How to Keep Customers After the Conversion Takes Place

As online marketers we know the struggle of having to create a killer ad campaign that actually delivers results. It’s one thing to promote an affiliate or lead gen offer that allows you to make instant money for every lead that takes place, but what if you are the actual advertiser and company that is dealing with the customers? The name of the game is keeping your customers happy and allowing them to find value in your service once the first conversion takes place.

Before jumping into how you can become a better service provider to your customers, let’s first jump into the actual process people take to become a customer of yours in the first place.

Here is a likely scenario that happens for many online lead generation companies.

1. A visitor searches for something on Google and comes across your advertisement.

2. They read your ad copy and find it interesting or it relates with what they are looking for.

3. Once they reach your landing page, they make the decision to buy/join or close out the browser.

This action sequence in itself is quite a task. After such hard work why do so many companies only look at the original lead gen process and forget about the customer once they are acquired?

Here are some helpful tips to keep your customers happy and increase the lifetime ROI of your business.

Learn from the Best!

If I were to ask you what the most successful shopping site on the internet is, you would have to say Amazon.com, and that would be correct! Amazon has done everything right over the years, building an amazing and loyal brand. It might be easy to say that anyone could have been Amazon.com if they started out at the same time, but the progression of their site with time and how it relates to their customers is key. Think about it… the whole basis of their site is based around the user experience, feedback from the community and showing customers products that they are likely interested in. All of this combined in addition to their amazing shopping card system is what makes them one of the top brands in the world. Another great example for you to look at is Zappos.com, which revolutionized the way customer service was done and it turned their business into a billion dollar company.

Continuation is Key

Once the initial lead takes place, it’s time for you to continually interact and follow up with this new customer over time, especially if they provided a credit card to buy something. After the first purchase takes place through a web site or brand, the customer is much more likely to continue to buy from that site. A great way to do this is through the use of social networking fan pages and profiles, newsletters to update your customers of your latest promotions and discounts and occasional emails just to check in and see if there is anything you can help them with.

Support is So Important

Think about the last time you had a problem with your food order, a product you purchased or anything else relating to you spending money for a service that you expected to be completed. If you brought the issue to the business’ attention, how was it dealt with? If you had a good experience you would likely go back; if it was a bad experience then you would probably hate the place forever and tell your friends how horrible it was. This is the importance of customer support! One bad experience and negative customer feedback can go a long way towards ruining the overall reputation for your business. No matter what you are selling or service you are offering, make sure you have a quality customer support team to keep everyone happy.

At the end of the day, the customer wants to feel like a valued individual and not just another number. Follow these tips to better monetize your business for continued success and growth after the initial conversion and sale.

 
I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.