Why should I buy from you?
March 29, 2007
So you've joined the affiliate program for some great product, and you've started to drive traffic to your site that promotes the product. If you're finding that your conversion rates are low, you might need to ask yourself the question: why would anybody buy from me?
Think about your product or service from the customer's perspective. For example, if you have a travel booking site, what makes you better than Travelocity or Expedia? Are your rates better? Do you offer faster service, an easier interface, additional services? What would make somebody buy from you instead of the big names?
If you find yourself struggling to answer that question, then chances are you're not going to go very far with your promotional efforts. You'll get some sales, sure, since some people are more interested in convenience and they're at your site at that moment. But will they come back again when they need those same products or services?
That's important, because the real money is in getting people to come back and buy again. It's a lot easier, and a lot cheaper, to sell to an existing customer twice than to obtain a new customer. Once you've won over a customer with great prices, great service or additional benefits, they'll stick with you for a long time to come. But you have to give them a reason to stick around.
One way to do this is to offer an exclusive free gift to your customers. Using the travel booking example, you could offer a list of the best restaurants nearby the customer's hotel, complete with reviews and a PDF copy of their menu. I know that's one of the big issues when my family and I travel — where should we eat, and what kind of food do they have? Going the extra mile in little ways like that will keep your customers coming back again.
But you might say, "That would take a lot of time!", to which I respond, "Of course it does — but that's what makes you better." In the end, the amount of time you're willing to invest into providing a great experience and product for your customers is going to be reflected in your bottom line. The more you invest in your customers, the more they will invest in you. There's no getting around that.
Remember, too, that you're already at a disadvantage online, simply because there are so many competitors in almost every niche. Competitors who have already become established and trusted. If you're new to a niche, you need to offer enough benefits to make it worth a customer taking the risk of buying from an unknown.
A customer may not get the best price, or even the best service with a big name company, but they may not care because they feel like they can get support with problems, and that their purchase is backed up and secure. Even if that is not true, people tend to trust the big names they've heard of more than the little ones they haven't heard of. You're working against that, so make the risk worth it to the customer. When you deliver, they will reward you with their loyalty!
So the next time you're looking for a product or service to promote, ask yourself: what can I do to make this product better for my customers? You may not be the creator of the product, but you still want to take ownership of the customers who buy from you. Offer them support and services that they can't get from any other affiliate, and you'll win their loyalty, and their purchases.
The most important investment you'll make this year.
March 26, 2007
Slowly, the man approached the well, water bucket in hand. He tied the bucket to the rope suspended above the mouth of the well and began turning the hand crank. The bucket began its long descent into the deep well.
Anticipating the sound of the bucket striking water, the man listened carefully as he continued to turn the crank — but there was no sound at all. After some minutes there was indeed a sound, but not the sound of water. No, the only sound that rose was the clank of the bucket striking the hard, rocky surface of the bottom of an empty well.
Water is the source of life. Without water there is no life. Because of its importance, water is a fitting symbol of the sum total of your knowledge and experience. The more water you have in the well of your mind, the more life you have to put into any of your endeavors — be they business related or otherwise.
The most important investment you'll make this year is not an investment into the stock market, or an investment into a business or product line. No, the most important investment you'll make this year is the investment you put into yourself.
What do I mean when I talk about investing in yourself? I mean taking the time to learn new things.
For example, I'm writing a novel for my wife as her anniversary gift. It's something she's wanted me to do for a long time, and I'm finally buckling down and making it happen. I did really great for the first forty pages, and then progress on the story started to slow down, almost stopping.
The cure? I started reading a really great novel. It had a great plot, interesting characters and great description. I immediately started seeing things that I could apply to my own writing, and it energized me to get to it. That was just a few weeks ago, and I'm up to page 110 in the novel now — and growing fast.
That novel I was reading was an investment in myself and in the creative energies I needed to make things happen in my own story. The same principle applies to business endeavors.
If you're wanting to write more articles, read about other people's success in doing so — or read high-quality articles written by other people. Doing so will give you some much-needed motivation.
If you're wanting to create a new product, talk to people who have created successful products. Ask other business owners questions at the forums you frequent. You'll be surprised how willing people are to offer their own experiences.
