How to turn slightly interested customers into - I’ve got to have it! - customers!

I am truly amazed as to the lack of information websites contain. You would think that a business would realize that a potential customer would at least like to know how to contact the customer service department. But, you’d be astonished at how many times I’ve actually come across NO information on the business except place your order here. That truly leaves the customer with a feeling of abandonment. Since I visit so many websites throughout the year, I wanted to list some of the top 10 things I look for when making the decision whether to purchase or not.

Number 1: Include some type of contact info.
You need to make sure the customer has some type of information to contact you after the sale. If you happen to work out of your home, think about getting a post office box or a mail station. I realize that still doesn’t tell the customer your physical address, but it’s always nice to know the city, state, or even country of the company involved. And by all means, add a phone number to this list.

Number 2: Update your website often.
If you list your copyright or other dated information, make sure it is changed on a regular basis and includes the current year. Nothing is more frightening than to purchase from a website selling e-books or software that is older than a few years old. It always makes me think I’m getting old information that was written for a different set of problems. Now I know that copyrights should have the year they were developed, but list the year it was established plus the current year. For example, list your copyright like this - (c) 2000 – 2004. Customers won’t enter their personal information (especially credit cards) on a site that looks like it’s been abandoned. So, take a long look at your site and see if something needs to be freshened and brought up to date and then do it.

Number 3: Make your benefits clear.
Most companies will list the product or service features, but that doesn’t tell a potential customer how this will help solve their problem. The best sites I’ve visited not only list the features, but have a separate list detailing the benefits for each. It’s easy to say you’re the best in your field and you’re the only ones that do this – whatever your this is, but go a step further and tell the customer what that means to them. In other words, what’s in it for them? If you have trouble defining your benefits, ask the one person that would know best – your customers! If they are happy with your products or services, they will be able to tell you what problem it overcomes and the benefit they receive. Besides, what better way to find out how you’re doing in servicing their needs?

Number 4: Watch for broken links.
How many times have you tried to click on a link and it goes nowhere? It’s sometimes hard to believe that when we develop our websites and include working links, in a short period of time the links become broken. Why would this happen? Well, if other sites are like ours, they are always changing the information included on the site. In other words, the page link you have listed on your website might get renamed without the benefit of a redirect link attached. Then if your customer clicks on that link, they will be left to wonder just how old this information might be. The best way to stay on top of this is to check your links often and ask the visitors of your site to report back to you if they find a broken link.

Number 5: Make it easy to purchase.
If you’re doing business on the internet, you’ll need to have some way for your customers to pay. The best way is to accept credit cards. If you don’t have a merchant account already, the easiest way to get set up immediately is through services like PayPal, Clink Bank, and 2Checkout. But, you still need to add other convenient ways to shop for those that prefer not to purchase online. Make sure you list a mailing address, a phone number, or even a fax number they can send their payments. You’d be surprised at the number of individuals and companies that would prefer to send their payment (even if it’s a credit card purchase), rather than send their personal information over the internet.

Number 6: Don’t use pushy sales talk.
You’d be surprised at how many times I’m shopping on the internet that I find people using the old tactic: "buy right this minute or you’ll never see this price again." I know that’s now going to make me buy immediately, in fact, it will probably cost that company my business. I don’t like to feel bullied into buying anything. Now that’s not to say that you shouldn’t run a sale occasionally. But, if you do, list the time period of the sale for everyone to see. Just make sure you don’t tell every customer that visits that they must purchase now (today), because most customers will price shop and compare products before they purchase.

Number 7: List your guarantee.
Everyone wants to feel that if a service or product they’ve purchased is not up to the standards or expectations they thought, that the company will take care of them. And because of that, you should always list a guarantee. It doesn’t have to be a lifetime warranty, but it should be a reasonable amount of time or a reasonable procedure to follow in order to return an item. And better yet, if you have the type of service or product that you could allow a limited amount of time for a test drive, it will decrease the apprehension some people have about doing business with someone they don’t know.

Number 8: Include your privacy policy.
This is one of my big pet peeves. I want to know how my personal information or email is going to be used. I always read the privacy policy before entering any of my information. If I feel like my privacy is not going to be protected, then I move on to the next company. So make sure you list yours and make it easy to obtain.

Number 9: Include a terms and conditions.
This is also a way to convey to your customers and potential customers how your company does business. This is the place to list exactly how you do business and in what conditions you will offer a refund or replacement. You have to take into account that the majority of your customers or not looking for something for nothing. Now I will admit there will always be a small percentage of your customers that will try to take advantage of you, but you’ll find most customers just want to be treated fair and know you’ll take care of them.

