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Add You - Customers - Who Are Yours?
So, you've put up your eBay listings and now it's time to sit back and let the cash flow grow. Sorry, being a successful seller on eBay isn't that easy. Selling merchandise on eBay is a business. While your choice of product is fundamental to the success of that business, customer service can be the make or break factor. eBay is an open, easily accessed community based website, sellers who don't attend to their customer base may find that they quickly no longer have a customer base.Any buyer can immediately leave feedback concerning his/her transaction with you. In many ways this makes customer service rendered by an eBay merchant even more important than customer service in a bricks and mortar establishment. Therefore, customer service should weigh heavily on all of the decisions you make regarding your eBay business beginning with ad design and right on through the actual delivery of the product. Notice the sentence doesn't read "ending" with the actual delivery. Customer service is ongoing; it never ends.Co
Use special touches to delight these customers and humanise the relationship. Consider creating a rewards scheme or a special by-invitation-only offers for your very best customers. It can enhance the cachet of being a preferred customer. Don’t forget that these customers also tend to refer other good customers.
· Improve marketing to “Sometime” customers. Many of these second-tier customers, the next 10 to 20 percent of your base, have the potential to become loyal top customers. Develop programs to make them feel special without sizably shrinking your margins.
· Maintain promotion to the “Occasional” customer. Constituting about half your list, these customers will often purchase for the same reasons they did before, barring any change in either your offering or their circumstances.
· Manage bottom-tier “Former Customers” proactively. The bottom 10 to 20 percent of your customer base probably hasn't recently purchased. You need feedback to understand why. Did they on
Getting a raise should be the first thing you think about when the subject of increasing your income becomes important. Of all the things you can do to better your monthly finances – starting a home business, getting a part-time job, studying for a degree, etc., having your current pay increased at your present place of employment tops the list. It is the quickest and easiest of all your options. One quick meeting with your employer results in hundreds of extra dollars being deposited into your bank account every month!So who should ask for a raise? Anybody who hasn’t had one in a while, is underpaid for their level of skill and/or experience, or has really been going the extra mile in their job performance over any reasonable length of time (weeks, not days). If your paycheck comes from the government, you fall outside the realm of people that can ask for a raise, because raises are dealt out in a pre-defined schedule. However, many governmental positions assign the “level” of your raise according to a superv
In this months issue we start a brand new series all about customers that will help you answer all of these questions and make your Internet Marketing more effective and profitable.
Customers – Who Are Yours?
Who are your customers? Do you know who your best customers are? Do you know how much they buy, and when they buy it? Do you know how they use your web site?
How you gather the information to answer these questions can be a bit of a complex process. The clarification involves discussions between your sales and marketing departments, the web designer that built your web site and an amount of data analysis. Your marketing department should be able to clearly define who your best customers are and this should be backed up by sales data from your sales department. The web designer should be able to engineer a system to track the online behaviour of those customers.
What you need to identify first are your particular customer types. Customers fall into distinct categories. There are your most loyal customers, the ones who always buy from you and/or put in sizable orders. There are the sometime customers, those who purchase regularly from both you and your competitors and therefore have the potential to become better customers. There are the occasional customers who infrequently buy from you, particularly sale or special offer items. There are former customers who no longer shop at your web site and there are the browsers, those who have visited your web site but have never bought from you.
You can create a winning online presence by understanding how your customer base breaks down across these categories. The rule of thumb is the best 20 percent of customers generate 80 percent of revenue.
How To Categorise Your Customers by Profitability
· Finding your top 20 percent of customers.
To determine your top, average, and lowest-performing customers, rank customers by total sales over the past year. Create a cumulative total sales column, starting with the highest-revenue customer. Develop a cumulative total sales percentage by dividing the cumulative total sales by total sales for the year. You can now easily identify which customers generated what percentage of total sales and simply identify your top 20 percent.
· Determine whether customers are profitable.
To analyse these figures further you can determine a customers true worth by looking at their profitability rather than just their sales figure. It is worth calculating this figure if you market differently to different sections of your client base, as they will therefore have different associated costs. A customer is truly profitable when the revenue they generate exceeds the fully loaded costs (i.e., production costs, marketing, and overhead associated with servicing this customer).
A profitable customer = customer revenue — (production costs + applicable marketing costs + allocated overhead) > 0
As this analysis shows, all customers aren't created equal. To increase your profits, you must target your marketing to those segments with the greatest profit potential.
