There are 2 types of customers you must pay special attention to in your business: (1) the excellent customer and (2) the extremely unhappy customer.

The excellent customer is someone who can’t stop buying your products, has been easy to service, and raves about you to everyone he knows.

Only now they are asking for something a bit out of the ordinary and have created a special situation that must be handled.

Since satisfied customers are your most important asset, you want to go to extremes to keep these extremely happy customers happy.

For instance, one wanted to substitute one of my e-books for a free bonus report I was offering—something we don’t normally give away.

But he had bought tons from us, so I happily gave it to him.

He was so happy, he immediately bought yet another product from me.

The other type of customer you want to handle personally and with great care is the extremely unhappy customer.

Reason: unhappy customers tell other people. The more unhappy they become, the more people they complain about you to…and the louder they say it.

In the good old days, an unhappy customer told maybe 5 or 10 other people.

But with social networking, they can tell thousands with a few key strokes and mouse clicks.

I had a problem with a product I bought online, but could get no satisfaction from the seller, who refused to even take my call.

So I wrote about it on my blog.

Within 24 hours, the marketer called, apologized profusely, immediately fixed the problem, and begged me to remove the post from my blog.

Despite this newfound power consumers enjoy online, many Internet businesses treat their customers poorly.

I hear complaints all the time from people. They tell me they bought a product online, but when they called about returning it, the Internet marketer became abrupt and rude.

Or they tell me about Internet marketers who flat out refuse, on the flimsiest of excuses, to honor their money-back guarantees.

I hear horror stories of Internet marketers who recruit affiliates, let them generate sales, and then don’t send commission checks.

A lot of consumers are frustrated that Internet marketers are so darn inaccessible.

I mean, if you have a problem with your phone line, you can call the phone company, and you eventually can get a real person on the phone, right?

But when you want to complain to an Internet marketer, more often than not there is no mailing address or phone number.

And when you send them an e-mail, you get an automated reply and not a ‘live’ human being.

The e-mail tells you how busy the marketer is. Sometimes it promises a return call from a person…which usually never comes.

I have heard of Internet marketers who blow their stacks at customers—particularly older customers—who aren’t that computer literate and have trouble opening and reading an e-book or downloading and listening to a webinar.

They may frustrate you and try your patience, but think about how frustrated they must feel. They just bought great content from you, and now they can’t access it.

The collective sigh of all the Internet customers who despair at the treatment they receive from Internet marketers is palpable.

Is this how you’re treating some or all of your customers? If so, something a speaker told me can serve as your new customer service policy…

At a recent meeting of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, this speaker said that a precept of the organization is: “Every person deserves to be treated fairly and kindly.”

This is great advice, especially if you are an Internet marketer. Because from what I see, there are many Internet marketers who don’t follow this rule.

“But,” you argue, “I can’t personally respond to each complaint. That’s what I have an autoresponder or an assistant for.”

First of all, assuming your products are a good value, you’re not getting all that many complaints to begin with.

Second of all, you probably could respond to all of them, if you wanted to.

SL, a major catalog marketer, writes a personal note of apology—and sends it along with a small gift—whenever his rather large catalog company gets an unhappy customer.

If SL can do it, you and I can do it too.

But let’s say you are busy, and can personally respond to only a fraction of the complaints you get. What should you do?

Well, I hired a part-time assistant in my Internet marketing business, and it’s her job to handle all complaints and special requests, which she does with sensitivity and common sense.

However, I see all the complaints and special requests first, and I pick certain ones to handle personally. These are from the 2 types of customers I mentioned at the beginning of this essay—the extremely unhappy ones and the valuable repeat customers who spend a small fortune with you.

Every person deserves to be treated fairly and kindly. Are you treating every customer and prospect fairly? Do you do it angrily or kindly?

One more thing: add unadvertised grace periods to your money-back guarantees.

For instance, if you have a 90-day money-back guarantee and the customer returns your product on day 92, should you give him his money back anyway?

Yes, because you want to treat him fairly and kindly…just like you’d want to be treated when returning an item to a store.