Number 10: Explain all the steps in making the purchase.
After they’ve purchased, do you tell them what the next step will be? Will they be able to download their purchase? If so, how long before they’ll know where to log in? Or, if you ship your product or service, when can they expect delivery? These are just a few of the things you should let them know as soon as they purchase. Nothing can be more frustrating than to make a purchase and then have to call the company a week later wondering where your order is. Make sure you explain each step and show them what great customer service you provide right from the beginning.

That’s my favorite list of how I like to do business online and I hope these 10 key steps will help you as you develop your company online. Just remember, treat your customers with the same great care that you like offered to you and they’ll keep coming back for more.

Carmen Wisenbaker is President of Penworth Publishing, http://www.penworth.com and has been in the publishing industry for more than 23 years. Because she has so many subjects that have to be researched, she spends a good deal of her time on the internet. Many times when looking for products to purchase, she comes across many websites that tend to hinder the sale. This article covers her favorite pet peeves about what to do and what not to do, in order to get your customer to purchase online.
 

Cash gifting is indeed a highly successive and exciting way to make money. Cash gifting is undoubtedly a legalized way to make money. In fact, numerous individuals have proven its true ability to make money. Others treat it just as a sideline business, while other individuals treat it as their main source of income. No matter what your intention is when going into cash gifting, always be sure to check out cash gifting reviews on the systems and programs that you're looking into. Many wicked people still lurk the Internet and they are waiting to pounce on unsuspecting people. With that in mind, when contemplating about going into cash gifting, you should always look into cash gifting reviews in order to make sure that your investment is worth it.

Cash Gifting Reviews for Good Quality Programs

The most important purpose of cash gifting reviews is that it allows you to look into programs that have been tried and tested. Because it has already been tried, its results have pretty much been determined. In so doing, you are able to see which programs are worth going into and which ones are spurious. This makes it all the more essential to check out reviews because you're to ensure your investment. Cash gifting reviews allow you to filter out which programs you should eliminate and which ones will work best for you.

Cash Gifting Reviews Let You Interact with Others

Another very important advantage of such reviews is that it allows you to interact with like-minded people. The business of cash gifting is all about making lead and enticing people to join your program. Having said that, when you are able to talk to other individuals who are in the same business, you get to receive more insight on how to propagate your business. You also benefit from the added tips and techniques that will further propel your income. Furthermore, when interacting, you get to build relationships. This is very advantageous to your cash gifting business because you get to strengthen your connections. Bear in mind that in cash gifting, its not really what you know, its who you know.

In Summary

With all that said and done, you now pretty much know why reviews are highly important to people. Just the mere fact that it allows you to guarantee your investment is more than enough for you to consider looking into cash gifting reviews. Surely, cash gifting reviews are crucial to your business.

Receive the secret to earn thousands of dollars a day with automated cash gifting system. Get access to cash gifting top team network of like-minded entrepreneurs; logon to www.CashGiftingLink.com and get a video series for FREE.

The current instability of the global economy is leading many individuals to seek unique jobs or business opportunities they may have not considered before. Many of the new opportunities being accessed are available thanks to the expanding business market available online. The various market outlets that currently exist outside the web are finding a home on the internet and merging into one global economic market. This new market welcomes any individual with the drive to succeed online and has an idea that will allow them to profit over competitors. Although, before rushing into the opportunities presented by the internet the smart business owner or creator will conduct the necessary research to find out how they can prosper in this new business environment.

When conduction this research the first topic that needs to be addressed is in reference to finding a product or service that you can offer to clients that no other or only a few others can offer. The most efficient way to achieve this goal is through the use of a micro niche finder. A micro niche finder will assist a user in finding a niche online that is untapped or offers a weak line of competition that an individual can take advantage of. One of the best ways to find success on the internet is to be one of the first individuals or companies that identifies an untapped market. Once this market is identified you will soon find competitors coming out of the wood work, however, being one of the first companies in the niche will help boost consumer confidence and spread your company name as a premier company in reference to this product. With the help of a micro niche finder you can identify one or many niches that are untapped and provide you the opportunity to capitalize with your new business.

Once a niche or company objective is identified the second step of the new online business owner is to develop a turnkey website. A mistake that many individuals make in regards to this phase is by searching for a turnkey website that is already generated and that is currently for sale. Take into account when traveling down this road the fact that if this was a successful turnkey website why would the individual be selling the site and if you take over the site where exactly are the goods associate to the site and what are their costs to the site owner.

