subject: Why Relationships Matter in Online Business [print this page] Why Relationships Matter in Online Business
When I started my new business, I wanted to offer solid internet business advice without the hype. You will find a lot of other sites that will show you the latest "get rich quick" internet business scheme. The reality is that most of these get rich scams fail quickly, just as they do if you were to try them on regular "brick and mortar customers."
Take the example of popular strategies for manipulating search engines. You can pay someone to create thousands of links to your site on often unrelated sites, spam news sites and engage in "black hat" techniques intended to gain a high rank for your page on Google. This type of manipulation might quickly get you to the front page of Google for certain keywords. However even if it generates some sales for you it is highly unlikely you will see repeat sales unless your site is compelling, fresh and gives the customer a reason to return for more. If you've tricked them into coming, they won't stay.
You may have heard the saying that online "content is king." The reason for this is that in the modern internet, entertaining, compelling and educational content is the best free way to attract new people to your site, and a steady stream of fresh content is the best way to keep them coming back. The goal of your free content is to not necessarily to promote your products, though certainly compelling free content might drive some to purchase your paid products or services.
The objective of regular free content is really to create a long term relationship with your customer. That's the reason why email lists, blogs, podcasts and videocasts are so compelling from an online business perspective. When someone subscribes to your blog, email list, or podcast, they get fresh free content from you every week or so. Over time they get to know you, who you are, respect your expert knowledge and ultimately trust you.
We make purchases based on the advice of those we trust. When I move to a new area and need the roof fixed, car repaired, or want to find a good school I ask people I know and trust. Recently I received a fly rod as a gift, and decided to learn more about fly fishing. Quite honestly, I don't know anything about fly fishing other than it looks like fun - so I found some lessons being offered locally and signed up for the course on the advice of a friend.
If the fishing lesson is good, its very likely I'll recommend it to some of my friends. And some of them will recommend it to their friends, and so on, and so on... Word of mouth is a powerful force.
This is true for traditional business - we reach for the brand names we know first. Online, your content is your calling card, your lifeblood and the basis for your long term brand.
So what does all of this mean for building a successful online business?
* Fresh, frequent content is a key component of building a long term relationship with your customers and offering them repeat exposure
* Compelling free content can help directly promote your product or service
* Relationships build trust, which is the basis for long term, repeat sales
* These ultimately build your brand both thorough repeat customers and word of mouth
Do you have your own thoughts on web content, relationships and online business? Leave a comment below or contact Brad on his site.
