Read Your Customer’s Mind
This just came to mind…
It’s a quick note but I think you’ll find it useful. It a world full of online surveys, crowded (complaint laden) forums, scams and junk mail I think we have lost sight of a simple but fundamental truth. More about that in second, but first let me just say that first we must realize that our customers are “people” and they fall in line with what sways most individuals. They’re not just a listing in your monthly sales reports! :)…
Ok, that being said, here’s a tip that can help give your business a boost. We all know how important it is to give our customers what they desire most right? And, many will spend thousands of dollars and countless hours trying “figure it out”. Why? Well, we all know if you can match what your market desires most, you sell more and that means of course you make more money…
Fair enough. Along with the items I mentioned earlier I think we assume that our customers are just overloaded with too much advertising noise and general intrusions that happen online. There’s some truth there but remember they are just people too. For this reason this simple, over-looked technique can prove to be a win-fall for your business…
Are you ready for it? Prepare yourself…
If you want know exactly what your customers want… ask them! Yes, it can and in many cases it IS that simple. Ask your customers what they want and expect from your industry or your products. Why does this work? People, especially those that regularly spend their hard earned money on your products or services, like to be included. They like feeling as thought they have had some involvement in the process. This is a very powerful feeling of empowerment. Anytime you can make your customers have a feeling of ownership in your business or products you have just made a very good bond for future buying experiences…
Think about it… How would you feel if the engineer of your favorite type of car asked for your input while designing the car? You would feel pretty good I bet when that car was ready for purchase…
Give it a try, send out an email with a purpose. Get creative and “ask” your customers for their input. Take their input and turn it into something that is profitable for you and desirable for them. It’s a win win!
Increase Conversions with Product Descriptions
Here’s a quick tip…
This is something that a lot of online retailers overlook. It only takes a couple of extra seconds but can make all the difference when it comes time for a customer to buy one of your products…
What am I talking about? Product Descriptions of course! These areas of content provided by just about every shopping cart software on the planet have sadly been reduced to glorified catalog index’s about as exciting to read as the nutrition facts on your morning cereal box. Believe it or not, your website visitors actually want to read about your products. It helps them justify purchasing from you. Things like SKU numbers, stock availability etc. are good to have around but they don’t really do anything for your visitors…
Email Marketing Ninja
Ok, first I have to say this…
If you are not building an email list of customers and prospects you are leaving significant money on the table! Yes, you can go about your e-commerce endeavors and not market to your back end and still be profitable. However, you stand to make a lot more if you properly utilize your email list to increase the life value of your customers…
That being said, let me make one quick note. I refer to your back end as an email list but please keep in mind that they are not just this big collection of profit centers for you. They are people, they are your interested prospects, they are your valued customers. So, even though for the sake of reference I say “your list” please never lose sight of the fact that they should be treated respectfully as individuals. There are actually very good reasons for marketing to them in this way as well, more on that later…
Ok, now I would like to give you the anatomy of an effective email campaign. I will lay out the proper structure the overlying themes and the action steps required for getting results…
1. Overlying Theme - Above all else you must adhere to the principal of providing value to your list. Value can come in many forms, it does not have to be just “deals” or “freebies” although these absolutely have a place in your marketing. You can deliver content rich in the ares that interest your list. If, for example you own a gardening website and you have a list of customers interested in gardening. You can deliver valuable content about growing your best tomatoes or top ten ways to get an organic garden. You can see the benefits here right? So, be creative and offer content rich in value and you can’t go wrong.
2. Structure - It goes without saying but I will mention it anyway. Once of the best ways you can deliver your content effectively is by using an autoresponder. Many web store solutions come with built in autoresponder packages and this is ok. However, I would recommend that you look into using a 3rd party solution such as AWeber to provide your autoresponder. The main reason for this is deliverability. I mean, your emails are not good for anything if they never get to their intended audience…
Once you have your autoresponder in place you want to make good use of it. A big question about email marketing many people have is “how often do I email my list?”. This is a good question and you will here the support from both sides of the argument. But here’s all you need to remember, if your sending great, valuable content then you do not have to worry about sending emails too often. If your sending emails for no reason then your already sending too many emails. That’s it!…
So, you might be wondering now, “ok, so how does this make me more money?”. Good question and here is your answer. When you focus on providing great, valuable content to your list what you are really doing is bonding with them. You are getting them to know, like and trust you. This is extremely important. Because now when you do have an offer for one of your products for them, you send it out in your email and they are very much more receptive and much more likely to buy your stuff! After all, they feel like you are on their side right. You always deliver great stuff for them so they know you’re not trying to just “sell them” something for no reason…
Here’s a tip, once you start communicating with your list, give them very useful information that they can use right away for your particular industry. Then overtime incorporate more personal elements to your emails. Let them know you have a dog that loves to dig up the potatoes in your backyard garden. Tell them a little bit about the other day when your daughter did something that made you laugh hysterically. Tie in these personal elements with your business and your emails. This is a great technique for bonding with your list. But be sure to deliver the goods for them up front first, then move into the bonding stage…
You can see how simple but how very powerful these techniques are for increasing your profits. Don’t abuse this power! Always be aware of the point of your email. Ask yourself “what’s in it for them”.
Here’s a few actions steps to give you a head start…
1. Get an autoresponder if you don’t already have one
2. Be creative and think of content ideas that will benefit your list. Load that content into your autoresponder well ahead of time so you are free to enjoy your business
3. Stay in contact often with your list, you never want your list to forget who you are
4. Initiate special offers exclusively for your list and offer these deals to them in your emails
If you follow these steps regularly you can turn that one-time customer into an extemely valuable longterm customer that is more than happy to give you money in exchange for what you’re selling over and over again like clockwork.