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Ways in which
to build trust and long-term relationships with visitors to your site
can, indeed, be elusive. It's not always necessary to think outside of
the proverbial box, as some of the most effective strategies are among
the most basic. Accordingly, below are just a few examples of how a Web
site can establish a foundation of trust and a sense of loyalty with its
visitors:
- First
and foremost, make it very clear on those critical data capture/lead
generation forms (CGIs and the like) that any and all information requested
of and provided by your site's visitors will remain completely confidential,
in that will not be sold, rented, and/or otherwise provided to 3rd parties.
Doing so will provide a significant risk reliever that will increase
response rates for your form, and will help establish the visitor's
trust in the way your company maintains the integrity of each visitor's
personal data.
- There's
no better way to establish long-term relationships with visitors to
your site than by "giving back" to them through programs employing
incentives and rewards. Establishing viral marketing programs such as
referral and affiliate programs that reward your customers and business
partners, respectively, will go a long way in creating a sense of loyalty
and appreciation toward your company that results in exponentially increasing
first time, and return, traffic.
- Let prospects
and customers tell YOU how and when to communicate with them...and follow
through accordingly! Empower visitors to your site to specify exactly
what type of communications he/she would and/or would not like to receive
from your company (both on and offline) through a simple online "subscription"
form. By making each and every type of "push" contact with
those who have visited your site "opt-in," not only will you
increase the satisfaction level of the recipient and his/her receptiveness
to the information presented, but your company can also significantly
reduce costs associated with the mass production and deployment of such
materials - particularly for offline communications. It goes without
saying that you should provide an "opt-out" mechanism within
every communication, irregardless of your process for adding subscribers,
which will easily allow the visitor to cease communications, by type,
at his/her discretion.
- One timeless
way to initially draw traffic to a given Web site and to keep that visitor
coming back for more is the availability of free content that has a
high perceived value with your target audience, such as a newsletter.
Promoting this type of free incentive acts as a draw to increase the
incidence of first time visitors, functions virally as the visitor forwards
the newsletter to others (which you should encourage him/her to do),
and provides a mechanism through which your company can garner highly
valuable information from your visitors that can be databased and leveraged
for a variety of highly targeted, and preferably personalized, internal
marketing initiatives. Delivering such targeted communications based
on data captured will give the visitor a sense that your company understands
his/her unique needs that is the ultimate foundation upon which to establish
a long-standing relationship. Further, once the visitor's data has been
captured, converting him/her to a paying customer incurs no further
customer acquisition costs and, therefore, generates a highly desirable
ROI.
- More and
more, consumers are using the Web in their every day lives to establish
personal relationships with their peers. If your company can discern
a way to create a community or "family" environment within
your Web site interface, then by all means DO IT. This might include
establishing a product or service-specific message board where customers
can interact with each other as well as your customer service staff
to learn interesting and useful information regarding your products/services.
Or, your company might institute a series of weekly interactive online
meetings that allows experts within your company to have direct, one-on-one
communication with your customers, perhaps for live Q & A sessions.
By facilitating a community or family environment within your Web site,
you just might find that a customer initially visited your site and/or
purchased from your company for obvious reasons such as a compelling
offer, but have remained a loyal customer and return visitor due to
relationships with your staff and fellow customers that have been established
through your interface.
- An effective
strategy for maintaining a long-term relationship with customers is
to establish and provide them with automated systems that simplify their
lives and provide conveniences in whatever way is applicable for your
offering. For example, eCommerce-oriented sites might consider setting
up a program that allows customers to set up an online "automated
purchase" account through which they can pre-select items that
they use and purchase on an ongoing capacity, request that the company
automatically send these item(s) to them each week/month/quarter, and
automatically bill the credit card on file. This way, repeat customers
don't have to pro actively go online to facilitate recurrent purchases
that will simply automatically occur based on frequency and product
parameters he/she authorizes in advance. This automated eCommerce enhances
the company's revenue stream and allows it to better forecast future
revenue, inventory requirements, and other mission-critical issues while
endearing the customer to its site by allowing easy and convenient "hands
off" purchasing.
Copyright
© 2001 Kern Communications. All rights reserved.
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