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7 WAYS TO LOSE CUSTOMERS FAST
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
1) Ignore emails or take too long to respond.
The correct form is to reply to emails within 24 hours.
Even if you don't have the product or service the customer
is asking for, the proper etiquette is to respond and not
ignore the request.
When you respond, you can lead them to someone who has
the item they desire, or steer them to something else you
might have to offer.
2) Responding to email, but giving no information.
Email is the most effective tool for on-line business
communication. Make sure you get all you can out of your
emails. When a client or potential customer emails you a
question or comment, it is very important to reply and if possible,
keep a dialogue going. Your objective is to sell. Place links to
certain items or services you would like the client to see and
actually come out and tell them to click on the link to see
the item.
3) Being rude because they were rude to you.
If a customer sends you a rude email complaining about
something, DO NOT respond in kind. Be polite and professional.
Many times people get frustrated and they fire off rude emails
and then it's too late to take them back. Just forgive and forget,
answer the person's request and go on. Lead them in the right
direction with a website link if necessary, but don't be rude
in return.
4) Taking too long to send the item a customer ordered.
Many times items are back ordered or lately, it seems, the
shipping companies from UPS to the U.S. Postal Service have
been delaying many shipments, especially packages weighing
over 16 ounces.
If you don't have an item in stock, give the customer a choice of
waiting for it, replacing it with another item, or cancelling their order.
Be fair.
If there is a delay for any reason, be up front with the customer and
don't ignore the fact. Tell them before they have a chance to email
or call to complain. They'll appreciate the honesty and
professionalism.
5) Having a slow moving, slow downloading hard to navigate website.
We have said time and time again. No one cares about your java
genius. People want to get in, get what they want and get out. They
don't want to see a star and light show that you learned in your last
java class. Make it easy for people to navigate around your site.
Lead them to the products or services they desire without delaying
any page downloads.
6) Using annoying pop up windows
People hate pop up windows and the more you use them, the more
likely they will leave and never return to your site. The worst is when
they try to leave and windows keep popping up, keeping them
hostage. This does not work in getting customers. It only repels
customers.
7) Not posting your return policy and not guaranteeing your service
or products 100%.
People want to see what their options are if they are unhappy with
your product or service. Post a return policy and use it. If a person
is unhappy for some reason, give them a full refund. This will impress
them and they will surely be back another time.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including
the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
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WHY BAD SPELLING IS GOOD!
This article may be reprinted with permission by including
the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
There is a little secret that many websites use to get more
business from the search engines.
They spell words incorrectly! Yes, you read right.
They spell words incorrectly.
For instance, if you look at our list of the top search words this
week, you would see that Britney Spears was listed as number 4.
So if you have a page or website dedicated to Britney, this would
be important to know.
There is likely a lot of competition, the AOL search alone comes
up with over 1900 pages dedicated to Britney! What to do?
One little technique is found in the meta tags: misspell
Britney's name!
Do you realize how many people spell her name Brittany
Speers, or Britny Spears, or Speers or spars? This is true.
So by placing these misspelled words in your meta tags,
you will get traffic from the people who can't spell, who don't
take time to get the name right or who just are in a rush and spell
it quickly leaving letters out, etc.
Please note. Just make sure they are in the hidden meta tags along
with the correct spelling, of course. Do not. I repeat, do not
misspell the name where people will see it on the page.
This is totally unprofessional.
So cover yourself for the many different spellings and spelling
errors that people make. Most people on the net are in a rush to find
the information they need, they type fast and don't double check spelling.
You can use this to your advantage.
Next issue I will reveal a simple, but very accurate way to get to the top
of the search engines. It is such a great idea, but no one thinks of it!
This article may be reprinted with permission by including
the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
---------------------
Increase sales with email letterheads
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
You are all familiar with signatures that follow email
messages, but have you considered "headers" or
"letterheads"?
This works almost like a regular paper letterhead, where
you place important information at the top of your email
correspondence.
The usual name, phone number and address belong at the
bottom as signatures, but at the top you can have one or
two lines promoting anything.
We use our own mail servers, but at times you have seen ads
at the top of Yahoo messages or other mail servers that allow
free email transmissions in exchange for ads at the top of each
transmission. Free autoresponders work this way too: each time
a message is sent, a paid ad is seen at the top of the message
before your message is seen.
