Feel  free to use this article in your ezines provided the
resource box at the end of each article is left intact.


[-------BEGIN ARTICLE -------]

So You Want Satisfied Customers, Huh?

When we think of what satisfied customers do, we
quite naturally think that satisfied customers come
back and order again and they tell others about our
product, service or opportunity. Right?

But do they?

A Harvard Business Study conducted in the late 1990's
concluded that Satisfied customers...

LEAVE!

Even though the majority of those surveyed said
they were happy with the product and service.
They often shopped elsewhere because of time
constraints and convenience. It was on the way
home, it was there in front of them and they
couldn't remember the other website they went to
and so on.

So, if satisfied customers leave what kinds of client
do you need to create for you business?

Loyalists and Announcers!

Those who are so excited with your product,
service or opportunity, they literally can't help
but tell every one they know about it.

How you create such clients?

Let me suggest the following...

We need to develop relationships based on mutual
respect and trust. These are not only crucial to
long term success, they are the primary key to
superior sales performance.

To develop these kinds of relationships we need
to put ourselves in the customers place and start
seeing things from their point of view.

Too many businesses are "me" centered.

Why do people continue to go to the same shops
and stores year after year, even though they may
be more expensive than the store down the road?

I would like to suggest 2 answers in their order
of importance.

1. Relationships
2. Habit

Relationships

Building solid business relationships that last,
mostly depends on providing friendly, personal
service that exceeds your clients normal
expectations.

COMPLETE SATISFACTION is the key to generating
INTENSE CUSTOMER LOYALTY and SUPERIOR LONG-TERM
financial performance.

Do your research, ask customers what they want
from you?

A lot of business people are afraid to do this.
They fear finding out their business isn't as
perfect as they thought it was. Some already
suspect there are things they could be doing
better and are reluctant to change because
that means either more expense or more effort
required on their part.

Keep this in mind. You can’t manage what you
can’t measure! Guess work is simply not good
enough.

To be successful in any kind of business you
need to develop 2 kinds of customers.

(1) Loyalists - Those who stay with you.
(2) Announcers - Those who share your story
     with everyone they meet.

What are you doing to create loyalist and
announcers?

Are you on a first name basis with your clients?

Your customers are the most important asset of
your business.

--> No customers, no sales.
--> No sales, no business.

Price sensitivity goes away when satisfaction
exceeds expectations.

Your task for today....

Write out 10 ways you can exceed your customers
expectations right now.

# What are you doing now that works?
# What are you prepared to do to keep your
   customers?
# What can you do that will take an ordinary
   customer and excite them so much they will
   become an announcer for your business?

Habit

The second reason people continue to go to the
same shops and stores year after year, even
though they may be more expensive than the
store down the road... is habit.

Human beings are creatures of habit and just
as you and I can get addicted to nicotine,
caffeine and a bunch of other stuff, we can
just as easily get addicted to shopping at a
particular store, mall, servo or online service.

It may start out as convenience, but it will
eventually escalate into an addictive behavior
pattern called a habit.

This is the reason you need to have some very
powerful and compelling reasons that will enable
you to lure or entice people away from the
current online service, product or opportunity
they are using now.

You may be dealing with months or years of
addictive behavior patterns or habits..

Your second task for today is....

Put yourself in your customers place and ask
yourself the following question.

Are the reasons I have in my ads strong enough
to compel me to break away from what I normally
do and take the time to investigate this new
product, service or opportunity?

Go through all your emails and look for 20
offers that make you want to read them.

Then ask....

What was it about those headlines that made me
want to open the emails and take a look at the
messages?

If one or two messages caused you to buy the
product, invest in the service or join the
opportunity, ask...

What did they offer that was so compelling it
made me want to spend my hard earned money?

Answer these 2 questions and you will know
what you need to do to strengthen your own
offers. This is called client centered
advertising or meeting and exceeding the
clients needs and expectations.

Lastly, In order to get a client to willing
break a habit, you MUST replace it with a
different stronger habit or it will leave
a void that craves be filled.

If your product or service doesn't fill that
void they won't hang around long. They will
head straight back to the online business
they were using before, or a new one, even
if it isn't as good or as effective as yours.

Free trial periods are one of the best ways
to achieve this change in habits. Forget the
7 day trials. You won't create a new habit
in less than 30 days, so offer a 30 day FREE
trial before they have to upgrade.

Get new prospects into the habit of using
your product or service and they will most
likely stay with you. Then, regularly exceed
their expectations and you could have a loyal
client for life.

Yes, this takes time and effort, and you may
ask is it worth it?

That's the wrong question.

A better question to ask yourself is...

What is the likely long term value of this
client to my business?

Answer that one and you will see the extra
effort now could be worth big dollars in the
months and years to come.

--------------------------------
This article was written by
Phil Basten & Jane Mark of JPE Advertising
http://jpeadvertising.com
Co-Editors of: WebPro Times Ezine
http://webprotimes.com
Authors of: Joe? Yes, Mable? Are We Rich Yet?
http://jpeadvertising.com/jandm/
--------------------------------


[-------END ARTICLE -------]

Do you have an article on some key aspect of marketing to share with our readers? Please click here to send your articles to us for review. If they fit in without theme we will advise you when they will be published and send you a copy of our ezine.