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Internet Marketing: Web Design and Development Businesses Exceptional Customer Service is the Name of the Game
| Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith |
Article Overview: Are you an Internet Business Service Provider? Many small business owners are actively seeking exceptional service from their Internet Provider and unfortunately receiving anything but stellar service. These 5 tips may help improve your business and create loyal customers.
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Free Download - How to Craft an Engaging Message That Highlights What You Do to Increase Sales By Leanne Hoagland-Smith |
Internet Marketing: Web Design and Development Businesses Exceptional Customer Service is the Name of the Game
If you as a small business owner have a web site and need to deal on a regular basis with a web hosting provider, web development company or a web site design vendor, you may have experienced less than stellar customer service. Recently, I have engaged in 5 very long detailed conversations about the poor customer service being delivered by web developers and web site hosting companies. All of these conversations shared exactly the same complaints and what’s even more interesting in the exact same order.
Complaint #1: Poor communication
Communication continues to be an even greater challenge when technology enters this process. Emails lay unanswered or ignored while customer dissatisfaction grows. With business competition even more intense, small business companies that wish to grow cannot ignore this issue.
Complaint #2: Poor response rate
A timely response builds customer loyalty which should be the ultimate goal of every small business web design or web hosting provider. Through the click of a mouse, the old adage of customer satisfaction being everything has definitely changed.
Complaint #3: Abdication of any responsibility or "It's not my job, man!"
With reduced budgets and the 20th century belief system that money spent on employees was an expenditure and a loss on the bottom line instead of an investment and a growth to the bottom line, many employees lack the skill sets to accept responsibility and help your customers achieve satisfaction. Many involved in web sites utilize independent contractors to interns. Ensuring that these employees have the skill sets to respond proactively to customer service inquiries will increase business.
Complaint #4: Lack of understanding as to the customer's needs
This complaint stems from the top levels of management where the strategic plan (Who does what by when) including clear articulated core values has not been developed nor communicated. (See complaint number one.) Within this plan, the customers' needs should be clearly identified so that marketing and sales strategies are in alignment. Employees need to be developed beyond the basic training and development so that they have the interpersonal skills to effectively work with the clients’ needs.
Complaint #5: They promised me the "moon" and all I got was the "pits."
With referrals being the strongest source for new sales, businesses lose incredible opportunities to build referrals when they make false promises. Learning to say no may in the short-term result in decreased sales, but in the long term will create sales through referrals.
If you are an Internet vendor such as a web hosting site or web developer and you wish to quickly double your business, possibly the quickest way is to make sure that you address these five complaints. By taking such directed action, you will be the lone, brightly shining star in your niche market and word will quickly spread about your excellent customer service.
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About the Author: Leanne Hoagland-Smith RSS for Leanne's articles - Visit Leanne's website Her book, Be the Red Jacket is a no-nonsense and quick read to help discover potential gaps that may be keeping you from your goal to increase sales. The forward is by Evan Carmichael of EvanCarmichael.com Remember if you think you cannot or you think you can either way you are right. (Henry Ford). Sales Coaching Tip: Change your thoughts; improve your results. Click here to visit Leanne's website   Business Building Check List Leadership Audit For Business Leadership Assessment |
Related Forum Posts
Re: what position to request?
- Hi Michael,
Great suggestion from David, or you could try something around a design consultancy,
How about Website Design Consultant, Design and Development Manager, Website Support and Development Manager or maybe Internet Business Development Consultant.
Ultimately whatever you are comfortable with and good luck for the future,
Mal.
Re: Service Or Product?
- I agree with starting a Service-based Business in the economy. Here is what I think is critical:
1. Researching that your Service business has a market.
2. Marketing the Service with as much leverage as possible.
3. Product-izing the Service (aka Package Expert Knowledge). This will only help elevate you as "the" expert in your niche and make you accessible to people in different price points.
Wearing different hats in Business
- I have a business that produces beautiful custom rugs for home and business environments.
Different hats that I'm wearing...
Rug Fabrication - 10 [i:21cr28m8](partially outsourced to an outfit here in the US)[/i:21cr28m8]
Customer Service / Sales - 8-10
Bookkeeping - 1
Marketing - 6
Website development - 5 [i:21cr28m8](mainly outsourced)[/i:21cr28m8]
SEO, SEM - 6-8
Accounting - [i:21cr28m8](outsourced)[/i:21cr28m8]
Re: What is your Business?
- We are running a Online Marketing Firm and we have some good clients to which we are offering a complete Digital Marketing strategy like Search, Mobile Marketing, Branding and Design. I think in Online Marketing company online presence can be a wining factor for the success of the company.
Re: The Mobile Marketing
- Mobile Marketing involves communicating with the consumer via cellular (or mobile) device, either to send a simple marketing message, to introduce them to a new audience participation-based campaign or to allow them to visit a mobile website.
Some of the tools of the trade and a few of the concepts that will be featured in this Mobile Marketing 101 series are:
Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS)
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)
Bluetooth, Wireless and Infrared
Mobile Internet and Social Media
Mobile Applications
Mobile connectivity not only enables people to connect to the Internet via a cellular telephone, PDA or other gadget, but also consolidates the different communication channels in a simple, yet effective, medium.
Cheaper than traditional means for both the consumer and the marketer - and easy enough for almost any age group to understand and engage with - Mobile Marketing really is a streamlined version of traditional eMarketing.
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