I’ve been an internet business owner for more years now than I care to admit. Day in and day out I work on improving my business so that my customers are happier and find what they need easier. All good business owners do it. They are constantly trying to make their websites easier to navigate, their products of a higher quality, their sales reps more educated, their content easier to understand, and their marketing efforts more effective.
Unfortunately I still see a lot of businesses that are doing things that will ultimately drive away their customers. They make it harder for them to buy; they treat them like a number and annoy them with unrelated content. All of which is counterproductive to what they actually want to accomplish.
You may be thinking this is just another article telling business owners to add their contact information to the bottom of every email or to loosen their return policies. That kind of information can be found in thousands of articles across the web. I put together a list of the five most unconventional ways I see businesses driving away customers.
1. Sending out social media messages that solely support your agenda.
Last week I told you that a lot of online small businesses did not understand how to use social media. Businesses were sending out tweets and updating their statuses without knowing or understanding why they were doing it, a surefire recipe for disaster.
The most common mistake I see in regards to social media usage is when small businesses use it to benefit themselves instead of their customers. They tweet messages like “I just updated my website check it out!” or “We just got more copies of XYZ product in stock. You can finally get your copy.” Instead you need to use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter as natural extensions of your business. Instead of sending out promotional messages to encourage sales try to engage your audience. Ask questions that encourage conversation, post pictures that foster comments, compose messages that inspire others to repost. For example if you are not sure whether an idea for a new product is good, ask your Twitter followers or your Facebook audience. Listen to your customers. Social media is a way to talk with and engage your audience; it’s not another marketing tool to send out promotions to.
2. Customer service reps that can’t answer questions.
This one I find particularly annoying. When I call up a company to inquire about a product or ask a question more often than not the sales people answering the phones can’t effectively communicate with me. They are too worried about saying the right thing or pulling up my customer records.
I want to scream at these people to forget what your marketing department has told you to say. Instead focus on clearly stating the value your product or service offers. Try to articulate with as short a message as possible how your product or service will benefit them.
3. Lack of response.
A very real fear for customers who buy online is that you are one of those fly-by-night, take-my-money-and-run, internet scam artists. Potential customers have never met you and don’t know if your business is legitimate or not.
When you don’t answer their emails promptly, return their calls in a timely fashion, or respond to their comments on forums they start to believe the worst in you. So make a rule among your customer service rep.’s that calls must be returned within the hour, emails the same day, and responses posted within hours of the original comment.
4. Only think about how you can sell customers more stuff instead of solving their problem.
Everything a business owner does or sends out, from their invoices to the way they answer the phone, is a representation of their business. Even when you don’t think you are marketing your business, i.e. sending out invoices, you are. That’s why it’s so important to always keep your customer in mind.
Instead of asking, “How can I get more (money, sales¸ value) out of my customers?” ask “How can my customers get more from me?” When you ask questions from a customer centric point of view you start thinking like your customers. When you start thinking like your customers you start solving their problems instead of just selling them more stuff. In the long run your customers will be happier and give you more repeat business.
5. Misspell words and use bad grammar.
I do a fair amount of writing in my business. When I am writing an article I always go over it at least three times and I try to get at least one other Encore staff member to read over it before it is posted to the site. I do this to make sure my writing is clear, concise and as typo free as possible.
When I read articles and content on other websites that contain misspelled words and horrible grammar I cringe. These types of mistakes are so distracting to readers. The author and website owners end up looking like uneducated morons who don’t care about their business.
Take the time to spellcheck your work and learn the difference between there, they’re and their! You don’t want a customer to question your abilities or get distracted from your messages.
Ask any customer, existing or potential, and they will tell you they are a tough nut to crack. They will say they can’t easily be persuaded to buy from just anybody. It takes a business that stands out and knows what they are doing to get their business.
Make sure you are standing out in a good way. Keep a customer centric attitude in your business. Talk to your customers instead of at them. Treat them like Pam instead of customer number 492. These small steps will engage rather than alienate your customers.
Good luck!
Ethan Warrick
Editor & CEO
