A customer is anyone for whom you provide a service or sell a product and the names or terms customers are referred to may differ depending on your market. A customer may be called a client, a purchaser, a buyer, or even a student. A customer who has not yet made a purchase or exchange of service or product may be referred to as a prospect. Regardless of the terminology unique to your business the bottom-line remains the same: your customer if the lifeline of your business. The service that you as the business owner provides will have a direct impact on the success or failure of your online business and so it becomes critical to be sure that you always provide superior customer service. This is a part of building your personal brand.
In building your brand online your goal should be to be recognized as someone who goes over and beyond what is normally required to take care of their customers. I happen to like the term ‘over-deliver.' No one usually complains if you over-deliver. This is the kind of reputation that will set you apart from the pack and make you stand out. On the other hand using underhand tactics and not keeping your promises is the way to go to experience the death of your business. Pete Blackshaw says it very well in the title of his book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000: Running a Business in Today's Consumer-Driven World. (more…)
