PLEASE,DON,MAKE,THE,BIGGEST,MI DIY PLEASE! DON’T MAKE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE ON THE INTERNET TODAY

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

Everyday I see a common mistake being made on websites all overthe Internet. It results in lost customers, lost sales, poorvisitor figures, lost profits and more. In short, it has anegative impact on all aspects of the website and companyconcerned. Its also completely unnecessary and costing businessesdearly. Rectifying this one mistake would transform websites andbusinesses increasing sales, profits, customers, recommendations,etc.Here’s a current example: buying a train ticket has been aproblem for customers for years. Until recently all train ticketsneeded to be purchased in person from a main train station. Thismeant going there, joining the ever present queue, buying theticket and then traveling home. In a large city this adds up to acouple of hours of your time which could be better occupiedelsewhere. Recently telephone services have been introduced butthey aren’t ideal either because you cant actually see anyinformation to review it. Its passed to you piecemeal and theticket is selected for you. The Internet however is potentiallywell suited to buying train tickets, customers could actuallyview the train timetables from wherever they are and select theirticket themselves. Customers love the option of good self-servicetools that enable them to be in control and do tasks themselves.So, bearing all this in mind I wanted to: select my destinationand travel times, at the cheapest price, buy the ticket onlinequickly, have it delivered to my home. All perfectly reasonableneeds and wishes for a customer.Three websites and two and a half hours later I’d finally boughtmy ticket. What happened? Well between them the three companieshad not considered my needs and wishes, it was an exercise infrustration and futility. They hid information, made it too vagueor made the process too inflexible. One site had a great lookinghomepage, which then failed miserably with text given on thebuttons, which was so vague I was left to figure out whether theyeven sold tickets online. I’m now convinced all promotionaloffers are just an exercise to mess me around, leaving me withthe responsibility for manually searching for every conceivablecombination of journeys until I happened upon a good price orgave up from fury and frustration. All these things said ineffect: WE DON’T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT! -we only care aboutourselves and our objectives. Clearly, it doesn’t matter whichorganisation you are, saying that to your customers is the startof the slippery road to ruin and businesses with that attitudewill not survive for long. At least, not successfully.They all missed the point, their sites are not focused onsatisfying the customers needs and desires. The result, anunhappy customer that went somewhere else that did meet theirneeds and who obviously got their business. Millions of peopletravel by train and buy tickets everyday. Even if only a smallpercentage felt the frustration I did, which I doubt is that low,these companies and companies like them are losing sales revenuesand customer goodwill. Did these disappointed customers thinkthat the company helped them fulfill their needs? No. Did thesecustomers receive a positive image of the company? No. Will thesecustomers recommend them to others? No. Will these customers evervisit that website again? No. Will these customers ever buy fromthem? No.What can you do to prevent a similar thing happening to youregardless of what business you are in? Make it as easy aspossible for the customer to buy from you by identifying andfocusing on your customers needs and desires. Then make yourwebsite meet those customers needs and desires. Anything on awebsite that prevents your customers from reaching their specificobjectives easily is making it difficult for them to buy fromyou. Anything on your website that is unclear to your customersis making it difficult for them to buy from you. I’ll call theseobstructions ‘barriers’ because they are preventing customersreaching their objectives. They are the Internet’s equivalent tobrick walls, like their real world counterpart they prevent youfrom continuing on your chosen path. This is where most websitesare going wrong, either the customers needs are not being met orthe barriers are obstructing them from satisfying those needs.Focus on your customers needs and desires. Ask them what theywant. Build or change your website to directly meet theirobjectives. Check regularly during and after to make sure you aremeeting their needs.On an ongoing basis encourage feedback and interaction on yourwebsite. Be open to constructive criticism. Ask questions: Howcould we improve? What would you like to see on our website? Makestatements: we value and want your feedback to help us improveour service. Offer incentives (if necessary) so they take thetime to comment and help you to help them.Research any information received and act on it. Try to becreative in your actions too by going that extra distance toreally satisfy your customers with extra features and functions,especially if they cant get those features elsewhere. Once you’vegot it right, keep checking regularly to make sure their needshaven’t changed. Consider your visitors and customers carefully,there may be more than one type of customer. Write a customerprofile for each type to use as a reference point. Just simpledetails like: how they use your product/service, when they useit, what their needs are, what their wishes are, what they do anddon’t want, what extra features would help them, etc.Once you have got it right, your customers will love you for it.They’ll buy more from you and be much more inclined to stay loyalto you and your products (for as long as you continue to satisfytheir needs). They’ll happily recommend you to others. A happycustomer is an extremely valuable asset to your business, theycan start a word-of-mouth marketing campaign more powerful thanany campaign you could ever buy. All you have to do is make thecustomer happy!Summary/checklist:Research your customers needs and desires.Put customers needs and desires first.Remove all ‘barriers’ to ensure your website is simple to use andcrystal clear to customers. No vagueness.Add extra features/functions that make it quicker, easier, moreconvenient, etc., for your customers.Actively ask for comments, suggestions and feedback on an ongoingbasis. Make it easy.Refer to your written customer profiles to ensure you are stillmeeting your customers needs.Good luck!If you found this article useful, please forward it to friends,family and associates!