The best way to start your online company is to use website builder software to create your own unique turnkey website. Website builder software offers an individual simple steps in the creation of a turnkey website that highlights the products you are trying to sell. In addition, generating a turnkey website with website builder software that is clear and uncluttered displays a professional and reliable appearance to your store front that clients will react positively to.

Conducting the proper amount of research and taking into account the suggestions referenced represents the best methods to succeed in the online environment. Utilizing the tools available to individuals such as a micro niche finder and website builder software will help them create an ideal turnkey website for their company.

Need to get the web promoting and software solutions through a listing of merchandise that are primarily designed to assist net marketers? Here could be a one Stop resolution for all your web business related issues visit http://cjsmultimedia.com and get 90 Second Website Builder and Micro Niche Finder and a lot of more at one place.

If you're like me, you'd rather work smarter than harder. We all want more time to do the things we love, and to be with the people we love. On that note, why not take the steps to make this desire a reality? Here are ten ways to do just that.

1. Promote products that offer recurring commission, such as auto responders, web hosting, and membership sites. Write honest review articles of the best products and services offering recurring affiliate commission, and post them to your website and ezine.

2. Join a reputable network marketing company online. Find a company that has been around for a while, and that is known for its integrity. Don't waste your time with businesses opportunities that require years and years to be profitable.

3. Start a viral marketing campaign. Create something of value, and give your website visitors and ezine subscribers a huge incentive to share it with others. Include your website address and ezine address as well in the free items with giveaway rights that you create.

4. Sell a product and start a multi-tier affiliate program. Offer a generous commission to your affiliates, and they will do much of the promotional work for you. Give them plenty of promotional materials to use, such as articles and special reports with giveaway rights.

5. Start your own membership site. Come up with a unique product or service that you can offer your visitors. Make sure you always over-deliver on your promises so they never think about canceling their subscriptions.

6. Always build a list, and if you are involved with network marketing, be sure to endorse your network marketing business to your newsletter subscribers.

7. Join multi-tier affiliate programs and make a concerted effort to help your sub-affiliates succeed. Give them free promotional materials such as viral ebooks and review articles that pre-sell website visitors into eventual customers.

8. Offer special reports with giveaway rights, that include a link to another special report, and include a link to yet another within the second special report, and so on. Each of these special reports can contain links to products that you can earn affiliate commission from.

9. Leverage different business models off of one another, such as multi-tier affiliate programs, selling your own product, and your network marketing business. For example, you could earn affiliate commission through products you endorse in your newsletter, or increase your downline by endorsing your network marketing business to your list as well.

10. Create a dependency. Offer tons of information-rich content that helps your visitor succeed. Give away free viral special reports on a regular basis. If you discover something that will improve their chances of profiting online, by all means share it with them in an article or a free special report that pre-sells them on a product that expands on the concept.

These are just a few of the many ways that you can being developing a recurring or residual income online. Think outside of the box and discover how you can maximize your profits with these ten techniques starting today! Go to www.joehigginsstore.com and click any link on the home page

When you search the internet for home based business ideas you will come up with a lot of results. There will be more there then you will ever be able to look through. You need to figure out what it is you want to do for your home based business ideas. I will give you some ideas to help you get started thinking about it.

One: start your own eBay store. You can do this very easily. The hardest part of starting your own store is figuring out what products you want to sell. There are a couple of ways that you can get whatever products that you want to sell. First, you can go shopping at your local stores and get the products on sale. Two, you can find a drop ship company online that will let you sell their products. Then they will ship them for you. This is usually free to do. Three, you can buy products for wholesale and then sell them.

Two: you can become a freelance writer. When you enjoy writing this may be perfect for you. You will have to search the internet to find a freelance job that you want to do. They will not be as easy to find as business opportunities. This will likely take you some time to get established. One way to start is to write articles for all of the different web site owners that need them.

Three: one of the easy business ideas that you can use to start your business is affiliate products. This is when you find someones products that you want to sell. Then you sign up with an affiliate account for free. They will then provide you with a website and tools to help you get started right away.

Four: do you like to design websites? This is one of those home based business ideas that anyone can use if they want to learn how to design web sites. When you get good at it you will be able to find people you can build one for. When you have experience with this already you will be able to start this much easier.

Five: do you like to make your own jewelry, gift baskets or candy? Then you can set up your own website selling the products that you make on your own. You can also set up an eBay store to help you sell your products.

These are just five home based business ideas that you can use to get you started thinking about what you want to do. There are all kinds of ideas out there that you will come across when you search for them. You just need to make sure that you do something that you are passionate about. This will make it much easier on you to make your business a success.

