Home Business-What Are The Secrets To Being Successful On The Internet?

The biggest mistake you can make is thinking that your website all by itself will make you all the money you are looking for.  There is no doubt that a well made website is vital to a successful business, but there is more to it than that. What about the human element? Your potential customers need more than just a great looking site, they need to see some human element that shines through, or transcends your site. They want to know that there are people behind that site that are knowledgeable and that are there for their concerns and answers to important questions that they may have. People want to be to feel important and to be treated as an individual not like a herd of cattle. People really buy from you because they see something that makes them feel like a living human being and they see someone behind the scenes that they can relate to, or bond with.

This is why online customer service consisting of chat windows and email correspondence are so important for a successful online business. Think of it this way. If you had a brick and mortar store and a customer left a message on the phone, would you wait a week before getting back to that person. Of course not! As stupid as it sounds, this just what happens with some online businesses. Companies actually do that.  People are ruining their online businesses by not responding to potential customer concerns and questions in a timely manner.

Here are some basic practices I suggest an online business to follow:

1. Develop a way to separate your incoming email that contains questions and or concerns from customers from all other email. That way you can respond to this email first and give it the priority that it deserves.
2. Be sure to respond to this type of email as quickly as possible, even if just to say that you are looking into the problem or answer to the question and that you will get back to them as soon as you can.
3. See that you answer all emails that do not fall into the first category within 1-2 days.
4. When you do respond to e-mails, see that you include some basic information such as, personal name, position, your address, phone number, email address, and a very good subject line so the person will know automatically what the email is about.

You should also keep in mind the following:

1.When people are searching for a product to buy, more people are using the thousands of search engines online than all the yellow pages combined in the world.  Remember the saying “let your fingers do the walking”, forget that, more people are using their mouse these days.

2. You are not the only fish in the sea. You do have competition out there. If you don’t give potential customers the service they expect, they will go elsewhere to get it, and someone else will be there to give it to them, gladly.

3. Make your email shine through. See that it makes them stand up and take notice. Show that you and your company are special, not like the rest of the herd.

4. Be careful in writing your email subject line that it is not confused with spam. If it is, the receiver will not receive it and your future business with this person will take a serious hit.

5. Make your subject line as brief and to the point as you can. You do not want to come across as too sales oriented.

6. Try not to send your attachments larger than say 400k-500k. Not everyone has dsl and people don’t have all day to wait for your file to open. That will really piss them off.

If you follow my suggestions, you will gain as much as you can from that great website you have put online. That old saying “you sleep, you weep” is truer today online than ever before. Also keep in mind, that building your customer relationship online is similar to doing so for an offline business. Treat your customers right, make them feel important, that is a winning combination when it comes to being successful online.