Microsoft CRM or Siebel

 by: Andrew Karasev

Siebel is traditional CRM market leader, however and mostly due to recession 200-2003, Siebel lost sizable portion of CRM market to new tiger, such as Microsoft CRM. Microsoft CRM s recent (2001) CRM answer from Microsoft and attempt top get market share from traditional vendors: Siebel, Oracle, Onyx. Now it is targeted to the whole spectrum of horizontal and vertical market clientele. It is tightly integrated with other Microsoft Business Solutions products such as Microsoft Great Plains, Solomon, Navision (the last two in progress).

We would like to give you Microsoft CRM selection advise, based on our MS CRM consulting practice, going back to its inception in 1999. This article is written in FAQ style for beginner level

1. What is your industry how strange it may look close to 40% of our clients or so-called orphan clients who needs help with Microsoft CRM customization are freight forwarding, transportation companies, who needs either improvement in Exchange-CRM connector or MS CRM integration with their freight forwarding system, where they would like to see on the fly resent shipment info. And also to mention freight forwarding companies are usually large (more than 50 CRM users)

2. How comfortable you are with Microsoft technology in-house support The old-days idea of Apple computer was to make computer absolutely intuitive and working for housewife. Now we know that this is not realized so far. If you compare MS CRM with Siebel you will see that MS CRM requires y0u to have Microsoft Certified people in staff. Everyone knows that Microsoft is so innovative that each product requires daily service packs and patches

3. Do you have Great Plains, Solomon or Navision CRM is usually integrated with ERP system and if you are looking at MS CRM you should benefit if you have ERP from Microsoft Business Solutions (Great Plains, Solomon, Navision, Axapta or Small Business Manager - SBM)

4. Operating System Philosophy - Microsoft likes clients who have no UNIX/LINUX/IBM/Apple etc inclination and staked on Microsoft Windows 2003/2000/XP/Longhorn, preferably staying on Intel platform (No AMD Athlon 64)

Have fun in selection and decision. We are here to help you: 1-866-528-0577

About The Author Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, with offices in Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles. San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Toronto, Montreal, Madrid, Moscow (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. akarasev@albaspectrum.com

#BREAK#

Microsoft CRM Modification overview for IT specialist

Microsoft CRM Modification overview for IT specialist

 by: Andrew Karasev

Microsoft CRM is now on the scene and it is increasing its market share, due to the Microsoft Business Solutions muscles and marketing strategy. It is tightly integrated with other Microsoft Business Solutions products such as Microsoft Great Plains, Solomon, Navision.

If you are programmer or database administrator who is asked: how do we modify Microsoft CRM read this article and you will have the clues for further research.

1. Microsoft CRM SDK this is software development kit with C# and partly VB.net code samples it is supported by Microsoft Business Solutions technical support. It is based on web service calls, if you are C# .NET developer you are excellently positioned to do this type of customizations. This is the preferred modification scenario and this should be easily upgradeable customization. VB.Net examples will be available soon.

2. Legacy SQL Data integration. This is also easy and safe. If you have SQL database, sitting on the same or linked SQL Server you can create ASPX .Net application and simply integrate it into CRM. You can place it on the navigation bar or menu in isv.config please refer to MS CRM SDK

3. Legacy ASP integration this is somewhat more sophisticated. You have to deploy HTTP handler to be a middle party between CRM which is .Net based and ASP which is legacy IIS. The trick is you have to have INI file with security settings to penetrate into MS CRM with proper credentials, calling web service.

4. Microsoft Exchange Programming. Microsoft CRM has Exchange connector which moves CRM incoming email to MS if it has GUID in its subject. You can alter this logic (for instance - move email to CRM if it doesnt have GUID but it is from the sender who is contact or account in MS CRM). Refer to MS Exchange SDK onsyncsave event handling. Then simply apply some MS CRM SDK programming - you need some COM+ objects creation and VB programming experience.

