Subject: Got Customers? Great - Now Keep Them!
From: InternetDay-UP <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 11:19:14

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May 12,
1999

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Got an online store? Spend a small fortune building and promoting it?
Beginning to get some clickthroughs? In short, did you jump through all the
hoops to build customer trust? Well, now that you've got the customers,
learn how to keep them!

These days, so many e-commerce companies are focused on getting the
customer that somewhere along the line they forget what to do when they've
got them! Don't let this be you.

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For example, you enticed the customer with pretty graphics, good deals and
a great product. You held their hand through your multiple steps to
purchase. You offered them secure transactions to the point where they are
ready to
give you their first born, never mind their credit card number! Good for
you, but this is just step one - the nibble. The big test is step two -
reeling them in for the completed sale and making them happy, repeat
customers.

This phase two stage is critical because this is where countless sales are
lost. We at up2 technologies, for example, know we have to put in as much
into our customer service and support, if not more, then the time we took
to build and promote our site. This is a rule that applies to every
product, from e-tailing to portals. With this philosophy, up2 technologies
has happy, repeat customers.

To illustrate what happens when you don't do this, here is an example of a
recent nightmare experience I had
with a supposed hot up-and-comer in e-tail:

After calming all my typical consumer Internet jitters, I finally purchased
a product on the net. Then, inexplicably, two weeks passed with no
delivery. Still enthusiastic, I emailed the store only to find out that my
order could not be processed owing to an error! What followed was a series
of automated emails and expensive phone calls that did not shed any light
on where my purchase went wrong, and I was left just feeling frustrated.
After trying one last time and failing again, I became a statistic - a lost
customer.

This e-tailer would have been better off perfecting their customer service
before opening the doors to the public, whereas now they are just risking
losing customers. To make sure this does not happen to you, here is a quick
checklist:

An ounce of prevention...

* If the purchase did not go through, remedy the problem! Identify where it
went wrong (i.e. wrong
expiry date, wrong number) and inform your customer quickly.

* Be careful with automated emails! If the purchase is in jeopardy, get a
real person to write or call. In the same vein, don't wait for the
customer to call you if the order could not be processed. This is a key
moment for the purchase to continue. The customer will appreciate it if
you, the vendor, solve the problem, instead of them, the purchaser, having
to go through a maze of bureaucracy.

* Test, test, test your site, and then test some more!

Respect your customer!

* Put a flash button indicating what is a new product. Your loyal following
goes through your site a few times a week and doesn't have time to filter
through the old to get to the new.

* If you have a promotion going, like free shipping, this is great, but
separate your email groups so you don't send this notice to those who are
illegible (i.e. Alaska and Canada). This is a great way to lose that
Alaskan and Canadian business in the future. Don't forget, it is the World
Wide Web, not the Continental U.S. Web. Create a script to separate the
information based on zip codes from the registration database.

* World Wide Web Part Two - For many companies, it is unchartered territory
selling outside of the US, so make sure your Web site is clear from the
onset about availability and shipping. Where possible, add a link to
calculate exchanges.

* Put a human face on your customer service. The client is already
suspicious of the back end! If you have to use an automated email, fine,
but put a real name on it with a phone number. If you really want to go
high tech these days, you can even get a pop up window with a virtual
salesperson.

* Respect that your customer could be calling you from another state or
country. Invest in a 1-800 number - it's worth it.

* Customer service! Contact the client after the product is delivered to
find out if they are happy or if they have any questions.

Be up front

* Don't play hide and seek with your shopping basket. Let customers readily
see their order and allow them to be able to delete or add without turning
the process into an ordeal. Every page should have a clear link to the
shopping basket or you risk your customers abandoning the purchase.

* Put your return policy and guarantees in plain view. Remember that
electronic credit card transactions are still mistrusted by most people, so
without reassurances, they will click out of your site.

Abide by these steps and you are on your way to ensuring that your
customers will be happy, and more important, repeat customers.

Article by Afsun Qureshi, of up2
Technologies Inc
a leading Internet content and web application aggregator. up2
technologies inc. is also a business to business global provider of
e-commerce solutions for marketing companies.

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