It is Personal, It's Business

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“It’s not personal, it’s business”- The gangster says to his victim pointing the barrel of the gun straight at his head. Then, the camera angle changes, the shot fires, and the body of the helpless victim falls on the ground. You have probably seen a couple of movies with scenes similar to this one. It exemplifies very well that in the mafia style business, making money comes before anything else, no matter which law needs to be broken or how deep or personal the relationship was with the person that needed to be “taken care of”. If that person was somehow interfering with business, they had to go away.

Unfortunately, many businesses nowadays have adopted the same “It’s not personal, it’s business” mentality and they put the interests of their customers in the back burner. How? Not establishing a good relationship with the customers, tricking him into spending his money in low quality products, not having a friendly, helping attitude, not trying to go beyond his expectations, but falling short of them, lying and being unreliable, just to name a few. These are costly mistakes that pretty much tell the customer right to his face that his interests are not the first priority. “It’s not personal, it’s business”. How can you, as an online business owner not fall into this trap that could potentially destroy your credibility and the success of your business? Let’s talk about three basic concepts that could put you on the right path.

1-Use Your Words

Your customer will most likely visit your website as the first means for getting to know your business and check out your offers and products. The way you approach him with your words could give him the beginning warmth and trust on which you can start building a long lasting, happy relationship. Write to him; make him feel as if you wrote the words with him in mind. Use good grammar, be polite and stay professional. You can even display a small sense of humor; it will be refreshing for the customer. Always make him feel comfortable, don’t pressure him to buy. Remember, you want happy, repeat customers, not a one time disappointed buyer.

2-Display Honesty

With all the scams, the garbage and the filth floating around the Internet today, it is easy to understand why many regular online customers have developed a special “sense” to sniff out lies and untruthful hypes miles away. If something sounds too good to be true, they will automatically assume that it is. Be very careful. Be honest when promoting your products and when answering the customer’s questions or concerns. Remember, you’re not just trying to get the sale; you’re trying to gain the customer’s trust, build a relationship and keep him coming back for more. Show that to the customer. Achieving this will put your business right on the path to success.

3-Freebies

Giving away some freebies are a great way to get the visitor motivated to buying and keep coming back for more. What should you give away for free? Maybe a sample of the product that your business is based on, or a free e-book with content related to the one on your website. Make sure that your freebies portray the quality of the products or information that you are promoting. It will speak greatly to the visitor, as he already has the mindset that free things are either not really free or useless. If you give away something of quality and useful to the visitor, I guarantee you that he will most likely become a happy customer.

Most important of all, base your business on creating, not only happy customers, but raving fans. If you can go beyond your customer’s expectations every time, you will have loyal customers for a very long time. Always keep that in mind, in every aspect of the way you do business. Remember, create relationships, not one time disappointed buyers. Your business will skyrocket to levels of success that you have probably never imagined. You will have happy customers that will respect you and trust you, and will talk great about your business every time they have the chance, sending even more visitors and potential customers your way. Win-Win.

The gangster gets the job done. The intruder has been “taken care of”. Now he can go back to his boss and get paid. It’s all about the business. In your style of business, however, this won’t work very well, as we have already established. Make sure that with your words and actions you let every single one of your customers know: It is personal, it’s business.