5. Direct SQL touch in #4 above I described you the scenario with MS Exchange handlers this would be ideal world if MS CRM SDK does the job. But in real world this is not always true you have to do direct flags correction in CRM database (like making Activity closed, moving email attachments/octet streams, etc). This is not supported by MBS technical support but you can rescue to this technique if you have to get job done.

6. MS CRM Customization tool this is rather end-user tool and we dont describe it here read the manual. Weve described above the options to use when this tool doesnt do the job

7. Crystal Reports - feel free to create Crystal report - tables and views structure is self explanatory. Try to avoid the temptation to create your own SQL view or stored procedure in MS CRM database, instead - create custom database and place your view and stored proc in it.

Happy modifying! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, based in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and Miami and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, VB/C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. akarasev@albaspectrum.com

 

Improving Your Business Efficiency With A Customer Relationship Software Solution

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution provides your business with a formalized means for gathering, organizing and storing customer contact information. There is a wide variety of software solutions, such as Microsoft?s Dynamics Suite, on the market serving small, mid-range and enterprise sized businesses and the solution can be tailored to meet your own business working practices.

If you are a company that has as one of its? primary objectives the delivery of a first class customer service, then a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution is a powerful tool to ensure that all stakeholders within your business are in possession of prospect and customer information when it matters, and especially at the point of customer contact.

Too often sales opportunities are missed because information is not readily available when it is needed within your business; for instance, a pre-sales enquiry cannot be dealt with on a timely basis because the representative who has been handling the initial relationship is not available and the prospect is about to make the decision to buy. What do you normally do in those circumstances? Advise something along the lines of ?We?ll get back to you with the information you need as soon as possible.? Would it not be far better if a staff member can pick up the thread of the relationship and provide an appropriate response to your potential customer there and then?

Once a business launches a sales or marketing campaign, getting the best out of the results coming in is problematic at best and any of us that believe we have not lost sales opportunities that have fallen down the cracks in our business? organization is either na?ve, dishonest or is already operating an effective CRM solution. The obvious benefits from a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution are to prevent loss of sales opportunities, improve customer relationships, improve sales revenues and minimize costs.

Microsoft Dynamics Software provides a customer relationship software solution that empowers management and staff with the ability to make decisions based on the most up-to-date information available on customer contact and activity. Time is better used in revenue generation activities instead of getting bogged down with finding out what is happening with a prospect or customer, instead the information is there, it is a matter of looking after the prospect or customer at that point.

Businesses benefit immensely from the savings in time and expense of valuable man hours, while effectiveness is greatly improved in dealing with prospect and customer sales and support.

Maintaining a good record of contact information with a customer allows your representatives to acquire a detailed understanding of what a customer is looking for and perhaps more importantly, what a customer may want next. This is sometimes referred to as a ?holistic? approach, in that gaining an understanding of a customers needs in a wider context allows a business to place itself more directly in their shoes.

Such an understanding provides customer facing staff and departments with the ability to ?second guess? what a customer wants before they know themselves or, at least, the effect is that a prospect or customer comes away from the encounter with your business with a very positive perception of how you operate.

A Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution improves business efficiency by reducing non-productive administrative time and improving your business? understanding of a customers needs, this is turn increases revenues and enhances your business image in the eyes of your clients.

Syed Ali, is the lead CRM consultant for a Toronto based company. His company offers, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Syed can be reached at Tel : (905) 815- 1995 ext 22, email :asyed@cqsolutions.com

Customer Relationship Management

What is customer relationship management?

Customer relationship management, or CRM, refers to reliable systems, processes, and procedures that allow companies to better manage customer relationships. It is a corporate level strategy that focuses on creating and maintaining effective communication with its customers. Ideally, a sound CRM strategy should develop an end-to-end process that encompasses sales, customer service, and marketing.

A successful customer relationship plan can manage all business-related operations and interactions with customers simultaneously. It often includes special software programs, called CRM programs, which aid companies in tracking and organizing their customer base.