Well why not do the same with all your outgoing emails, but not
be so intrusive. One or two lines works best.
At the top of many of our emails we have one line that reads:
"FREE Marketing Newsletter - http://www.XpectMore.com"
and that is it. Right below it, we start our correspondence with
Dear so-and-so, etc. etc.
If you are a realtor, for instance, why not start your email
correspondence with a line at the top of your email that says
something like:
"Ways to Save on your Mortgage" email us at: xxx@xxx.com
or "We have lots of new listings: http://www.newlistings.com"
This way your message is seen right at the top and being one line
it really isn't intrusive at all, in fact, it almost frames the email letter.
You can correspond to people and advertise right at the same
time without being pushy.
I wrote a very popular article in the past which ran in dozens if
not hundreds of other publications about 2-Line eZine ads and
signatures. This seems to be the perfect opportunity to bone up
on the technique. To refresh your memory, you can see the article
at: http://www.XpectMore.com/stories5.htm
This technique works and will perform for any type of business.
Remember, this is not an invitation to start spamming people,
it is just a small reminder at at the top of all your usual
correspondence. You can change it as many times as you
choose and just keep the ad that seems to be drawing the
best traffic.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including
the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
How to report and stop unsolicited faxes
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
Do you receive junk faxes? Did you know it is illegal
to send unsolicited faxes? There are actual laws on
the books to prevent and stop this intrusion.
We talk a lot about email spamming, but unsolicited faxes
are a major waste of time and money, even more so than
spam since it wastes your toner, paper, film, etc.
Report unsolicited faxes to your state and federal authorities.
Send a letter with your name, address and fax number to the
Office of your State's attorney general. Also, send a letter to
the Federal Communications Commission
Consumer Information Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Enclose one of the faxes that you are reporting with each letter.
The authorities will follow up by sending a letter to the offending
parties ordering the fax sender to "cease and desist" or face a
$500.00 fine for each transmission. That usually does the trick.
To find out more on filing complaints and to get email information,
please go to: www.fcc.gov/cib/consumerfacts/howtofile.html
This article may be reprinted with permission by including
the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
How pay-per-click search
engines work
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
The best way to market your websites these days
is with pay-per-click search engines and the best of
course is Overture, previously GoTo.com.
It seems that the major search engines are changing
their rules daily and it is getting harder and harder to
get your site listed. In many cases one must pay and
that does not guarantee being placed at the top of any
one category.
But with Overture.com and other pay-per-click search
engines, you can place yourself at the top and you
regulate how much you want to spend per click.
With a little experimentation, you can find out the
best click through rates and the best terms to use.
We sell custom printed promotional and party items.
We noticed that when we placed our printed cups,
matches, napkins, etc. under the category of
"Retirement Parties," we received lots of clicks, but
no orders for retirement parties.
When we placed the same items under "Proms,"
"Family Reunions," "High School Reunions," and
such, the orders were coming in like wildfire. So of
course we removed our listing under "Retirement
Parties" since it seemed that people were willing to
click on our link out of curiosity, costing us money
each time they clicked, yet they never placed orders.
With pay-per-click we were able to get many pages
and items listed that on the regular search engines
would not have been.
On most search engines, we are at the top with
Post-It Notes, Pens, and other items, but for the
Reunion items or Party supplies we would never be
raised to the top since that is not our major business.
But through the pay-per-click engines, we are at the
top in those categories and it has paid off very nicely.
The best part of Overture.com is that they have major
deals with Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other major search
engines, and the top three listings on Overture are
actually carried over to the other search engines. So
what you have on Overture is also on Yahoo, AOL,
MSN, Ask Jeeves, Alta Vista and others at the same
time. This is only for the three listings on each category.
You can be ranked wherever you would like on Overture,
but to have your site or page listed on the other engines,
you must be one of the top three with Overture.
This has helped with our 2002 Calendar promotion. We
were able to place the printed calendars at the top of
the search engines, which enabled us to sell out our
entire stock! When they were sold out, we simply
removed the listings.
Listings start at only .05 per click, which isn't bad.
Depending on your listing and your business type,
.05 could get you to the top on in many categories.
You can check your stats daily and see where the
clicks are coming from and how many people are
actually clicking on specific key words or links.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including
the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
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