|
Learn the Two "Little Secrets" of BIG Growth and Profits for Your Business!
|
Have you ever switched off your computer at the end of a
day's work, but found that the "to do" list you started with
that morning is still as long as your arm?
Okay, you've answered tons of e-mails containing questions
from customers, you've fulfilled some orders, and you've
updated your newsletter subscriber list by deleting recent
unsubscribes and bounce backs, and adding some new
subscribers.
But what have you really *achieved* in that time? Have you
generated more sales? Have you developed improvements to
your products or services? Have you come up with some ideas
for your next really profitable campaign?
The fact is, many small business owners get so caught up
with *running* their business, that they have no time to
*grow* it. Answering e-mails, fulfilling orders, and
updating your subscriber list are all essential tasks --
but they will NOT increase your profits.
The only way to grow a business is to market it. And the
secret to being able to grow your business and still run it
at the same time is *automation*.
Automating key tasks -- so they happen without you lifting a
finger -- doesn't just free you from doing some of the daily
chores involved in running a business... it actually grows
your business, too.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that automation is
ESSENTIAL to your web site's growth.
Here's a few examples of what I mean...
- An automated ordering system allows you to sell your
products or services day and night... meaning more
sales, and more profits.
- Automated follow-up e-mails let you upsell related
backend products to your customers... which can boost
your revenue.
- Instantly confirming orders and fulfilling your
customers' orders for electronic products like software
and eBooks lead to happier customers who are more
likely to buy from you again.
- Answering questions instantly creates satisfied
customers who appreciate your fast, professional
service.
And the earlier you automate your business, the better -- so
you can concentrate on *building* your business. Once you're
automated, you can handle thousands more customers without
being bogged down by thousands more administrative tasks.
THE best way to automate all your daily chores is to use
"autoresponders." Autoresponders are pre-written e-mails
that are automatically sent on your behalf -- for example,
in response to an e-mail sent to a particular e-mail address
that you set up, or when an order goes through.
They take care of the tasks that would take you hours to do
yourself and leave you free to concentrate on building your
business. All you have to do is write the e-mail messages in
advance and set them up to be sent out when you want.
Unfortunately, some autoresponder services charge for every
one you send, which can get really expensive. The good news
is that there is a cheaper, more efficient alternative,
which I'll talk about later in this newsletter.
First, though, I'd like to run through the two areas of your
business that are essential to automate... and tell you how
autoresponders can help you do it.
Secret #1: Automate your ordering and fulfillment process
Your sales and ordering process is *crucial* to the success
of your business, and it's critical that you automate it
from the beginning.
When you start your business, you might find that you WANT
to handle the orders yourself. After all, it's satisfying to
see those first few sales come in and to deal with your
first customers personally... it means all your hard work is
paying off!
However, after that initial honeymoon period is over and
you're handling hundreds and thousands of orders -- you
won't find the hands-on approach so much fun.
Just think how long it takes you to handle ONE order
manually, and multiply that by 100 or 1,000!
Put simply, your business won't grow... unless you automate
your whole ordering process. So this is where autoresponders
come in -- they can manage all your most time-consuming
tasks, including:
- CONFIRMING ORDERS. Many people are nervous about buying
online, and they like to be reassured that their order
has gone through without any problems.
You can set up an autoresponder to send an e-mail
confirming that you have their order, and reassuring
them that everything is on track.
Receiving an instant confirmation leaves your customer
with the impression that you're running a highly
professional business, and it stops them calling or
e-mailing you to check up on their order.
- NOTIFYING CUSTOMERS ABOUT SHIPPING. People also like to
know that their purchase is on its way. So you can set
up an autoresponder to tell them -- saving you trouble
and preventing more phone calls and e-mails from
customers asking if their item has been shipped.
- FULFILLING ORDERS. If you sell downloadable software or
an information product like an eBook, you can also use
autoresponders to fulfill your orders and automatically
e-mail your customer a link to where they can download
their purchase.
Or, if you sell subscriptions to exclusive content
available on your site, you can e-mail your customers
a password to let them into a members-only area where
they can access the content.
This "instant gratification" factor is a great incentive
for all those "impulse buyers" and impatient online
shoppers to purchase your product!
- SENDING FOLLOW-UP E-MAILS. One of the most effective
after-sales techniques is a simple "thank-you."
Of course, it would take you far too long to send an
e-mail to every customer a few days after their order
thanking them for buying from you and inviting them to
come back again some time. So you can set up
autoresponders to do this for you!
In the same autoresponder, you can tell your customers
about other related products that they might want. For
example, if you sold a customer a camera, you might ask
if they'd be interested in an extra lens.
This type of product -- sold on the back of a previous
sale -- is known as a "backend" product, and automating
this process can potentially generate thousands of
dollars in extra revenue for you, with no extra work on
your part.
In fact, this technique can easily boost your sales by
30% -- overnight!
Now, you could do these things yourself. You could write
order confirmations... send thank-you messages... fulfill
orders... and so on.
However, online customers are a very demanding bunch! They
want to be able to browse for, order, and receive the items
they buy online as quickly and easily as possible.
It's in your interest to make it easy for your customers to
order and receive your products, as well as making the whole
process hands-free so you can concentrate on growing your
business.
Secret #2: Automate your customer service
As I've just mentioned, online customers EXPECT quick
service. The fact is, if you leave it a day or two to
respond to a question about your products or services, you
could lose that customer to your competition.
So good customer service is a vital component of a
successful online business.
