No business can be successful without a deep understanding of its customers. This knowledge can help you to adapt your business style and advertising techniques to attract more customers and expand your client base. Though face-to-face interactions are most suitable for understanding customer requirements and behaviors, web entrepreneurs do not have this luxury. Therefore, you must know your customers through indirect methods. Here are some of the methods you can use.
Tracking your Website Traffic
Traffic reports can serve as an excellent first step in understanding your customers. Ask your web hosting company about the free reports they offer on website traffic. Analyze these reports to determine key trends in traffic and visitor information. Once you have familiarized yourself with report information, use it to track your traffic and modify your website in accordance with customer's requirements and trends. For instance, if you notice that you have many visitors from China, you can add features on web pages that attract attention of Chinese people and ensure that they keep coming back to your site. Tracking will also help you to assess the impact of specific advertising and promotion campaigns on customers and if they have been profitable for your business.
Some web hosting companies, however, do not provide any traffic reports. In this situation, you can look into your log files directly. Go to your web hosting service and look for a directory named “Logs.” Within the directory, download the most recent file to analyze the location of visitors, the pages viewed, the duration for which each page is viewed and the links attracting the most traffic. E-commerce websites can also recover information on sold products and where, in the ordering process, do customers bail out. Most text editors can open the file containing this information.
Collect E-mail Addresses and Stay in Touch
Give your visitors incentive for registering with your website by offering them free a newsletter subscription, an e-book or articles. Websites selling services can get customers to register by offering short free consultation. These methods let you collect the emails while the visitors get a glimpse of the good stuff you have to offer.
After you have obtained the email addresses and the permission to send mails to your customers, you can use the addresses to contact potential customers, and keep in touch by sending them discount coupons and special offers, information about sales, newsletters, articles and catalogs.
Getting Feedback from Customers
There is no better way of getting to know your customers than asking them directly about their requirements and expectations. Use your website to develop customer databases, and build user profiles and mailing lists. Give your customers an option of joining your mailing list on the homepage of your website. However, when seeking feedback directly from your customers you should always make it a point to respond to their messages or you risk alienating them. Analyze customer responses and requests to determine common problems and then aim to develop solutions to them. If you show genuine concern about their problems and needs, they will reciprocate by being loyal to your business and brand.
A deep knowledge of your customers helps you to precisely target your products and services and attract customer attention and interest. This in turn, helps you to increase your business profitability and significantly expand your customer base. If you want your web business to be successful and your website to be effective start getting to know your customers today.
Before you hire a vendor, compare multiple web page design quotes at a Business Network. For further information, read our web site design advice.
Medical Billing Service - How Does Software Aid Electronic Filing of Claims and Improve Collections?
Medical billing software solutions are being adopted by an increasing number of medical practitioners every year as it makes the billing process easy, fast and accurate. Healthcare providers should examine not only the services of the medical billing provider but also the quality and features of the medical billing software they use to ensure it is suitable for their practice.
Ecommerce Website Design - Top Marketing Techniques to Promote Your Site and Increase Sales
The best marketing techniques are those that result in maximum conversions and improve the brand image. Besides implementing the tested and tried strategies, e-commerce businesses should experiment and develop new tactics. This article is a discussion of some of the most used e-commerce development techniques by marketing executives.
Ecommerce Growth Has Slowed But Still Positive. Beat the Recession with Online Sales
E-commerce businesses were riding on a wave of fast growth till 2007 when the sales grew 18% YoY. Sales growth slowed to 13% in 2008 and is expected to slow down further to about 10% in 2009. This growth has come in spite of the global economic crisis, and is a clear indication of the strength of e-commerce.
