MarketersProtection.com

Do you want to change your online business from ho-hum to a sales machine on steroids?

The secret is not getting more traffic, but improving how many of your current visitors become actual customers.

To track the progress and performance of your internet marketing campaign and your website, you must analyze conversion rates. Your conversion rate is the number of hits to the website that are needed before a sale is made. It is calculated by dividing the total number of unique visitors you receive in a period of time by the total number of sales you make during that time period. Changes in the conversion rate reflect the overall effectiveness of your internet marketing strategy.

Poor conversion rates are indicators that something needs to be done to improve your internet marketing efforts. To improve your conversion rates and thus the conversion of browsers to buyers, there are a few things that deserve your attention – primarily the targeted market, the products and services, the website, and the business terms.

The target market that you have selected to market to has certain characteristics that will determine what marketing mediums are best for you to use and the internet marketing techniques that will most likely appeal to the target market. Use of certain keywords in a pay-per-click or search engine advertising campaign can improve your chances of driving targeted traffic to your website. So, if your conversion rates aren’t satisfactory, review your target market and make sure that those you are reaching with your advertising are actually qualified buyers who have an interest in what your company is offering.

If your products and services are not selling, even though you have sufficient traffic, perhaps there is a problem with the products and services themselves. The pricing strategy may not appear to add value to the products or services, or your presentation of the products and services may not clearly convey the benefits of their features to the potential customers. Review your products and services to identify their features and to determine how those features translate into benefits for consumers. Then review your sales copy to ensure that it is appealing to the target market.

Another issue that can negatively impact conversion rates is problems with your website. If the website pages are slow to load, if there are broken links, or if the website is confusing or isn’t easy to navigate, you will likely lose website visitors before they even consider buying products or services from your website. It pays to take measures that make your website user-friendly.

Last but not least, your business terms may be an issue with potential customers. Payment terms, shipping policies, warranties and return policies, privacy policies, and ecommerce payment options are all things to consider. Making it easy for a variety of customers to make payments through a secure server using various types of payment options along with policies that enhance their confidence in your company and your business practices can aid in improving your conversion rates and boosting your sales.

Thank you for calling Widgets Inc. Your satisfaction is sometimes important to us, and we will eventually get around to answering your call - maybe. If you wish, you may leave us a message and a maybe a representative will contact you, but please don’t get your hopes up.

Have you ever used the telephone to contact a business, only to feel the frustration that can result from voice mail or automated answering services? Today, it seems almost every major business operates this way. People have become used to automated and imprudent business practices such as this and these methods of customer relations are gaining acceptance (or at least tolerance).

Many customers today are forced to listen to a long recording and find their way through a jungle of push buttons in order to leave a message, instead of being afforded the luxury of speaking to a warm-blooded human.

Of course the ole’ time principles of customer services – such as answering the phone before the third ring, avoiding putting a customer on hold if at all possible, and providing personal service – are still superb solutions to customer satisfaction. But, in our automated world, it is vital to recognize the importance of responding to customers quickly and appropriately.

Whether a customer makes contact in person, via telephone or through email, businesses should strive to provide a timely, if not an immediate response. Customer satisfaction is reliant on responsiveness.

So, you may ask, “What is a timely response?”

Honestly, the definition of a timely response really depends on the customer’s perception. The urgency of their need may play into the mix or their idea of a timely response may be linked to their expectations.

For some reason there is a perception amongst business people that a 24 hour response to a customer inquiry is sufficient. From the customer’s perspective; however, having to wait 24 hours for a quick answer to a simple question or a viable solution to a serious problem is ridiculously aggravating and neglectful on the part of the business.

When customers have a bad experience, from the customers’ perspective, they are sure to seek other options for fulfilling their needs. Plain and simple – poor customer service results in lost business.

Regardless of the type of business you are in and whether you receive customer inquiries via telephone, email or a website contact form, it is absolutely critical that you get back to your customers right away. Placing responsiveness at the top of your customer service objectives is the simplest solution to gaining a competitive advantage, producing satisfied customers, maintaining your customers through repeat business, and building your market share through client referrals. Responsiveness is the single most important factor to enhancing customer satisfaction.

My high strung uncle sat staring intently at me. His mouth moved as if to speak, but no words came out.

You see, I had just explained to my uncle the concept of recommendation marketing, and it left him totally baffled.

It was actually quite comical seeing this usually well spoken man, who seemed to have an opinion on everything (especially other people’s business), stricken speechless.

I must admit I reveled in the moment.

He couldn’t believe how much I made each month, by simply recommending high quality products and services to my customers.

What really blew him away, was when I revealed that it only took me an hour to set everything up, and I continue to make this residual income each and every month.

If I choose to work out, spend time with my family, or do something else I enjoy, I will still be earning the same amount.

This is the power of recommendation marketing.

The principle behind this technique is quite simple, but you must earn people’s trust for it to be effective (This means being honest and not trying to make a quick buck).

I compiled a list of my favorite products and services, and then created a page with a condensed review of these products. (Luckily for me most of them have an affiliate program, which is how I earn the residual income)

I only recommend something I believe in, that has personally worked for me or someone I trust.

If the product is full of hype and not up to my standards of excellence, I will not put it on my recommendation page. Period.

Here is a quick start guide to getting your own recommendation page up and turning a profit:

- Compile a list of your favorite products and services within your niche

- If the product/service has an affiliate program, be sure to join up.

- Tell your customers about this page. (You can do this with newsletter subscribers as well)

If someone trusts you enough to buy your products, it is very likely they will buy something you recommend.

If you are struggling to find something positive to say about one of these products/services, that should be an instant red flag. You should only recommend products you have purchased and believe in.

Never compromise your customer’s trust in you. Trading money for a damaged reputation can be fatal to your online business.

Once you lose someone’s trust, you can never truly gain it back. This can mean lost sales and profits for your business.

Try putting this simple plan into action, and I can almost guarantee that you will be thrilled with the results.