And if you treat your customers fairly and kindly, they will deal with you in the same way.

Bob Bly is the author of “World’s Best Copywriting Secrets” and has written copy for more than 100 companies including IBM, Boardroom, Medical Economics and AT&T. He is the author of more than 75 books and a columnist for Target Marketing, Early To Rise and The Writer. McGraw-Hill calls him “America’s top copywriter”.

When entrepreneur mentor (and ABC’s “Secret Millionaire”) Ali Brown started her first business 12 years ago out of her tiny kitchen in NYC, all she had was an idea, an old computer, and a bit of gumption to actually try being a business owner.

Those first few years were rocky for sure. In fact, after coaching hundreds of business owners, many who are starting their first ventures, Ali believes your first THREE years in business are typically your *toughest* by far.

Ali says, “In my experience, this is also when most of you want to GIVE UP. You may think, ‘This is just too much’, or ‘I have no idea where to start’, or ‘I’m so overwhelmed and not sure where to focus!’

“The GOOD news is, if you can get through these first three years with the RIGHT information, plan, and mindset, you can be SET for life! But it’s sad that many give up.”

That’s why Ali’s hosting a special FREE CALL next week that will share the *KEY elements to making your business WORK during this foundational phase.*

It’s called “Solid Steps To Success“, taking place *THURSDAY, March 15, 2012.*

This call is SPECIFICALLY for those of you who are in your FIRST three years of a business venture.

Go here now to see everything Ali will be covering on this one-time only, FREE call!

One of the things I like about Dan Kennedy is that he tells it like it is. He gets straight to the point with no BS hype…

And this week he really is cutting to the chase on how to make a better opportunity for yourself.

Below are 4 reasons why you should be checking out Dan’s Recession Made Renegade Millionaire info this week.

Reason #1

Learn how much more wealth this economy can produce for you. Unlike a lot of the fear tactics surrounding the economy, Dan gives you a real solution so that instead of fearing this economic time, you can capitalize on it, act and make more money then you ever thought possible.

Reason #2

Discover a system tested and proven to work during recessions. There couldn’t be a better time to start or expand a business. With 35 years of experience and a long list of businesses he’s helped start and expand during recessions, I can’t think of a more qualified person to show you how to take advantage of the current economic
conditions.

Imagine what you can uncover listening to Dan answer intimate questions about his personal experience with hundreds of first generation, from scratch, millionaire and multi-millionaires.

Reason #3

Make dramatic changes. How much time do you want to give up to working at something you don’t really enjoy? Worrying about money and giving up to compromise. Dan gives an in-depth explanation of how he organizes his work, communications and time allowing him to get more done in one hour than most people get done in a day.

Reason #4

The free content alone is worth a fortune in terms of what it can mean for you. In case you haven’t tuned in yet, Dan has delivered 4 videos, each with valuable lessons you can use right now, no matter what business you are in. Dan also did a ‘LIVE’ 4-hour interview where he spilled the beans. And there’s a 7-hour expert’s webcast to answer all your questions. And that’s just the free stuff Dan’s giving away.

And now to give you one more reason to take advantage of Dan Kennedy’s Recession Made Renegade Millionaire system, Dan is now offering a generous 6-payment plan too so it’s easy to fit into your budget.

More millionaires are made during or right after a recession. In fact, all the official number crunchers have predicted that the number of millionaires is set to double in the next 10 years or faster.

Do you want to be one of them?

Head over to see what everyone’s talking about.

Building a successful brand can help you solidify your business in your niche. It establishes you and your business as a name that can be trusted.

So What Is A Brand?

When you see the swoosh logo, what does it make you think of?

And how about Coca-Cola? You know the tagline, don’t you?

And if I say “You’re in good hands with…” you can probably finish the sentence, can’t you?

All of these show how a particular brand has influenced not only society but also our idea of what these certain products should be.

For instance, when it comes to photocopying, people use the term “Xeroxed”.

Actually, Xerox is a brand name that has become synonymous with the act of photocopying so how’s that for brand success?