How This Should Translate To Your Internet Marketing and Web Site
· Enhance your relationship with your loyal top customers. At a minimum, acknowledge the importance of your loyal top customers, who comprise around the top 20 percent of your customer base.
Regardless of the software used, information extracted from the analysis of your web sites performance should help improve your marketing. Some of your best customers may always visit a certain area of your site. That may mean it should be featured more prominently on the site. Your best customers might use certain services on your site. These should be featured in your marketing. They might look for more information on certain products. Maybe you should feature that information in your sales efforts.
Use special touches to delight these customers and humanise the relationship. Consider creating a rewards scheme or a special by-invitation-only offers for your very best customers. It can enhance the cachet of being a preferred customer. Don’t forget that these customers also tend to refer other good customers.
· Improve marketing to “Sometime” customers. Many of these second-tier customers, the next 10 to 20 percent of your base, have the potential to become loyal top customers. Develop programs to make them feel special without sizably shrinking your margins.
· Maintain promotion to the “Occasional” customer. Constituting about half your list, these customers will often purchase for the same reasons they did before, barring any change in either your offering or their circumstances.
· Manage bottom-tier “Former Customers” proactively. The bottom 10 to 20 percent of your customer base probably hasn't recently purchased. You need feedback to understand why. Did they onl
A business card is a greeting card for your customers. The design is only limited by your imagination. Many people choose to design and print business cards themselves not for the reason of saving money. Instead they do it for customization and creativity.Many websites make the design and customization of business cards as easy as a few clicks. The design of a business card online starts with choosing a business card template, change the font size, color, layout, or add additional text if you need, then customize it to your business with title, description, phone number and URL of your website if you have and choose to show it on the business cards. These online sites also give you the option to add your company logo or a photo without having to use their designs. It is a fun and easy way to create your business cards online and can actually save you time and money because you do not have to consult a graphic designer. You are the designer.As the designer of your business cards, you need to make several decisions: 1)
What you need to identify first are your particular customer types. Customers fall into distinct categories. There are your most loyal customers, the ones who always buy from you and/or put in sizable orders. There are the sometime customers, those who purchase regularly from both you and your competitors and therefore have the potential to become better customers. There are the occasional customers who infrequently buy from you, particularly sale or special offer items. There are former customers who no longer shop at your web site and there are the browsers, those who have visited your web site but have never bought from you.
You can create a winning online presence by understanding how your customer base breaks down across these categories. The rule of thumb is the best 20 percent of customers generate 80 percent of revenue.
How To Categorise Your Customers by Profitability
· Finding your top 20 percent of customers.
To determine your top, average, and lowest-performing customers, rank customers by total sales over the past year. Create a cumulative total sales column, starting with the highest-revenue customer. Develop a cumulative total sales percentage by dividing the cumulative total sales by total sales for the year. You can now easily identify which customers generated what percentage of total sales and simply identify your top 20 percent.
· Determine whether customers are profitable.
To analyse these figures further you can determine a customers true worth by looking at their profitability rather than just their sales figure. It is worth calculating this figure if you market differently to different sections of your client base, as they will therefore have different associated costs. A customer is truly profitable when the revenue they generate exceeds the fully loaded costs (i.e., production costs, marketing, and overhead associated with servicing this customer).
A profitable customer = customer revenue — (production costs + applicable marketing costs + allocated overhead) > 0
As this analysis shows, all customers aren't created equal. To increase your profits, you must target your marketing to those segments with the greatest profit potential.
How This Should Translate To Your Internet Marketing and Web Site
· Enhance your relationship with your loyal top customers. At a minimum, acknowledge the importance of your loyal top customers, who comprise around the top 20 percent of your customer base.
Regardless of the software used, information extracted from the analysis of your web sites performance should help improve your marketing. Some of your best customers may always visit a certain area of your site. That may mean it should be featured more prominently on the site. Your best customers might use certain services on your site. These should be featured in your marketing. They might look for more information on certain products. Maybe you should feature that information in your sales efforts.
Use special touches to delight these customers and humanise the relationship. Consider creating a rewards scheme or a special by-invitation-only offers for your very best customers. It can enhance the cachet of being a preferred customer. Don’t forget that these customers also tend to refer other good customers.
· Improve marketing to “Sometime” customers. Many of these second-tier customers, the next 10 to 20 percent of your base, have the potential to become loyal top customers. Develop programs to make them feel special without sizably shrinking your margins.
· Maintain promotion to the “Occasional” customer. Constituting about half your list, these customers will often purchase for the same reasons they did before, barring any change in either your offering or their circumstances.