Customer relationship management is just that: learning ways to manage the happiness of your customers by giving them what they want, increasing the effectiveness and profitability of your product or service by adapting them to customer preferences, and creating communication channels between sales reps, sales managers, and the customers they serve.

What are some ideas for successfully implementing a customer relationship management strategy?

There are numerous ways to successfully implement an effective CRM program. Here are some ideas that will start you thinking about the ways you can create a richer and more truly customer based culture. You can improve, adapt and reform your customer relationship plan by such methods as:

? Providing product information and support via a hotline or a website. This would allow customers to better use and understand specific products or services, and get any technical answers they need;

? Creating custom applications that offer point-and-click customization, real-time analytics, ease of use, tracking of all contact points between customer and company, and fast online and offline access to data;

? Implementing a mechanism to quickly schedule and manage follow-up sales calls and create clear, well-built information pipelines and channels of communication;

? Creating a simple, easy and intuitive user interface that is friendly to computer experts and neophytes alike. Thus, even those reps who feel uncomfortable using a computer could easily go online and check out statistics and other information;

? Devising a quick system for correcting service problems before they affect other customers, answering customer questions or complaints, and handling any other problems that might arise.

How does customer relationship management actually improve a company's relationship with its clients?

CRM improves relationships between customers and companies because it allows a company to meet the needs of the customer by keeping track of their interests and improving products and services accordingly.

For example, if a company implements a customer relationship management technology
program for a specific product, they can track how much the customer uses the product and how much they repurchase it, allowing the company to grow and adapt the product to the customer's needs.

Used correctly, a solid CRM program can increase customer loyalty, decrease the customer turnover rate, decrease marketing costs, and increase revenue and profits. Essentially, it greatly improves the way your company and sales reps or other professionals do business with customers.

What technical functions should a customer relationship management program have?

A CRM program should have the ability to interface with users through mobile phones, internet, and other similar communications channels. It should also take into account workflow and have the ability to assign sales requests, sales opportunities, and other such assignments to groups or an individual. More importantly, it should be scalable and easily expandable over a very large or small scale.

This means that as long as the customer relationship management system is properly programmed, everyone from the smallest business to the largest corporation should be able to implement an effective CRM strategy.

Implementing an effective and efficient customer relationship management system is the best way to increase consumer confidence in your product or service and stay in touch with your customers, thereby increasing the effectiveness of your product or service.

Salesforce.com is the world's first on-demand application service and a giant in the field of CRM. With over 24,000 customers, over 500,000 subscribers, and a 97% customer satisfaction rate, Salesforce.com continues to lead their field. To find out more about them, please visit www.salesforce.com .
seo experts

9 Steps to Building a Profitable Customer Relationship

Success in sales depends directly on your ability to make yourself likeable, and create a positive experience for your customers. The following 9 Tips are some of the best - and easiest - ways I know to help you create a more positive customer experience:

Love what you sell, the company you work for and the customers you serve.
If you are truly passionate about these three things, your willingness to help your customers solve their problems will shine through. Customers will believe your sincerity and be captivated by your excitement. In short - you will be fun to work with. Our studies show that customers prefer to buy from sales people who overtly show that they believe in the products they sell, and the companies they work for. Choose to be honest, open and empathetic to your customers' needs, and you will experience consistent sales growth, build an excellent reputation and become one of the top performers in your field.

Be empathetic and compassionate.
Truly care about your customers, and remember that no matter how good an actor you are, faking it simply won't work. Ask questions, take notes and lean in to show that you're engaged in their answers. When you take an interest in people, they remember you - and when people remember you, it's good for business.

Add value and give first.
Share your network of contacts with your customers, and don't expect them to give you their business without you giving them something first. I don't mean give away free product in the hopes they will buy more. Instead, give away things that increase your value - like a referral to a partner of yours, a solution to a business problem that you read about or heard from someone else, or even help finding a new dentist!