And once again, autoresponders are crucial. They allow you
to...
- ANSWER YOUR CUSTOMERS' QUESTIONS AUTOMATICALLY. You can
set up an automated FAQ using autoresponders. Just
create an e-mail address like faq@MyWebsite.com and
invite visitors to e-mail you with any questions.
They then receive an automatic response containing
answers to all the most common questions you're likely
to receive from your visitors about your products or
services, ordering process, and so on.
This way, you save yourself the hours you'd spend
answering the same questions again and again. And your
visitors will be impressed by your instant response to
them -- increasing the chances of them buying from your
site.
- SEND MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR PRODUCTS INSTANTLY.
Another way to provide an extra service to visitors to
your site is to send them free information. You could
write a useful article -- for example, "10 Hot Tips for a
Stress-Free Holiday" could go with a web site selling
travel accessories -- and promote it on your web site.
Just invite customers to send an e-mail to
freearticle@MyWebsite.com for their copy -- an
autoresponder e-mail then sends them the free
information.
The result is that you've established contact with a
potential customer, sent them information about your
product, and impressed them with your professionalism --
all done instantly and *automatically*.
The secret to great online customer service lies in
providing a stress-free buying experience and giving
potential customers all the information they need to make a
quick buying decision.
And automation is the key to making this process hands-free.
If you can make your customers' buying experience as quick
and easy as possible, and make your fulfillment and
follow-up efficient and instantaneous, you can significantly
boost your sales... without lifting a finger!
But how do you go about automating your business without
having a lot of down-time or spending a lot of your
hard-earned profits?
How you can automate YOUR business
Many Internet entrepreneurs get into the habit of doing
everything themselves when it comes to running their
business. It's partly because that's in our nature! We're
very hands-on and like to be in control of everything!
But then more and more orders start coming in, you get more
and more questions from customers, and before you know it,
you're spending nearly ALL of your time performing these
"administrative" tasks.
And when you actually break down what you're spending your
time on, you can find you're really just standing still
instead of growing your business.
Meanwhile, your competitors who HAVE automated their
business are snagging YOUR customers, who've become
frustrated by your slow response to an e-mailed question,
the time it takes to get an order confirmation, or slow
fulfillment of their order.
Automation is the perfect solution to providing great
customer service *and* freeing up your time to develop your
business.
And autoresponders, in particular, are amazing tools for
handling all the mundane e-mail chores that can take up so
much of your time. They allow you to...
- Build your credibility by impressing your customers with
the speed of your response to their requests for
information.
- Increase your chances of making more sales by answering
customers' questions immediately.
- Make sure more customers buy from you again by providing
great customer service through the instant confirmation
of orders.
- Provide your customers with instant gratification
through the quick fulfillment of digital products.
- Increase your sales by automatically upselling backend
products to your customers.
So how do you automate your business? Well, there are a
number of companies out there that will set up and send out
autoresponders for you.
However, some of them charge you for EVERY autoresponder.
And as there are tons of ways to use autoresponders, that
cost really adds up.
A better solution is to use custom-built software like
Mailloop.
This is the software I use at The Internet Marketing Center,
which I developed because of my own frustration with the
limited and expensive solutions out there on the market.
It's built with Internet business owners like you in mind
-- both newbies and more experienced netrepreneurs -- and it
allows you to set up UNLIMITED autoresponders.
That means that you can set up autoresponders to handle all
aspects of your ordering and fulfillment process, answer
questions from visitors to your site, *and* upsell backend
products to your customers -- automatically.
The automated e-mails that you write will still sound
personal and can contain any information you want -- but you
only have to write them once!
Then Mailloop takes over, allowing you to get on with the
important job of building your business.
Check out the full range of benefits Mailloop can offer your
business, such as...
- Unlimited autoresponders for handling all your ordering,
fulfillment, and customer service e-mail tasks.
- An easy-to-use interface for creating and sending
autoresponders.
- Complete control over the appearance, content, and
management of your e-mails.
You can get full details at:
www.startupinternetmarketing.com/ml
Remember, the HUGE benefit of automation is that it allows
you to spend more time coming up with new ways to grow your
business and increase your profits.
It's not impossible to make money and grow your business
*without* automation, but it's *very* difficult if you spend
hours every day answering e-mails, fulfilling orders, and
taking care of all the other daily chores yourself.
You'll basically become a secretary in your own business --
which I'm guessing is not what you set out to do!
By automating your business from the beginning, you have the
time you need to grow your business... test new strategies
and techniques... AND spend more time with your family --
while your business runs itself!
. . .
© 2005 MarketingTips.com - All rights reserved
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Corey Rudl is the owner of four highly successful online businesses that attract more than 1.8 million visitors per month and generate over $6.6 million each year. He is also the author of the #1 best-selling Internet Marketing course online.
To check out his site that's JAM-PACKED WITH THE EXACT INFORMATION YOU NEED to start, build, and grow your very own profitable Internet business, I highly recommend visiting http://www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr.html
This guy really knows what he's talking about!
 |
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK |
|
|
|
Free Insider Report
Receive free monthly marketing updates, tools, tips and strategies to help your online business succeed. Get immediate access to our bonus ebooks AND 150 back issues.
|
Site Navigation Guide
TOP
Copyright © 2000-2006 by Startup Internet Marketing Services* All rights reserved
58 Porteous Ave. Kirkland Lake, ON, CA P2N 2N9 705.567.5850
This site is powered by Host4Profit.net
|
|
Free Stuff