Building Your Brand

Who’s to say that you won’t become as big as Xerox one day? For any business, you start in the same place—building your brand. So here’s some tips to help you get the ball rolling!

Brand Building Tip #1: Be Real With Your Customers

Anyone can create a “smoke and mirrors” advertising campaign.

You can promise the world and some will believe you but when you don’t deliver, your credibility is shot!

One way to be real is to put a face on your business by adding your own photo.

And by all means, speak plainly and in simple terms with your customers. Don’t try to talk around them or above them!

Brand Building Tip #2: Make Good On Your Promises

The problem with many companies is poor customer service.

If you promise to send a confirmation e-mail after a purchase or an answer to an information request make sure you do so in the time promised.

Brand Building Tip #3: Sell Your Product

Inspire customers to buy by giving them a reason to use your products or services.

Describe how their life will benefit from having your product in it.

Help the customer make an emotional connection to your product.

Brand Building Tip # 4: Promote Your Product As Much As Possible

When new products come out do a press release.

Also, promote it on your social networking site, your blog and your website if you have a separate one.

Create YouTube videos and also podcasts about your products to increase the talk.

Don’t forget offline promotion as well.

Brand Building Tip #5: Be Consistent With Your Brand

Whatever you decide that your brand will stand for be true to that.

Use people and ideas that are in line with your brand to help identify it for your audience.

Brand Building Tip #6: Target Your Customers

Now that you know your brand now it’s time to connect with the people who “need” what you offer.

Use keywords to draw your customers to you and create a list of potentials and then stay in contact with them.

What does your product stand for? Take some time and create your brand then provide quality products that connect with your customers so they almost sell themselves.

Having online credibility is one of the rarest, yet most powerful commodities you can have.

If you have credibility, you’ll be able to get people on email lists, get joint venture partners and get others to buy your products with ease.

But without online credibility, nobody will even give you their credit card!

So how do you go about establishing your online credibility? Well here’s some tips to help you quickly build your online credibility.

Tip #1: Come Up With Your Story

You need to have a compelling “where I came from” story.

Have you ever noticed how just about every product ever invented has a story?

Weight loss products tell the story of someone who was perpetually overweight finally losing the fat.

Real estate gurus talk about how they went from rags to riches.

Stories are compelling so first figure out an attention-catching, respect-inspiring story to base your online identity around.

Tip #2: Show What Results You’ve Personally Gotten

Don’t be afraid to share the results that you’ve personally gotten.

If you’re giving advice about how to make money, share exactly how you are making money.

If you’re giving advice about losing weight, share your exact measurements.

People want to be able to relate to you because they want to be able to feel that you’re one of them like you know what they’re going through and that if you can do it so can they.

Tip #3: Provide Proof Elements On Your Page

You should have several proof elements readily visible on your web page.

For example if you’ve appeared on radio stations put the logos of the radio stations on your page under “as seen on.”

If you have “before and after” photos put those on your page as well.

The idea is to give people bite-sized chunks of credibility that they might not even consciously look at it but just having them there makes a difference.

Tip #4: Always Make A Great First Impression

The first impression is very important. Though you can’t tell your whole story in the first impression, it’s important that you have one or two proof elements here.

Have a before and after picture above the fold or have a killer testimonial prominently displayed on the front page.

Or have your most spectacular achievement showcased upfront.

Tip #5: Get Social Proof

Social proof is one of the most powerful ways of building credibility. Why? Because it doesn’t come from you.

Social proof means that other people, who have no financial gain from endorsing you, like your product enough to go out of their way to help you…and this sends a very strong message.

Social proof includes comments on blog posts, testimonials on other people’s blogs or word of mouth endorsements from friend to friend.

These are a few of the most powerful ways to establish your online credibility.

In the beginning, this process takes quite a bit of thought as you have to plan out your story and discover your proof elements.

Once you’ve got it down, however, your proof elements will keep working for you again and again, without you having to do much work.

