American Express

Posts Tagged ‘customers’

As important as it is for you to understand what you are trying to accomplish online, it is equally important to thoroughly understand with whom you are trying to communicate. Who is your target market online? The typical response is “our customers.” Even in today’s connected business environment, people don’t step back to think about the different segments of your target market who could visit your Web site. Of course you’re trying to communicate with your customers—that’s a given.

Like most businesses, you probably have different segments of your customer base. It can be as simple as segmenting existing customers from prospective customers. Once you bring a prospective customer to your Web site, you have to ensure that everything is in line from a branding perspective, that the content on your site speaks to the needs of this customer group, and that you can easily walk them through the buying process—whether it be to buy online or to complete a task of some sort to display their interest in your product or service (e.g., download a white paper on your product).

Today’s Internet user is much more savvy than those of years past. People filter out unwanted material and pay attention to only what they care about. People frequently block pop-up ads, block unwanted e-mail, subscribe to niche content that just relates to their interests, and use personalization features on Web sites to weed out content that is irrelevant to them.

Today’s Internet user is much more willing to vocalize his or her opinions, and we have seen the birth of the “prosumer” where people are getting involved in the customization and creation of products unique to their own needs. Again, it’s all about understanding the uniqueness of individuals and giving them what they want—exactly what they want. This relates directly to
Web sites that let customers personalize their experience too.

Did you know there is a community of people who have an affinity for a discontinued line of Pyrex coffee pots? You bet there is. The rapid adoption of peer-to-peer communications such as instant messaging, e-mails, and blogs has spawned all kinds of niche communities based around a shared interest. As a business, your job to market to and communicate with your target audience has become more challenging and at the same time more exciting. Online, the customer is the one with total control. He or she knows you’re not the only game in town and won’t think twice about going elsewhere to get exactly what he or she wants.

Don’t pounce! I have already said that the majority of us have difficulty with pushy sales people, and there is a balance between pouncing and being hard to get. Remember the role in retail selling is not only to help people choose the right product, but it is also to give them an enjoyable experience. It is of course necessary to make some form of greeting – to acknowledge their presence. The classic greeting is ‘Can I help you?’, which easily solicits the response ‘No, thank you, I am just looking.’ The improvement is ‘How can I help you?’ In some instances another polite greeting may be ‘Is there anything that you are looking for?’ Either of the aforementioned gets a better response with the smiling face and the enthusiastic positive tone of voice.

You will of course still get a response from time to time of customers saying ‘I just want to have a look around, thank you.’ It is then very professional to follow that reply with any of the following: ‘Fine’, ‘Great’, ‘You are most welcome’ or ‘My name is… If you would like any information or assistance I would be very pleased to help you.