it, otherwise it will stay there forever. Probably 50% will read it. The following are tips for creating an effective newsletter: a) Only send your e-newsletters to those who subscribe. Ask all your existing clients to subscribe and offer a sign up area on your website. Don’t Spam. Let people opt in and build your subscriber list slowly and ethically. b) When you write your newsletters, don’t write a book. Three scrolls in an average email package is enough. c) Text e-newsletters are still the way to go. A recent survey in the U.S. suggested 62% still prefer text newsletters to flashy graphics, FLASH and html-based newsletters. d) Offer archived e-newsletters on your website for people to review. e) Send the e-newsletter consistently - biweekly, monthly, etc. Don’t over commit. Start with once a quarter or once a month if that is what you feel capable of. The accepted general format of an e-newsletter includes: a) Offer free advice and information about your industry and recent changes or developments in your field. b) In the closing of your e-newsletter remind the reader how your company can help them. Sharing recent news about your company is also recommended. c) Offer an easy method for persons to stop receiving the e-newsletter. These ‘opt out’ instructions should be at the end of every e-newsletter you publish. Honor all requests to leave the e-newsletter list and remove any such persons quickly. In closing, there are three approaches you can incorporate into your website to help service your existing customers: online FAQs, PDFs, and an e-newsletter. You will find that taking the time and effort to invest a small portion of your website to your existing customers will pay off in repeat sales. Next issue: More tips on servicing your customers with your website. Joan Pasay is an Internet Marketing Coach with Jampact Media Inc. a Calgary-based Internet Marketing & Web Development Firm. You may contact Joan at 403.547.5436 or joan@jampactmedia.com or visit their website at www.jampactmedia.com |