The lifetime value of your customers and repeat business are the biggest advantages of establishing a relationship with your clients. This is why relationship marketing happens to be so important. Lots of businesses, both big and small, have learned the importance of relationship marketing, which should be a good enough incentive for you to implement it properly. You need to focus on relationship marketing and building a powerful foundation if you want to see excellent results from your business. To improve your relationship with your customers, you can use the following 3 simple ideas.

Do you have any idea what your customers really want? They are looking for easier way to do what they’re already doing. Give them what they need for that added convenience and/or ease. If you feel that there is something you can do to make it easy for them to use/buy your products then go ahead and do it. Avoid confusion in the process altogether.

Your topmost priority should be to find ways to make things easy and convenient. Give your customers plenty of options as well for even more buying power. If you are at all serious about relationship marketing, then you should have some degree of concern about them. There’s nothing wrong with finding out what they want or care about. Doing this helps you to discover any possible new forms of solution that you may be able to provide to them. You really can distinguish yourself from all the others, and they’ll feel a little differently about you. You want people to start to lower their resistance to you and your business messages, and that is one way to help achieve that.

You’ll find that relationship marketing tends to cost much less than other forms, and it is the type of thing that can put longevity into your business. The fact is, initiating a conversation doesn’t cost you anything, which greatly brings down the overall costs of relationship marketing. You can always engage in positive relationship marketing at any point, and it’s something that should be done with everyone in your customer base. No matter at what level your business is and no matter how far you want to take it, relationship marketing will always turn out to be useful. This article has revealed the importance of relationship marketing and how it can be used to create a better business and how it allows you to market to consumers efficiently. Since you have already established a connection with them, your clients will never feel out of place when receiving an offer from you. Thus, you can grow your business but also reach out to new prospects. Your client base will be made up of many happy customers eventually, even if you will have to put in a fair bit of work.

Whether you’re an advanced business owner or you’re just ready to explore becoming an entrepreneur, it’s important to immerse yourself in proven strategies and real-world inspiration to help you grow and make the journey a fun one. :)

And that’s why, for the past 3 years, entrepreneur mentor (and ABC’s “Secret Millionaire”) Ali Brown has hosted SHINE, a powerful 3-day conference designed to lead entrepreneurial women through their own reinvention at all levels via an exciting LIVE experience…giving them new ideas, tools, and strategies to propel their businesses and lives to new heights.

This week, Ali made a big announcement about her plans for SHINE this year…

“It seems many of you are planning your entire year around my women’s entrepreneur conference that has gained so much ground in the past 3 years, and I’m honored.

“Well, I have a *BIG announcement* about SHINE 2012, and that is that I’m taking a break this year. I’ll be using this extra time to work with my Elevate coaching members, speak at many other events around the country, and work on my new book and some other personal projects.

“While it was a hard decision, I’m excited at what else this year will bring! And there’s actually some *GREAT NEWS* in this for you.

“For the FIRST TIME ever, I’m giving you the chance to experience SHINE again and again at home—without having to travel!”

It all starts TODAY with Ali’s special SHINE Deluxe Set Pre-Order SALE.

At SHINE 2011, Ali hired a team to do a professional 3-camera video shoot, as well as audio recordings of all the breakout sessions. This means an incredible at-home SHINE experience for you!

The SHINE 2011 Deluxe Set includes 13 DVDs, 19 hours of audio sessions, PDF transcripts, a follow-along binder, and more. You’ll learn from dozens of jam-packed sessions delivering *powerful business growth formulas* to help you *make more money* and *marketing strategies* to help you *grow your list* and *expand your reach*. As well as some super inspiration as well!

Watch this SAMPLE VIDEO here of what the event was like, and to see how high quality the DVDs will be too!

IMPORTANT: There are 2 reasons to *reserve your copy right now*…

1. If you are one of the FIRST 50 to reserve your copy, Ali will throw in a complete audio set of SHINE 2010! So you get TWO SHINE events to learn from and enjoy.