Summary: Home based business ideas are all over the internet. You just need to take the time to look for them. You can do pretty much any idea that you can come up with if you are passionate about it. This is important because when you like what you do it will make it much easier and enjoyable for you.

FREE AMAZING BOOK shows you How To Make Real Money On The Internet Today! www.besthomebusinessopportunityonline

There's quite a bit of work involved in setting up an online business. Ecommerce owners can get so wrapped up in website development, marketing, product acquisition, and search engine optimization that they may neglect the process of finding a merchant provider to process their credit card orders. This can lead to significant costs, problems, or delays and may even sink an online business before it gets started. This brief overview provides important information about credit card processing that's essential for online businesses.

Credit Card Processing Preparation

It is important for a business owner to have all of the necessary information available before applying for a merchant account. Failure to do so will lead to additional delays in getting the account (and possibly the business itself) up and running. To apply for a credit card processing service, an ecommerce owner must have a live website, a checking account, a copy of a voided check, return policy information, and proof that the business exists (articles of incorporation, business license, etc.). If the business operates in what is considered to be a high-risk industry (such as adult entertainment, travel timeshares, credit counseling, or multi-level marketing), additional materials like a photo of the company's location, trade references, and copies of recent tax returns might also be needed.

Diversify Merchant Providers for Multiple Websites

Many ecommerce owners operate more than one website. These sites may be hosted by a single company in order to save money. This kind of piggybacking should not be done with a single credit card processor. Remember that the name of the registered website is the one that shows up on the customers credit card statement, no matter which website the product or service was purchased from. For example, lets say an online retailer runs a costume jewelry website that has its own credit card processor, and he or she also wants to use that account for his or her handbag, wristwatch, and quilt websites. The chances are good that customers who order a quilt, purse, or watch may see the name of the jewelry website on their credit card statement and then dispute the charge because they did not remember purchasing any jewelry. Even though they are mistaken, the business owner still gets docked for the chargeback that occurs. And more chargebacks lead to higher discount rates and additiona!

l surcharges.

Test drive the Credit Card Processing System

Before an online business begins taking orders from buyers, the ecommerce owner should run a test to make sure that all aspects of the process are working properly. This can be accomplished by authorizing a small charge (around a dollar or so) on a credit card to make sure that the card is properly authenticated and the amount is correctly recorded in the company's bank account. Only if this process proceeds smoothly should an online website begin accepting credit card payments from actual customers.

Record Verification Numbers

On the back of most major credit cards, there is a three or four digit code. Asking customers for this code can help prevent fraudulent purchases made by stolen credit card numbers. For the ecommerce owner, it means that chargeback rates could drop by as much as 26 percent. Most merchant service providers offer this processing option.

Verify Addresses

This process also helps reduce fraud, since potential criminals who are trying to order products or services with stolen credit card numbers will not enter the real cardholders billing address. Using an address verification system can stop a fraudulent order before it gets filled. In fact, credit card processors prefer this extra layer of security, and are likely to give business owners who use an AVS a lower rate or smaller fees.

Be Suspicious of Foreign Orders

Unfortunately, there is no worldwide address verification system in place at this time, meaning that non-U.S. addresses will not be flagged if they are fraudulent. For this reason, ecommerce owners should thoroughly scrutinize orders from other countries or refuse to accept them altogether. A large number of illegal credit card transactions occur in Russia, Indonesia, and eastern bloc or developing nations.

Reduce the Risk of Credit Card Fraud

If any order, foreign or domestic, appears at all suspicious, it is wise for business owners to do the extra legwork and verify its legitimacy. This may mean calling or emailing the customer directly. A follow up should be mandatory if the order is for an unusually large amount.

A simple warning message posted on a website can go a long way in deterring order fraud. This message should mention that all Internet Protocol addresses are being logged. Keeping records of IP addresses can help track down fraudulent orders.

Consider Extra Recordkeeping

There are additional security measures that ecommerce owners can take. They can require a customer signature upon delivery of the product, and these signatures can be kept on file. Also, the business owner can request a faxed copy of both sides of a customers credit card and/or drivers license. This tactic works well with business-to-business customers.

It may not be the most riveting aspect of an online business, but facilitating credit card payments effectively is arguably the most important one. Taking the time to adequately set up a credit card processing system can ensure that ecommerce owners not only have the freedom to focus on growing their online business, but also receive much-needed revenue in order to bring those expansion plans to fruition.

Chris Martin is a freelance writer who offers information for businesses about credit card processing.