Make eye contact.
This is especially important when you walk into a room full of people. Eye contact is also essential after we get to know people, because it cements our existing relationships and lets them know that we're still interested in their well being. Very few sales people ever look their prospects directly in the eye. By simply smiling and making eye contact, you'll be surprised how much you will set yourself apart.

Express your true intent.
Tell customers upfront: "I don't know if there's a fit between what you need and what I have right now, but I'm hoping we can explore that in more detail during this meeting." Or: "I only have your best interests at heart, and I promise to be honest with you throughout our conversation. In the end, I hope that we can mutually decide if there is a reason to move forward. If not, that's fine too, and I hope you'll feel comfortable telling me so." This advice runs counter to 90% of the approaches I see being used in the field today. But then again, maybe that's why only 10% of sales people are top performers. Try it yourself a few times, and you'll be amazed at the response you get.

Don't go for the big decision all at once.
In our personal lives, we don't propose to someone on a first date (at least, not usually!). The same is true in our business relationships. So get approval from the customer to move ahead in increasing increments. The first approval might be just to agree to speak openly with each other, as outlined in Tip #5 above. The second could be an agreement on a follow-up call time or meeting date. The third might be gaining agreement on the decision making criteria or a commitment to have the "big boss" present at the demo, followed by an agreement to a "go/no go" decision date. All too often, I see sales people jumping way ahead of their prospect's buying curve. This puts the buyer and seller out of synch. When the sales person is trying to close while the prospect is still evaluating options or determining risk, trust is broken, the prospect feels pushed and the sale comes dangerously close to disappearing.

Use friendly, warm words.
When you use simple language instead of formal "business speak," people respond better and trust you more. So limit your words to three syllables max. And don't try to impress prospects with your extensive vocabulary, or you may end up just sounding fake.

Use people's names.
When it comes to using names, there are just two rules to follow: first, be aware of whether they're more comfortable with first name only or title + last name; second, never overuse their name - this only sounds corny and false. Dale Carnegie once said, "nothing is so beautiful to a person as the sound of their own name." Just use your discretion.

Ask the right questions.
Successfully building agreement with your prospects depends on your ability to ask the right questions. What are the right questions? Those that move the prospect from an intellectual position of knowing they have a problem that needs to be solved, to an emotional state of trusting you to solve that problem in a way that will satisfy them.
In short, the right questions are those that reveal true buying motivations. Mastering the right questions will ensure that you and your client build a strong relationship, wherein you can both succeed - and profit!

To help you close more deals and build lasting profitable customer relationships, try asking some of the following questions during your needs analysis:

1. Identify the intellectual problem with a lead-in question.

• What makes you think...?
• How do you select...?
• What?s most important to you about...?
• Where do you see...?
• How have you employed...?
• What has been your experience with...?
  

2. Develop an intellectual awareness about this problem.

• Can you tell me more about it?
• Could you be more specific?
• How long have you had this concern?
• What have you done to address it?
• How did that work out?
  

3. Identify the specific business impact of this problem.

• How has this problem impacted your organization?
• If you had to guess, what do you think this problem is costing your department / company / business / etc?
• What will happen if this problem continues?

4. Get emotional! Identify the specific personal impact of this problem.

• What impact does this problem have on your job / your staff?
• How important is this to you personally?
• What will happen if you don't find a solution to this problem?
• Why is it so important?
  

Remember: your success is directly determined by the way you are perceived, and the amount of effort you put into your career. Changing any of those variables will have a huge impact on whether you succeed or fail.

After all, in good times or in bad, the type of sales person you choose to be is 100% up to you.

 

Colleen Francis, Sales Expert & Founder of Engage Selling Solutions.Colleen's Lead-Up Coaching - 60 days free: www.lead-up.comReceive free 6 wk e-course & bi-weekly e-zine, Engaging Ideas: www.engagingideasonline.com

 

The Lazy Way To Create Effective Customer Relationships Using Email AutoResponders!