· Manage bottom-tier “Former Customers” proactively. The bottom 10 to 20 percent of your customer base probably hasn't recently purchased. You need feedback to understand why. Did they on
I believe this about public relations.People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. So, when we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations mission is accomplished.That fundamental premise grew out of many years in the public relations business. A time when I became increasingly appalled at what many general management people believe about public relations, if anything, and how the discipline does or does not fit into their organization's strategic plan.The result is, I've become a "preacher," but not to public relations practitioners. Rather, I direct my commentary to those general management people who, daily, pursue their goals and objectives largely without the insights, behavioral strategies and sheer power public relations can bring to the table.Here's what I believe
How To Categorise Your Customers by Profitability
· Finding your top 20 percent of customers.
To determine your top, average, and lowest-performing customers, rank customers by total sales over the past year. Create a cumulative total sales column, starting with the highest-revenue customer. Develop a cumulative total sales percentage by dividing the cumulative total sales by total sales for the year. You can now easily identify which customers generated what percentage of total sales and simply identify your top 20 percent.
· Determine whether customers are profitable.
To analyse these figures further you can determine a customers true worth by looking at their profitability rather than just their sales figure. It is worth calculating this figure if you market differently to different sections of your client base, as they will therefore have different associated costs. A customer is truly profitable when the revenue they generate exceeds the fully loaded costs (i.e., production costs, marketing, and overhead associated with servicing this customer).
A profitable customer = customer revenue — (production costs + applicable marketing costs + allocated overhead) > 0
As this analysis shows, all customers aren't created equal. To increase your profits, you must target your marketing to those segments with the greatest profit potential.
How This Should Translate To Your Internet Marketing and Web Site
· Enhance your relationship with your loyal top customers. At a minimum, acknowledge the importance of your loyal top customers, who comprise around the top 20 percent of your customer base.
Regardless of the software used, information extracted from the analysis of your web sites performance should help improve your marketing. Some of your best customers may always visit a certain area of your site. That may mean it should be featured more prominently on the site. Your best customers might use certain services on your site. These should be featured in your marketing. They might look for more information on certain products. Maybe you should feature that information in your sales efforts.
Use special touches to delight these customers and humanise the relationship. Consider creating a rewards scheme or a special by-invitation-only offers for your very best customers. It can enhance the cachet of being a preferred customer. Don’t forget that these customers also tend to refer other good customers.
· Improve marketing to “Sometime” customers. Many of these second-tier customers, the next 10 to 20 percent of your base, have the potential to become loyal top customers. Develop programs to make them feel special without sizably shrinking your margins.
· Maintain promotion to the “Occasional” customer. Constituting about half your list, these customers will often purchase for the same reasons they did before, barring any change in either your offering or their circumstances.
· Manage bottom-tier “Former Customers” proactively. The bottom 10 to 20 percent of your customer base probably hasn't recently purchased. You need feedback to understand why. Did they on
We all have a chair that designates a position in our career. For most of us the position, the responsibilities, the growth prospects and many such factors decide if we are happy in our seat? Sometimes, we may be unaware that another seat may send us much higher in the hierarchy and satisfaction level. Sometimes we are frustrated with our job for no easily identifiable reason. There are many such factors that determine if we are on the right seat. Let us examine some of them.InvolvementHow involved we are with what we do? Are we so engrossed with our job, that we have no time to think of anything else? Or we are so less connected with our job that having it or not makes no difference to us? Albert Einstein, the great scientist was so involved with his job of thinking and finding solutions to mysteries of physics and cosmos that he had no time left for anything else. His involvement was total. Do you have such an involvement?JoyDo we feel joy in what we do? I have taken this right near the top, because if
A profitable customer = customer revenue — (production costs + applicable marketing costs + allocated overhead) > 0
As this analysis shows, all customers aren't created equal. To increase your profits, you must target your marketing to those segments with the greatest profit potential.
How This Should Translate To Your Internet Marketing and Web Site
· Enhance your relationship with your loyal top customers. At a minimum, acknowledge the importance of your loyal top customers, who comprise around the top 20 percent of your customer base.
Regardless of the software used, information extracted from the analysis of your web sites performance should help improve your marketing. Some of your best customers may always visit a certain area of your site. That may mean it should be featured more prominently on the site. Your best customers might use certain services on your site. These should be featured in your marketing. They might look for more information on certain products. Maybe you should feature that information in your sales efforts.
Use special touches to delight these customers and humanise the relationship. Consider creating a rewards scheme or a special by-invitation-only offers for your very best customers. It can enhance the cachet of being a preferred customer. Don’t forget that these customers also tend to refer other good customers.
