Category: Ethical Internet Marketing Practices
Ethical Internet Marketing Practices – How to Create an Exceptional Customer Service Program
Have you ever tried to contact a business that has an automated phone service? By the time you finish pressing all the buttons to talk to a real person, than placed on hold for 30 minutes, you’ve forgotten what you called for in the first place.
Automated customer service programs are generally a frustrating experience. People want to talk to a human being and get their issue resolved. They don’t have time to press buttons and be placed on hold.
One of the fastest ways to success is to create an exceptional customer service program. Not only do you want your customers to be able to speak to a real person, you also want to resolve their issue promptly and efficiently.
While it is impossible to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can still offer superior customer service by investing in features that allow your customers to reach you round the clock.
One important feature is to allow out-of-state customers the ability to call you without incurring long distance charges. This can be accomplished by investing in an 800 number. There are many reputable companies that offer low-cost toll-free numbers for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Other toll free prefixes include 866, 877 and 888 numbers.
When using a toll free service, oftentimes you can choose a number that is easy for your customers to remember. For instance, you might be able to purchase a number such as 800-LIVWELL or 866-HEALTHY.
You do not have to have a separate phone line to have a toll free number. You can redirect the number to your regular phone line.
If you are unable to be available to answer customer service calls, consider hiring a virtual assistant or call center. Call centers offer 24-hour customer service and can answer calls on your behalf every day of the week.
Virtual assistants can help with customer care calls, as well as other administrative duties. Generally, virtual assistants are not on call 24 hours a day; but they can handle your calls for you during normal business hours.
Another option is to install Live Help on your website. Live Help is similar to a call center, except they respond to customer care via the Internet. Customers can instant message with a live help operator and receive prompt answers to their questions.
You will want to post your customer care information on your website. Create a separate page and include your hours of operation; time zone; customer service phone number; and email address.
If your customer service program states that you will respond within 24 hours, than make certain that you respond within that time frame. It’s always best to under promise and over deliver. Whenever possible, get back with the customer as quickly as possible.
Many people shy away from doing business online because they are concerned that they might be handing over their money to a fly-by-night organization. You must build trust with people who are doing business with you and respond to them quickly and efficiently. Let them know how to reach you and be available to handle their inquiries.
Discover more valuable tips for creating an exceptional customer service program in “The Honest Marketer.”
Ethical Internet Marketing Practices – Creating Incentives and Promotions
Incentives and promotions are one of the most common tools Internet marketers use to acquire subscribers and customers.
Incentives can be used to entice someone to subscribe to your newsletter or to purchase your product or service. Promotions are used to publicize or promote a product or service.
You can create incentives or promotions your self or you can use someone else’s product.
Allow me to explain…
A classic example of an incentive is to offer new subscribers a free gift. This free gift is usually an informative ebook or report they can download immediately after subscribing to your newsletter.
The ebook or report coincides with the products or services you offer. For instance, if you offer health and wellness products, your incentive ebook or report would be on the topic of health and wellness. You wouldn’t want to offer an automotive book or a report on Internet marketing. That would defeat your purpose.
One way to obtain give-away e-books or reports is to purchase Private Label Rights (PLR). PLR allows you to purchase books that have been written by someone else and give them away or sell them on your website.
There are numerous private label rights programs, which provide e-books and reports on every topic known to man. Several of these companies are listed in “The Honest Marketer”.
Choose your incentives wisely. Don’t give your new subscribers a poorly written report that contains useless information. It’s not that difficult to compile a good report filled with beneficial information. And the pay-off can be tremendous if you take the time to organize a report or compile an ebook that provides people with the information they are seeking.
As mentioned earlier, people receive many newsletters and offers. While it used to be the “in” thing to offer a freebie, people are much more aware of marketing ploys and find the word “free” to be a turn-off. They assume there will be some catch.
Promotions are offers such as discounts; special deals such as buy one, get one free; free shipping; clearance sale; new product announcement; etc.
You might have promotions that coincide with holidays or awareness events, such as breast cancer awareness. You can run promotions daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually, bi-annually, or annually.
I once knew a woman who offered a different promotion each day. She began offering daily promotions to test out various ideas she had written down in her marketing plan. She made them fun and irresistible.
For instance, one day she offered a 10 percent discount on products that had the color pink on the label and then donated 10 percent to a breast cancer awareness organization. Another day she offered the same discount on products that had the color green on the label and donated a percentage to an environmental organization.
Another day she offered free shipping on all orders that included at least one herbal dietary product. The next day she took 20 percent off all orders and included free shipping. She mixed her promotions up and you never knew what she would do next.
Her promotions piqued my curiosity and I visited her website frequently. Her deals were always great. She was prompt in shipping the product. She had excellent customer service. In the five years I did business with her, I never had a problem. Today, she sells her product line on QVC.
My point is, in order to make it big in Internet marketing; you have to be creative and unique with your incentives and promotions. You don’t need a lot of money to offer incentives and promotions. In fact, you don’t need any money at all. The only thing you need is to let your imagination run free and don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.
Always keep your incentives and promotions above board. If you say you are donating a percentage of your profits to an organization such as breast cancer, you would be wise to show a copy of the check you submitted to the organization.
You’ll find other valuable tips in “The Honest Marketer.”
Ethical Internet Marketing Practices – How to Drive Traffic to Your Website
It doesn’t matter if you are a newbie or a pro; when it comes to Internet marketing you must have targeted traffic or you’ll soon be a sinking ship. Targeted traffic means that the people who are finding your website are actually interested in what your offer.
