Quick Tips for a More Profitable Business - Part 2

With billions of web pages and countless email messages -- a good percentage of which are spam -- building a successful business on the Internet is hard work. Many entrepreneurs seek to create a 'full-time' income (whatever that may mean to each individual) yet find that making just a few sales is still a struggle.

Have you ever wanted to know how the experts do it? How do they make all that money and spend half their life at the beach or with their children while they do it?

Have you ever looked at your online earnings and wished you could do better? If so, then it's time for a change.

Here are just a few suggestions for building your online business:

Try to turn customers into *repeat* customers.

It's easier to sell to a happy customer than it is to sell to someone who's never had any experience with your products before. Let your existing customers know about your new products.

What ideas do you have for a complementary product? If you have a book or an ebook that you sell, could you create an audio version of the book? A lot of people love buying audio books for listening to in the car, on public transport or while they exercise. Especially if your book is a how to type manual.

This can be easy to do - simply grab a microphone for your PC, a piece of software designed to record your voice (you can find free software if you look) and read your book chapter by chapter into the PC. Put a funky piece of music at the front saying 'hi I hope you like my book' and whala - you have another product. You don't read aloud very well? Im sure you have a friend who does who would do it for you? Or you can simply pay a professional to do it.

Does your book tell you how to do something? Like 'How to get rich faster than finding a genie'? Turn your step by step process into a workbook with practical exercises for each step or chapter and sell it as a companion product. Or better still, create eclasses that people subscribe to - every week or 2 you send them another eclass with practical suggestions and examples of how to implement your book's subject.

You could even get a bunch of your friends together and present a 'seminar' to them on how to implement your books subject - video tape it and sell it as DVDs and audio CDs. That's just a few suggestions, Im sure if you think a little more creatively you can think of a few more!

Keep in constant contact

If you sell services, be sure to touch base with your customers every so often -- remind them that you're still around and available for work. Newsletters are a great way to keep in contact with your customer base in a non threatening way - make the newsletter interesting and personalise it a little and you will remain in their minds. That way the next time they get an email from you they wont be saying 'who on earth is this? Unsubscribe'. You will also build a relationship with them so that when you do finally offer them a new product or service, they will be more likely to buy it. Newsletters are a great referral tool too - if your client enjoys your newsletter they may send it on to their friend who may then buy your product or use your service.

You can even offer incentives or discounts for the next time they use your services. A number of people find electronic 'coupons' really effective. Remember to make it an outstanding offer though - noone is interested in a vanilla 10% off any more. Offer a free product that has a value to them (even if it doesn't actually cost you as much as the 10% off would). Its not about what the offer costs you, its about what your client base would benefit from and that's not always a cheaper price. Be creative. And ask your client base what they want - that will provide amazing insight.

Keeping customers happy is obviously important if you're planning on building a viable long-term business. Happy customers can turn into both repeat customers as well as a source of referral business. But no matter how hard you try, you will never make everyone happy -- so don't fall into the trap of spending so much time and effort with one customer that you alienate or ignore the rest. If you can't resolve the customer's issues within 2 - 3 times of them contacting you, you probably will not ever make them happy. Give them their money back and cut the relationship off. It will be much cheaper for you in the long run!

Form new partnerships in areas you've never considered before.

Perhaps you've always targeted a certain type of business with which to form joint ventures. For example, someone who sells a fitness tape might have always approached weight-loss sites with partnership proposals.

Instead, try to think of other markets that could also use your product. In the above example, new moms who are trying to become active again might appreciate a fitness tape. Or how about stressed-out corporate 'worker bees' who need a way to relax?

A good way to think on this subject is ask yourself the question 'who has my customers before me'? For example if you have a fitness tape, where do your clients shop for their fitness gear, do they read weightloss books, have they just had a baby - then they need nappies, and baby food, and baby clothes. If you're aiming at the stressed corporates, then where do they read their business news online. Think broadly about what your market clientele do, and track where they go - there are the markets where you could be Joint Venturing or advertising.

And above all, do not forget that Marketing is King!

Its logical really. You can have the most fantastic product, but if you can not talk people into buying you will still go broke. Your marketing is the most important part of your business! You can spend countless time and money on gaining traffic to your site, and promoting your product and service, but if your sales letter and marketing copy simply does not set peoples pants on fire, you're wasting time and money! Spend a few dollars learning how to perfect your marketing message and you will gain back so much more than you spend. I suggest you go find Mal Emery - a legend in the direct marketing world.

To your ongoing success!