You want to build trust through constant communication. Constant communication is your ticket to building trust and credibility with your prospects and customers. Of all of your marketing efforts, this is possibly the most important key to your success. People are more apt to do business with you when they trust you. Offline though, this may be an expensive endeavor; especially when using postal mail. The Internet however, opens up a whole new playing field.

Use Sequential (Email) AutoResponders You can automatically and almost effortlessly stay in touch with your prospects and customers for as long as you like using Sequential autoresponders. Almost effortlessly means, you do have to create some messages to send to your prospects, or at least have them created for you. All you have to do then is load your email autoresponder with your messages, set the delivery schedule, and voila; you're on your way to increased sales and profits.

Sequential autoresponders allow you to send a series of timed messages to your prospects and customers at set intervals. It's been proven that it takes approximately 7 contacts with your prospect before he/she will buy from you. This information has been re-hashed and regurgitated so much that it's a wonder many people don't know this already. At any rate, it's true.

Online, sequential autoresponders allow you to do this effortlessly, effectively and automatically. I like the word automatic. That means I don't have to touch it. I Set It And Forget It! ... And so can you. All you have to do is get your hands on a good autoresponder! There are many autoresponder services available on the Internet today, even my own, but more on that later.

Keep in mind, there are NO envelope, stamp, and envelope-stuffing costs associated with using sequential autoresponders, and no advertising costs. These costs can get outrageously high if you're running a sizeable campaign. With sequential autoresponders, you only have a nominal monthly service fee. If you've got a good product and marketing campaign, your sales will more than pay the measly cost of your autoresponder service, many times over.

Do Not SPAM Your Prospects!!! Give, teach, and/or train your prospects with good quality content or just some product/service updates. It's okay to make offers inside your messages, but I would not do it in every single message. Why? Because, personally I hate being on lists that just promote - promote - promote! You can get promoted to anywhere online, so why would you want to see it in every single email message you get? There are some others that would dispute this, but it's your call. I know, "I", tend to stay subscribed to the lists that don't view me as simply another $dollar!

...So, what I am saying is, GIVE your prospects/customers something. Don't just take - take - take. Even if what you're giving is just Good-old, Rock-Solid information and advice, give it to them and make it as clear and as concise as possible.

Call Them to Action! I know I just told you not to take-take-take from your prospects and customers, but I also told you, it's okay to make offers too - Heck! - that's the purpose of your autoresponder anyway - to make you money! You decide how often you want to make product/service offers. You can always ask your prospects to click through on a link, to call you, or email you to take advantage of your special offer at the end of each message; however, don't try to sell them a different product every time you contact them, unless this is the nature of your business.

Again, give your prospects and customers good information they can sink their teeth into, or maybe even give them some freebies (good ones) then, ask them to click through to your website or affiliate link, or ask them to fill out a form, email you, or call your office.

Happy E-mailing!

Ettione is the Automation King, specializing in E-Business Automation. Visit his website at  http://www.prowebware.com/list_management.html to learn more about Effortless, Email Marketing using AutoResponders.

Improving Your Customer Relationship Management by with Blogging Technology

Before I address the following questions: What is a blog? and What can a blog do for your business?, let me pose a few "What if . . ." questions to you.

Keeping in mind that before your prospects and customers buy from you, they need to know you, like you, and trust you. In other words, they need to know, whether overtly or covertly, that they have a trusting and ongoing relationship with you. What better way to accomplish for them to get to know you, trust you, and like you than with a blog?

Now, here are my "What if . . ." questions:

* What if less than two minutes after creating and publishing your blog, it were to be promoted to thousands of prospects without any extra effort or cost on your part?

* What if your blog gave you immediate access to hundreds of international prospects?

* What if you had immediate access to hundreds of prospects in your city, state, or country who had interests and hobbies similar to yours?

* What if every time someone clicks on a hyperlinked keyword in your Profile that describes your hobbies, occupation, industry, favorite books, movies, music, or artist, your blog pops up?