Websites are cataloged in search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. In addition to the giants, there are hundreds of lesser-known search engines that people use every day.
Search Engine Optimization
Certain techniques are used to help websites obtain ranking within the various search engines. One of the most common techniques is referred to as search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO techniques utilize keywords or key phrases to help search engines identify the content on each web page. The more targeted the keywords or phrases, the higher your web page will rank in the search engines.
If your website is about a popular topic such as Internet marketing, or health and wellness, you’ll be competing with thousands of people for those top spots. People do all sorts of ludicrous acts to obtain the number one spot.
Occasionally the ludicrous acts will work and a website will shoot to the top. However, it won’t take long for the search engine owners to figure out what you have done. As soon as they do, they will yank your site from their search engine. Using unethical practices to capture a high rank will quickly get you blacklisted from all the search engines forever.
Be on the look out for companies who tell you they can get your website in front of a million visitors in one day. Or ones that claim they can get your pages ranked in the top positions at all major search engines. The vast majority of these companies use unethical techniques that can ruin your business.
Ad Blasting Programs
Popular traffic driving schemes include ad blasting programs. In these programs, members agree to accept ads from other members. Doing so allows you to post a certain number of advertisements each day.
The problem with these types of programs is you receive a tremendous amount of mail. A large percentage of the ads are written by people who have no clue what they are doing. Everyone wants to sell what they have, but nobody wants to buy. The ads consist of everything from Internet marketing programs to porn.
If you do decide to embark on this type of traffic building program, proceed with caution! You would be wise to set-up a separate email account to receive the hundreds of offers that pour in daily.
These types of programs are great for learning how NOT to write ads. Very few of the ads posted in traffic building programs are worth reading. It’s sad, but true. After you begin receiving dozens of ads, you’ll soon find yourself selecting the “delete all” option. Than it will sink in that if you are deleting all of the ads without reading them, chances are good that a lot of others are doing the same.
Pay Per Click Advertising
Instead of wasting time on ad blasting programs, consider investing in pay-per-click advertising (PPC). PPC can bring highly targeted visitors to your website in a matter of minutes.
Google Adsense is one of the most popular PPC programs; along with Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN Adcenter. Oftentimes you can open an account for $10 USD. With PPC advertising you purchase keywords associated to your product or service.
You can also select to publish PPC advertisements on your website or blog. When your visitors click on these ads, you are paid a percentage. After you accrue a certain amount, a check is issued to you. Generally, you are required to have a minimum of $100 in your account before you are paid. If you do not accrue that in a month, it rolls over until you reach the minimum.
Last, but not least, when engaging in PPC advertising, keep this in mind…
Keep a watchful eye on ads that are being displayed on your website. Most PPC organizations provide you with options to block certain types of ads. Depending on what you sell, you could end up with ads for things that could be deemed unethical.
The same holds true for where your ads are being displayed. If your ad ends up on a “XXX” website, it could harm your reputation. Track your ads and be mindful of where they are posted and what they contain.
In “The Internet Marketer“, you can discover other traffic driving methods to drive targeted traffic to your website.
Ethical Internet Marketing Practices – Getting Started
Lie: a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
In recent years, thousands of individuals have lost their jobs due to unethical corporate behavior. Americans have been witness to numerous scandals in government offices — from local politicians, all the way to the White House.
Everywhere you turn, you hear about identity theft, Internet scams, and crimes against the elderly and homeless. It can oftentimes seem as if everyone is out to get you.
The truth is, while there are scammers and cheats; there are just as many good and honest people. You just have to know how to determine who you can trust and who you should avoid.
Many people think the Internet is this vast network, connecting people all over the world. They think that because the Internet is so big, they can easily commit crimes and scams. Nothing could be further from the truth.
While it’s true that some scammers do get away with their crimes, there are many more that get caught. People are becoming more of the tactics that scammers use and are exceptionally reluctant to provide strangers with personal information.
In order to develop a successful Internet marketing plan, you must build your platform based on honesty. If you do, those who are interested in what you offer will soon be flocking to your door.
Think about it. How many times have you ordered a product from a website? While there are millions of Americans who shop online; the majority of them conduct business with names they trust.
It’s challenging for the “little” guy to get noticed out in cyberspace. But, it can be done.
Although having a website is not a requirement of Internet marketing, it certainly helps. A website is the platform where you can present information and sell your product or service.
There are two types of websites: 1) one that you create yourself, or hire a designer to create for you; 2) one provided to you by a company you represent. These types of sites are also known as affiliate or mirror websites.
Creating your own website provides you with the luxury of presenting whatever type of information you desire. It is your responsibility to write content, locate appropriate graphics, and make certain you post the proper legal disclaimers.
Using an affiliate or mirror site limits your ability to alter content, offer promotions, or build a customer mailing list. For the most part, the only thing you can do with this type of website is direct traffic to it in an attempt to make sales.
Today’s technologies allow nearly everyone the opportunity to build a professional looking website. Most companies who offer web building services offer monthly payment plans, making it affordable and convenient.
Tools are included which allow website owners to upload audio and video files; and allow visitors to download digital goods. At the press of a button you can add an interactive forum or chat room and engage visitors in real-time conversation.
In “The Honest Marketer” you will learn exactly what you need to do to create a website that instills trust in your visitors.
