Customers are Your Friends
A business operates to cater to customers, not the other way around. When a business loses site of this truth, they also lose their grip on their conversion rates, chargebacks and the bottom line.
At one time the retail industry adopted the ideal of a turn-key business. Then they went to static pages and drop ship, self serve websites. Today’s ecommerce community sites are focusing on the consumer first, and reaping the benefits.
It is difficult for many business managers to make the transition from retail store front to ecommerce platform. They still want to set up racks of product and wait for the consumer to stop and buy. The ecommerce community is migratory. Consumers move from one entertainment to another, hunting for bargains, or some form of fun.
Niche Marketing
The main difference between brick-and-mortar and ecommerce selling is the way the client is approached. A mall tries to create a display that will draw in the maximum number of shoppers.
An ecommerce site builds a niche market. They work to tighten their markets and narrow the target audience as much as possible.
This makes it easier for them to appear to share the wants and needs, passions and desires, of their customers. They appear to take to heart their customers suggestions and offer solutions to problems faced by their target audience.
Be Transparent
Success in the e-tailing world is not about following the big dogs. Each e-tailer must communicate with their primary demographic, learning from their mistakes, and improving their landing and buy-now pages.
One way to do this is by letting yourself become translucent. Blog about your real-life experiences. Tell stories that happened to you. Instead of selling, chat and share with potential customers.
Be Real
Do not worry about trying to make the biggest or most dynamic website. It is amazing how much a business owner can learn from their associates and customers.
The niche makes this easy. The business owner doesn’t need to divulge their entire lives, just those aspects that cater to the customer.
Customers remember a special experience. They value it when a guru takes the time to talk to them. They will talk about a website that lets them participate.
Viral Marketing
Get into the world and explore what it has to offer. The internet is vast. There are inestimable opportunities to talk to people. Don’t sell – just leave a link. Your friendly nature and candid conversation will sell the company more than any sales pitch.
This includes releasing video, again, do not sell. Instead, release tutorials, entertainment, and anything that people will stop to watch. Blog chats, via phone services, are another way to touch customers and be ‘real.’ There are millions of "wanting-to-grow" sites with poor web design and faulty navigation and nothing for the customer. They do not work.
Customers are not idiots, and hate sites that are condescending or patronizing. They do not want to be told that you are the only one in the world with the secret or a product that works. They know better. They want to be treated like friends. They want to find web communities where they are valued. As social economists say, ‘they want a relationship.’
When the time comes to restructure the company operations, think about the people you known your friends. How do you talk to them? How do you treat them? What do you say to them? If a friend had a problem, would you throw a squeeze page at them and walk away?
Balance this with logical thinking. Human interaction, that focuses on the five levels of human motivations, will help management tailor their site after customer needs.