* What if every time you left a comment on someone elses blog, you could leave a hyperlink to your website, blog, or email? (a mini no-cost commercial!)

* What if whenever someone enters your name or business name (completely or partially) into a major search engine, your website or blog pops up in their search results?

* What if every time you post content on your blog, it would bypass the spam filters and instantaneously appear on your subscribers desktop without any extra effort or cost on your part? (- an excellent opportunity to get your sales, special messages, or time-sensitive announcements into their hands, or actually in front of their eyes!)

* What if your satisfied customers had the opportunity to place their self-generated testimonies on your blog? (Although some will take the initiative to do so, others might need encouragement. That's all right. Just make an incentive opportunity of it! Offer some incentive for their efforts.)

By now you should be beginning to see the powerful marketing potential a blog offers you. These are just some of the powerful customer relationship management features a blog offers you.

But wait! There's yet more!

* What if you were to combine these powerful features with other online and offline efforts such as a blogathon, teleseminar, webinar, online articles, and others?

* What if doing so would enhance your customer relationship management?

* What if doing so would decrease returns and refunds?

* What if doing so would increase sales?

Think about it! I realize that successful marketing and sales are still high-touch entities; however, I also realize that when you combine your high-tech efforts with your high-touch efforts, you're bound to be successful!!!

Now to answer the original questions, What is a blog? and What can a blog do for your business?:

A blog, short of web log, is an interactive web-based journal that encourages participation from viewers. It looks like and does everything a website does and more! A blog serves as an excellent supplement to your website and other marketing efforts. Entries, called posts, are published by date on the page according to your predetermined quantity and are archived in the margin according to your predetermined frequency.

A blog offers your business countless marketing options. Specifically, a blog:

* gives viewers, prospects, customers, and subscribers who might have had difficulty in the past immediate access to you.

* helps to reduce your time spend distributing emails and other messages.

* improves your content delivery rates by 100%.

* improves your search engine rankings.

* publishes constantly fresh content.

* bypasses spam filters completely.

* improves your online visibility.

* enhances your web presence.

* generates more visitors.

and more . . .

So, if you don't already have a blog, I only have one question for you: What are you waiting for? !?

Don't let this cutting-edge technology, this powerful marketing tool, pass you by. Online companies are popping up all over the internet offering you free blogs. My recommendation is that you grab one, or two or more! Most, if not all, are extremely easy to create, but may be time-consuming, according to your already hectic schedule, to maintain.

If that's the case in your situation, you might want to call in outside help. Consider the high school computer techie next door, or the college-age computer-major son or daughter of a friend who could always use a few extra bucks.

I leave you with this wish: May you always be successful in looking for and using new and creative ways to maximize your earning potential.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, we all win! When you dont, we all lose.

Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts lectures, seminars, and workshops, and writes articles on: ... helping you maximize your potential for individuals, schools, small businesses, and non-profit organizations, Reach him at www.MasterBlogBuilder.com/

What is a Successful Customer Relationship Management CRM

What is a Successful Customer Relationship Management CRM

Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your website or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

By S. Maurer

In today's competitive business environment, a successful Customer Relationship Management CRM strategy cannot be implemented by only installing and integrating software packages designed to support CRM processes.

Over the past few years, many companies have implemented operational customer relationship management - CRM - systems, and these companies are now analyzing customer behavior to plan and optimize marketing tactics and improve customer service programs.

Small and midsize companies have been able to implement more complete Customer Relationship Management CRM systems because they may not operate globally and may be newer organizations that have fewer business processes to contend with.

It's also worth noting that CRM used to focus on the telephone as the primary means of contact, with little attention paid to e-mail or the Web. However, electronic messaging is overtaking voice as the most common form of communication. Corporate call centers aren't going out of business, but they need new people and equipment to deal with e-mail and Internet inquiries.

In the hunt for the right CRM tool, be diligent in the vendor evaluation process. If you don't understand the vendor's CRM solution in its entirety, you might wind up with no solution at all.