· Improve marketing to “Sometime” customers. Many of these second-tier customers, the next 10 to 20 percent of your base, have the potential to become loyal top customers. Develop programs to make them feel special without sizably shrinking your margins.
· Maintain promotion to the “Occasional” customer. Constituting about half your list, these customers will often purchase for the same reasons they did before, barring any change in either your offering or their circumstances.
· Manage bottom-tier “Former Customers” proactively. The bottom 10 to 20 percent of your customer base probably hasn't recently purchased. You need feedback to understand why. Did they on
The California State Agency that oversees the collection and reporting of State income taxes deducted from payroll checks is:Employment Development Department 800 Capitol Mall Sacramento, CA 95814 888-745-3886 www.cahwnet.gov/taxind.htmCalifornia requires that you use California form “DE 4A-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate” instead of a Federal W-4 Form for California State Income Tax Withholding.Not all states allow salary reductions made under Section 125 cafeteria plans or 401(k) to be treated in the same manner as the IRS code allows. In California cafeteria plans: are not taxable for income tax calculation; are not taxable for unemployment insurance purposes. 401(k) plan deferrals are: not taxable for income taxes; are taxable for unemployment purposes.In California supplemental wages are taxed at a 6% flat rate, 9.3% for stock options and bonuses.You are not required to file California State W-2s.The California State Unemployment Insura
Use special touches to delight these customers and humanise the relationship. Consider creating a rewards scheme or a special by-invitation-only offers for your very best customers. It can enhance the cachet of being a preferred customer. Don’t forget that these customers also tend to refer other good customers.
· Improve marketing to “Sometime” customers. Many of these second-tier customers, the next 10 to 20 percent of your base, have the potential to become loyal top customers. Develop programs to make them feel special without sizably shrinking your margins.
· Maintain promotion to the “Occasional” customer. Constituting about half your list, these customers will often purchase for the same reasons they did before, barring any change in either your offering or their circumstances.
· Manage bottom-tier “Former Customers” proactively. The bottom 10 to 20 percent of your customer base probably hasn't recently purchased. You need feedback to understand why. Did they only purchase a gift? Did they have a bad experience with your company? Develop a plan to market to or drop these customers by segment.
Former customers can still be profitable, implement or extend a customer win-back program. Based on customer feedback, test different offers to restart purchasing. You already have their contact information and they already know your brand, so acquisition costs tend to be less than for a totally new customer. Every win-back creates a second customer lifetime value.
· “Browsers”. These are a slightly different kettle of fish as they are not yet customers. The topic of converting these browsers into customers is covered in depth in our series of DIY Internet Marketing Guides available here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/diy_internet_marketing_guides.html and will also be touched upon later in this series.
Ensure no profitable customer is left behind by tailoring your message to meet each customer’s needs and potential. All customers aren't created equal and understanding the dynamics of your customer base is critical, especially as online retailing matures and growth rates slow. Finding ways to maximize the value of each profitable customer relationship is even more critical to maintaining business momentum and maximising your Internet Marketing activities.
Is your web site driving high quality, targeted customers to your business? Our proven Internet Marketing solutions make your web site work harder for you. For a complete range of Internet marketing and advertising resources to improve search engine positions visit Enable UK.
Stop losing customers to your competitors and make more money from your web site TODAY http://www.enable-uk.co.uk
To catch up with previous issues of this newsletter, visit: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/internet_marketing_newsletter_.html
Coming next month:
· October 2005 - Customers - Attracting Them.
Coming up in the rest of the series:
· November 2005 - Customers - Attracting Them - Part 2 - Out of the Box Ideas
· December 2005 - Customers - Converting Your Browsers Into Customers
· January 2005 - Customers - Keep Them Coming Back
· February 2005 - Customers - How To Reactivate Them
Till next month.
Enable UK
Internet Marketing Information and Resources
Make your web site work smarter!
Web: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk
Email: info@enable-uk.co.uk
If you have any questions about any of the topics raised or any other Internet Marketing issues, feel free to email me at Newsletter@enable-uk.co.uk I do my best to answer all emails or to cover the issues in future editions of this newsletter.
Feel free to forward this newsletter provided that it is sent in its entirety with all links intact.
To use this newsletter in any other format, please email for permission to Newsletter@enable-uk.co.uk
Internet Marketing Tips Newsletter is a monthly publication of Enable-UK Copyright © 2005 Enable-UK.
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