2. You SAVE $100 if you act by MONDAY, *February 13* with Ali’s special Pre-Order Sale.

To get all the details on what your SHINE 2011 Deluxe Set includes, and watch that SAMPLE VIDEO, visit this page now.

This is what I would call “simple genius”.

Every now and then a book is written which changes the game.

The author of the book in question charts the precise journey he took to go from working 80-100 work weeks (for 15 years) down to just 2 hours…

That may be interesting and inspiring but how does it affect YOU?

The breakthrough with this particular book is that it details a step-by-step, universally applicable blueprint which any business owner, running any type of business, can implement.

It sounds like a bold claim and you’d be forgiven for being skeptical!

However, he has amassed literally hundreds of profoundly enticing and eminently credible case studies and testimonials spanning all manner of businesses from real estate management companies to retailers and from marketing agencies to landscape designers…

In other words, finally, someone appears to have come up with a blueprint which ANY business owner can implement to radically change the way they work (and live).

His solution is elegant and simple, requires a little ‘heavy-lifting’ for a short period of time and is being hailed by business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world as the “holy grail formula for working less and earning more”.

For a short period of time you can download the entire brand new PDF book and the audiobook.

If you do anything this year, read this. It’s a game-changer.

Let me know what you think of it!

Mike Koenigs and Pam Hendrickson has officially launched an exciting new program that will not only train you but take you through the practical process of building an info-product business.

Mike is no stranger to Internet marketers. He is the co-owner of the 8-figure online blockbuster Traffic Geyser and the mastermind of some of the biggest online launches in our industry to date.

Some people would say behind every successful man is a woman. I’m not referring to Anthony Robbin’s wife. For over 20 years, Pam Hendrickson is THE person behind all of Tony Robbins’ content, products and services.

Using her expertise, she now teams up with Mike to produce a complete 7-step, 7-week online course in the same detailed, compelling, usable formats that made Tony Robbins’ products such best-selling and award-winning stuff.

“MAKE, MARKET, LAUNCH IT” takes people through an easy-to-follow process:

• Finding their ideal target market
• Creating an irresistible offer for that market
• Producing a product that fulfills the promise of their offer
• Successfully launching their product, both in the short and long term

Each of the 7 modules, to be released weekly on the membership site, includes:

• 5-7 video training sessions with Pam and/or Mike
• A thorough, easy-to-follow action guide for each session (to support step-by-step implementation)
• Templates, examples and worksheets (these are not just 1-page Word documents; we’re talking in-depth Keynote and PowerPoint files, detailed Excel spreadsheets and comprehensive swipe files—the stuff all of us would have loved to have gotten our hands on early in the game)
• Product maps that show the specific process to follow to get the fastest results for each step (these alone are worth the entire investment in the program)

While they go over 15 different formats you can use to create your platform and product funnel, the focus is on the 7-step system and process necessary to successfully produce and launch any product, in any form.

There are 7 weekly Q&A live calls (also posted on the site) to correspond with each of the modules as they are released.

They also have bonus interviews with experts in the field (people you’ll want to hear from) and skill trainings on everything including copywriting, design, video production, live events and curriculum design. There’s outsourcing and crowdsourcing training and pretty much everything a person needs to successfully create and promote their online information product business.

The program also covers what NOT to do so people don’t get stuck working on things that aren’t making money or making a difference)

Every customer also gets a ticket to the 2½-day MAKE, MARKET, LAUNCH IT ‘live’ event in April 2012, in San Diego.

And stay tune for more high-value, surprise bonuses to come.

Between the two of us, Mike and Pam have created, produced and sold over 200 unique products and services to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in revenue. Their records are proof enough that you are getting the very best from 2 business veterans. Click here to find out more about the “MAKE, MARKET, LAUNCH IT” course.

Right now small business owners are suffering more than ever and they need your help!

It’s time to dust off your cape and superhero mask and come to their rescue…

This really is something anyone can do and you can start with zero and look like a fortune 500 company by the end of the week.

If you like the idea of becoming a Very Rich Business Consultant in your local area and have a queue of business owners line up handing you cash, then you should take a look at Local Marketing Maven…