Across every sector and industry, effective Customer Relationship Management CRM is a strategic imperative action for corporate growth and survival.

S. Maurer is a 53-years old college graduated IT professional, with 30 years of experience in the computer & technology business. Now is the Correspondence Courses Director of the Abet Open University: http://distance-learning-mba-online-mba-program-executive-jobs.net and http://mba-open-university.net

Cement Stronger Customer Relationships By Following The Confirmation Letter ABC's

As more entrepreneurs enter into online commerce, many make a common mistake: they get so involved with the technology that they forget that there's a live person on the other side of the computer screen. They forget that they're dealing with PEOPLE.

As a result, the Internet has begun to get a reputation for being cold...lacking in the personal touch. And it's this personal touch that forges a strong customer bond. Ignore this and you may find your customers drifting over to your competition.

You must give them a reason to stay loyal!

Did you know that sixty-eight (68) percent of customers who quit buying from a company do so because they feel that the company doesn't care about them? Just their wallets?

And never assume that since you don't hear any complaints that all is well. Of the above mentioned sixty-eight percent, 96% will not let you know how they're feeling...they'll just disappear.

And though they wouldn't tell you, rest assured that they'll probably tell their friends - statistically, one person usually shares a bad experience with nine other people. And 13% will even take this one step further - spreading the bad experience to 20 or more.

Can you see, by not reinforcing customer satisfaction and loyalty, that this could become a costly business mistake?

Savvy marketers make sure to establish this human connection early...one of the easiest (though often overlooked) tools to launch a strong relationship is a well-executed order confirmation message.

A well-planned confirmation message is often the first contact a merchant makes with a customer after the initial sales letter. It doesn't have to be elaborate...just make sure you're not missing the basics.

For instance, does your message hit the following ABC's?

A - (A)cknowledge Their Positive Action.

By instantly reinforcing their wise decision to purchase your product, you may be able to head off a number of cases of 'buyers remorse,' thus cutting down on refunds.

With ezine signups, by sending a confirmation message, you're reminding a prospect that they'd requested the information. Often subscribers forget that they've signed up. Or, someone may have signed them up without their knowledge or approval - a confirmation message notifies them of the action.

Some ezine publishers are using their confirmation message to set up a double opt-in, requiring a new subscriber to physically respond that they wanted the subscription. Done by requiring a return email or click through, this has become an effective way to offset spam complaints and unauthorized sign-ups.

B - (B)enefits They'll Receive From Their Purchase or Free Subscription

After a transaction, the confirmation letter should reiterate the benefits of signing up or purchasing a service or product. Reinforce this positive action by reminding a customer of the value they will be receiving (this also underscores their perception of you as a quality merchant).

C - (C)larifying Terms Of Product Delivery

If the product is digital, and will be delivered sequentially (like an ezine or mini-course) the confirmation letter will remind the customer or prospect how often to expect an installment (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly). A gentle reminder makes for good customer relations, and, again, cuts down on potential accusations of spamming.

If the product is available immediately, the confirmation should reconfirm that it is digital, available through instant download, and then give clear instructions on the steps involved. Not everyone is a download veteran; you can't assume that they'll know what to do. Head off any potential frustration with step-by-step instructions. To those that need this extra help, you'll be an instant hero.

By keeping it personal, anticipating requests and questions, and by extending professional courtesy, you will be on the right track to forging a strong online relationship with your customers -- ultimately leading to a smoother and more profitable online experience for everyone involved.

Paula Morrow heads http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com She specializes in public relations, information marketing and creating cashflow systems. Her newsletter, IDEALProfits, is now read in 12 countries. Subscribe and receive 5 BONUS ebooks! http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com/subscribe.html
 

Paula Morrow is webmaster of http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com and has extensive marketing experience earned from 20 years in the public relations, entertainment and advertising worlds. Now applying this experience to the Internet, she enjoys creating cash-generating systems and coaching new marketers on innovative ways to promote their businesses both online and off.