How often are you in the car? You probably drive almost daily to work, or to the store, or to appointments. If so, how are you spending that time in the car? Why not get some informational audio books related to your niche, or about marketing and business? Listen to a little bit each time you're in the car. But don't just play it for background noise. When you hear some good advice, advice that you could use, pause the recording and repeat it to yourself three or four times. Think about how it can help you and how you can use it.
All of those things will add "water" to your "well". And it's from that well of knowledge you will draw new ideas, new products and fresh perspectives on your current efforts. You'll be amazed at how many ideas will be sparked by broadening your horizons through learning.
Programmers have an axiom that we call GIGO: garbage in, garbage out. It means that it doesn't matter how good the software is if the data being put into the software is bad — if garbage goes in, garbage will come out. The same applies to people.
So be sure that you're taking in high-quality advice and information, investing in yourself through learning and experience. Doing so will benefit you, in everything that you do, for the rest of your life.
A business lesson from the lady at the deli.
March 14, 2007
I had an unexpected lesson in how to conduct business yesterday that I thought I'd share with you. It taught me that it pays to be patient, both as a customer and as a vendor.
I went to the grocery store to pick up some candy for my daughter, and decided to drop by the deli and get a quick bite myself since I hadn't eaten dinner. Normally there are two people working in the deli, but today there was only one. She was hidden behind a wall doing dishes, so she couldn't see me.
So I walked around to an angle where she could see me, and she gave me a rather nasty glare. She looked busy, and wasn't paying me much attention beyond the glare.
Now, I had two options here.
1) Be upset because she was ignoring me and didn't seem to have any desire to do her job at all.
2) Recognize that she was busy come back in a little bit.
To get upset would probably have been perfectly justified. After all, she was the only one working in the deli, and I stood at the counter for a couple of minutes waiting for her. She saw me, and still ignored the fact that I was needing something there. I could complain to her manager and cause an ordeal, insisting that the service at the store should be better than that (which, no doubt, it should).
The other option would be to recognize she was busy, even if she should have stopped what she was doing, and come back in a little bit. This is what I chose to do. Since I had not yet gotten the candy for my daughter, I went and got that and then came back.
Again I walked to where she would be able to see me. When she looked at me, I smiled and pointed toward the food behind the glass, then made my way back over there. Slowly, she washed up and came up to me, still looking annoyed.
To diffuse the situation, I said in a sympathetic tone, "They have you working back here all by yourself?" Her response showed that she was clearly annoyed, not with me, but with her employer.
"Yes they do!" she said.
I told her I was sorry she had to work by herself, and she responded that it wasn't my fault.
That little gesture of understanding completely changed the woman's attitude. She was suddenly friendly, smiling and helpful. As many older women in the southern United States will do when they like somebody, she referred to me as "baby" and "hon". The transaction went smooth, and I left her in a much better mood than I had found her.
Now, I could have caused a fuss and talked to management, but instead I decided to just be nice and understanding and make the best of it. I noticed that she was by herself, which is unusual for that store, and I figured she wasn't happy about having to handle the whole deli on her own. My hunch turned out to be true and the situation turned out fine.
How does this apply to business? In two ways:
First, as a customer, you can try and be understanding of the people you do business with, knowing that they are people, too, and not everything goes perfect for them every day. Doing this is not only the right thing to do (since you'd want people to be understanding of your bad day right?), but it also gets you a lot farther a lot faster.
Who knows how long it would have taken to get what I was needing if I had caused a stink? Besides, I go in that store a lot, and I don't want to have hassles every time I do because I decided to be overly demanding and harsh.
Secondly, as a business owner, you need to be understanding of your customers in the same way. If they approach for support or with questions that are harshly worded, try and think: "What's happened to this person that he's approaching me this way? Is it really me they're upset with, or are they just frustrated?"
That's easier said than done, to be sure, and I've failed at it quite a few times myself. But when I remember to be considerate despite a customer or businessperson's harsh tone, things always go much more smoothly.
I once heard this adage: If, when taking a walk, you bark back at every dog who's barking at you, you'll never make it around the block.
Well business (and life) is that walk, and the way we choose to deal with people will in large part determine how well things go for us, and how much we get accomplished.
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Jonathan Leger has been earning his living online full-time since the fall of 2004. He regularly posts advice about search engine optimization (his current passion), AdSense and Internet Marketing. 
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