Relationship marketing. It's the backbone
of a successful online business. Fail to
forge online relationships and your
business will suffer. Simple enough
concept, right? But what does
"relationship marketing" really
mean? Simply put, it refers to the
principle that, in order to be successful
in business, especially online since it's
such an anonymous medium, you need to
establish a relationship of trust with
your site visitors and ezine readers
before you can expect them to do business
with you. It requires a commitment to
customer service and a willingness to help
others for no certain reward other than
the satisfaction of helping another and
building for yourself and your business a
reputation of credibility and
trustworthiness.
At the end of the day, though, if your
business is to be successful, you have to
turn a buck. One of the most common
anxieties expressed by new (and even not
so new) online entrepreneurs, though, is
that they don't want to come across as
"selling something" to those
with whom they have forged the very
relationship that is a prerequisite to
actually making the sale!
In other words, the focus on
"relationship marketing" has
been so much on the relationship that the
marketing begins to feel crass and a
violation of trust. Many new online
business owners report that they feel like
they're taking advantage of the trust of
those with whom they have forged a bond.
Of course, there's no reason to feel any
such thing so long as you believe in what
it is you're selling and that it's
something that will benefit your
customers. If you don't feel this way,
then your bad feelings are well placed.
You ARE taking advantage!
The discomfort associated with selling
is not restricted to the business owner,
either. I have received several indignant
emails over the course of the past year or
so from readers of my ezine in response to
promotions I have run for programs I
actively promote. The recurring theme of
these sorts of communications is that I
have a "responsibility" to my
readers because they've come to rely on me
as an authoritative source of information
and I have somehow breached this
responsibility by doing something so crass
as to actually market the programs I
promote to earn part of my online income.
Some have even gone so far as to suggest
that, since I accept paid advertising in
my ezine, I should be content with that
revenue stream and not seek to make money
by promoting outside programs.
My response to this line of reasoning
is simply that I'm running a BUSINESS. I'm
not working nights and weekends on my site
and on my ezine out of the goodness of my
heart. I'm just not that noble, believe
me. I have a profit motive. Despite what
some people seem to think, a profit motive
is NOT, in and of itself, a Bad Thing. A
profit motive is only a Bad Thing when one
misleads, deceives and otherwise takes
advantage of the trust of another to
pursue that profit. There's no reason to
apologize or feel guilty for wanting to
make an honest profit.
How about you? Do you have just a
twinge of uneasiness when it comes to
marketing your products and services? Here
are some ideas to help you overcome the
reticence you may feel in pursuing sales
from your prospective customers and how to
manage these relationships so that your
customer understands that, although you
are there to help them, you are also out
to help yourself by earning an honest
living.
CRYSTALLIZE YOUR PURPOSES
The very first thing you need to do is
decide what it is you're really doing when
you create your website or publish your
ezine. Is it a hobby or is it a business?
The difference, respectively, is the
absence or presence of a profit motive. If
it's a hobby, fine. Don't try and turn a
profit, just enjoy yourself and make just
enough to cover your expenses if you can.
But if it's a business, understand that
making a profit is non-negotiable. It's
the reason for your business's existence.
You will no doubt have several purposes.
But the profit motive is key.
Do whatever it takes to crystallize
your purposes. For some people, just
thinking about it and making a mental
decision is sufficient. For others,
crystallization requires seeing it in
black and white. If that's you, write down
your purposes. Again, though, if you're
running a business rather than indulging
in a hobby, turning a profit must be on
your list of purposes (unless, I suppose,
you're running a non-profit business but
we'll leave that aside for present
purposes). Recognize that purpose for what
it is. Embrace it. PURSUE it with a
vengeance. It's nothing to be ashamed or
coy about. So long as you intend to do so,
and actually do so, by legitimate, honest
and ethical means, give yourself
permission to aggressively chase a dollar.
Why crystallize your purposes in this way?
Because they'll keep you on track when
you're confronted by the naysayers who'll
inevitably pop up in your porridge.
BE BUSINESSLIKE AND PROFESSIONAL
The concept of "relationship
marketing" does NOT mean getting up
close and personal with your customers.
You'll save yourself a lot of grief and
angst if you just keep things businesslike
and professional - friendly to be sure,
but not *overly* personal. It's possible
to be friendly and helpful in a
professional, businesslike manner without
stepping over the line into the personal.
The people you're dealing with are not
your friends, they're your customers. Of
course, over time, you may become friends
with certain people who started out as
customers. But don't start from the
position that you have to be friends with
your customers in order to engage in
relationship marketing. You don't. Keep it
businesslike and professional and you
won't raise any unrealistic expectations.
ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR BUSINESS'S
BEST INTERESTS
One way of keeping yourself in check is
by constantly testing your decisions
against the criteria "is this
decision in the best interests of my
business?". If so, do it, recognizing
that something can be in the best
interests of your business even if it
doesn't involve cash flowing in your
direction. If not, don't. Occasionally, it
will be in the best interests of your
business to do something that may be
perceived by your customer as a personal
favor. An example might be giving a refund
for a purchase under circumstances where
the customer is not strictly entitled to
one and where you have an ongoing
relationship with the customer. You do so
in the interests of customer service and
this is certainly an example of something
that is in your business's best interests.
Sometimes, however, customers can take
advantage of such a policy. To forestall
this type of problem, if you decide to do
something that benefits your
customer/reader/visitor over and above
what they have an entitlement to, make it
clear, in a subtle way, that you are doing
so for business reasons. Be prepared to
set limits though. Know how far you are
prepared to go before it stops being a
business decision and becomes a personal
one and to the detriment of your business
interests.
Being uncomfortable saying
"no" is not a good enough reason
to sacrifice your business's best
interests if that's the right decision in
all the circumstances.
BE DIRECT AND HONEST
Don't be shy about promoting your
products and services and letting your
prospective customers know you would like
for them to purchase from you. Be direct,
open and honest about it. For example, if
someone emails me and asks for my advice
about how to get started in an online
business of their own, I'll recommend
products that I think will benefit them.
Typically, I recommend Cookie Cutter and
Cash Cow if they're new to internet
marketing. Why? Firstly, I believe in both
products and think they give the newbie an
efficient, cost-effective way of learning
a lot about how online businesses work in
a short period of time.
Secondly, I am an affiliate of both
programs and earn $20 a pop each time I
sell one. Would I recommend any products
that are directly relevant to my business
that I don't have a financial interest in?
No. Why? I have a profit motive. My time
is money. The key is, I believe in the
products. If I thought there were better
products out there than the ones I was
promoting I'd recommend them too. But only
after I signed up as an affiliate so I
could make a profit from my
recommendation.
On the other hand, occasionally I'm
asked to recommend a web host. I'm an
inactive affiliate of one of the major web hosting
companies but I never recommend them
because I think they're too expensive. In
this case, I refer the enquirer to the web host
I use for my own site. I'm not an
affiliate of theirs and I have no
financial interest in making the
recommendation. I'm not particularly
interested in web hosting as a product to
promote so I haven't bothered (yet) to
sign up for my web host's affiliate
program. It's just an honest
recommendation, just as Cookie Cutter/Cash
Cow is an honest recommendation. The only
difference is, I make money on the latter
and why not? The point is, so long as
you're making an honest recommendation,
there's no reason why you can't make a
profit at the same time. It's a win-win
situation. So stop being afraid to sell.
It's the reason your business exists and
it won't if you don't.
About The Author
Elena Fawkner is editor of the
award-winning A Home-Based Business Online
... practical home business ideas,
resources and strategies for the
work-from-home entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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