Becoming Friends With Your Online Clients

Online salespeople who are likeable tend to make more online sales. Sales people need to be likeable, otherwise they won’t have too many customers.

Remember the stereotype of ‘sleazy used car salesman’? You don’t want that to ever cross the mind of your customers or prospects.

When you make a purchase on your own that involves a sales process, don’t you find that when you like that person you’re more likely to want to give them the sale? In Internet Marketing, this is something that’s very important to consider.

Because you are trying to sell to someone you cannot make eye contact with, your sales letter has to make you a likeable person. If you’re a good online citizen and have made a lot of online friends, you can improve your chances of getting the sale. Why?

• People won’t buy from you if you’re a jerk. (The infamous Rich Jerk affiliate marketing program is the exception, not the rule!)

• Your name can be an asset or a liability when you consider that many savvy online shoppers will Google you before they press the buy button. If people say good things about you and your product online, that increases the chances you’ll make more sales. Good news travels fast but bad news travels even faster!

• If people like you, they’ll tell their friends about you. Referral business is like free money!

How do you make friends with your clients? Here are some tips:

1. Provide stellar customer service. Answer emails right away and put the customer first.

2. Be nice. Give extras. Value proposition is HUGE online. People want to feel like they get more than their money’s worth and if you do that, they’ll like you.

3. Talk to your customers directly. Write to them (through your list, through your thank you page, in your blog, and in your sales copy) like they’re your friend. A friendly and conversational style will help people bond with you.

4. Social marketing. Social media gives you an opportunity to strike up friendships. If people follow you on FriendFeed, Twitter, and Facebook, a few kind words, Re-tweeting, and addressing them can strengthen the bond. People feel connected with their “tweeps” (Twitter followers) and want to buy from them, promote their links, and share their opinion.

5. Ask for feedback. Ask for testimonials, reviews, and do polls/surveys so you can show your customers that you care what they think and value them.

6. Develop a long term relationship. This means that you should look at every new customer as a potential long term customer. In order to sell to them, you’ll need to develop a rapport with them and email marketing is a great way to do this. If you provide value in your emails and contact them regularly, they’ll come to see you as an online ‘friend’.

Cautions

Try not to cross the fine line of social marketing and “too much information”. Your online persona should be friendly, but think “business casual” instead of “casual Friday” when dealing with your customers and you’ll typically strike the right balance.

See you at the top of Google!

Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
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