INTERNET MARKETERS MISSING THE BOAT

Repeat customers are crucial to the success of any business.
In online commerce however, this simple principle is often 
overlooked.The focus has been getting new customers to the 
web site, but little or no attention is given to getting 
customers to come back at a later time. 

In an online environment, securing repeat customers is just
as important as getting users to your site that first time.
When creating web pages, marketers fail to keep this is 
mind.  Often, there is plenty of information for the first
time visitor, but little incentive to return to that site 
in the future. 

If a client remembers a company’s web site, for reasons 
good or bad, they have the ability to share their 
experiences with thousands of other potential customers 
with the touch of a button.Positive word of mouth 
advertising can mean big growth in this medium. 

In an environment where customers may only see your page 
for a few seconds, it is imperative that your site stands 
out among the others.One of the best ways to accomplish 
this is to provide content for both new and old customers 
alike. 

Adding that Personal Touch 

Enticing users to return to your web site is a matter of 
establishing a connection between the individual and your 
business.Customers can do this easily by walking into a 
store, but with web pages this "atmosphere" is difficult 
to create.To be successful, you need to create an 
environment in which the customer can feel welcome, and 
remember you by. 
An easy way to do this is to provide them with information
they want or need about your product, but also information
that is useful beyond this scope.Customers show interest in
information about your industry, but make them feel welcome
by providing them with stories that are of interest to your
clientele.Show them your company has more to offer them 
than a hard-nosed online store.This relaxes the customer, 
gives them a reason to remember the company, and 
differentiates your site from those of the competition. 

Feature Stories and News 
Take a look around on the Internet and you will see how the
big online marketers are applying these principles.Visit 
Hewlett-Packard’s web site (www.hp.com) and you will find 
an article about saving the Bluefin Tuna.So why feature 
this story as a mainstay on HP’s site?It provides the 
visitor with the unexpected.Marketers realize that customers
will see this interesting article, and will now view the 
site as more than just a source of corporate information 
about HP.It makes the page useful, and demonstrates that HP
is more than just a cold, dry technical firm. 

Newsletters 
One of the easiest things you can do to make your page more
interactive is run a simple newsletter on your web site.
Newsletters provide a convenient means to distribute 
product information, company news, or alert past visitors 
of new changes to the web site. 
This is one of the easiest ideas to implement, as they can 
be simply added to nearly any web site at little or no cost
to you.Some of the sites effectively using newsletters 
include Adtec Broadcast Products at 
www.adtecinc.com/indexnew.htm and 
INTERracial at http://www.twsonline.com/INTERracial/. 

Update your Web Site 
Regular site updates keep the content fresh and encourage 
people to come back and see the changes.HP’s bluefin story,
although interesting, is not worth keeping for more than 
a few weeks.Instead, the story will be replaced each month
to give the site a new look and stimulate return visits. 

Weekly Internet ‘Specials’ 
Offer your Internet customers special incentives to use 
your site.Have sales, contests, or specials designed for 
your Internet clientele and change them weekly.This gives 
your clients a real cash value on returning to your site 
and provides one more reason for your customers to spread 
word of your site to their friends. 

Where to go from Here 

There are plenty of sites online that are using these 
principles, and those are some of the best places to get 
ideas on how to use them on your site.
Amazon Books (www.amazon.com), 
1-800-FLOWERS (www.800flowers.com), and 
Sears (www.sears.com) are just a few of the web sites 
successfully using the ideas suggested here. 

The intense competition the Internet provides makes it much
more difficult to stand out among the competition.The 
nature of this medium proves difficult in providing a 
personal touch, as well as the importance of customer 
service.Increasing traffic to your site is a necessity, 
but don’t lose site of the fact that repeat customers can 
bring in more new customers than any banner ad will. 

About the Author 
Jeff Ready is the Director of Internet Marketing for 
Aureate Development, Inc. (www.aureate.com) a developer of
Internet and intranet based applications.He can be reached 
by email at readyja@aureate.com. 
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Original source:
http://www.eweekly.com/news/news61.html#boat
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