Although there are lots of sites and tools for site owners to test the sites, such work is usually outsourced to testers in-house or freelance to improve efficiency. Acobay.com is designed as a web interface between website owners and online freelance testers. As long as site owners publish his/her site domains, web testers around the world will start the test right away and report potential bugs to site owners very quickly. Then the web site owners can validate these bugs and pay for the valid bugs.

Complexity of sites will bring in bugs more or less due to limited time allocated prior to release. Bugs will appear in different forms. Some bugs are minor, like typos, or broken links. Some bugs are functional or relates to compatibility issues, while others may be critical. The critical bug may cause the failure of the whole site and shall be avoided with the first priority.

For an entry-level tester who would like to work on acobay, typo check is the easiest thing to get hands on. You can copy all texts out from the web pages and input to MS Word. Then use spell check to see if there is any typo. Then report to the web site owners.

When you get more experienced you can try more site test tools to enlarge your scope of testing. Some tools are free of charge and can increase efficiency greatly. It will not take too long to get familiar with these tools. To name a few, functionality test tool, compatibility test tool, stress test tool, and regression web testing tools are all available online for free.

Of course, just test one site will not bring you big fortune. You must increase scale of testing. Because there are lots of sites waiting to test at acobay, you can always start from simple bugs and then upgrade to higher level step by step.

You can also communicate with site owners and other testers to exchange ideas or testing skills. The Acobay site is operating in a collaborative mode for web testing. It will allow more freedom to the individual money makers. Since testing work is shared by all testers at Acobay, one can decide his or her own contributions of time on the work, from half an hour to a whole day.

Scale economics is another advantage. Large tester pool will improve test validity and attract more clients. More clients will bring more income to testers. Such a loop will certainly benefit both sides.

Web site test is not as difficult as you may imagine, especially from the viewpoint of a site visitor. You will become a guru in web testing business online in weeks.

Author : Jack Yang

What is your definition of a customer? You may be surprised to find you have more than you originally thought.

Webster’s dictionary defines a “customer” as someone who purchases a commodity or service, or one with some specified distinctive trait (i.e. a “real tough customer”). We’re generally good about taking care of the first version, but do we remember to cater to the second?

In the commercial print market we serve the needs of our customers on an hourly if not by-the-minute pace, selling, communicating, filling orders and meeting deadlines. It can be difficult, but when you think about it, we’re not alone. Every industry in every market has the same issues in bringing a product or service to market, and we all go after the same goal: the customer.

But what if I told you that but you have more customers in your business than you think? It’s true, and you should be looking to their needs too. You might not even have to go very far to find them.

For most of the modern age, the goals of business and marketing have centered on those who purchase our products and services. These outside buyers were and, justifiably, remain the most important, driving our business growth and investment, and they have been where all internal production and marketing efforts are directed.

Yet recently a new and equally important type of customer has emerged ­– the internal one. We’re talking about those departments or persons who provide you your products or services.

The customer spotlight began to turn inward when companies decided to outsource certain products they previously manufactured themselves. Outsourcing becomes necessary at times to improve on price, quality and meet certain production levels companies can’t do internally. Outsourcing also means our long-term, internal suppliers no longer hold a captive market. They can feel neglected, even ignored.

Yet, if we reverse the trend – pull formerly outsourced goods and services back into internal production – we also rebuild communications, partnerships and, more importantly, the customer-supplier relationship so important to the production process of our successful products. The respect and level of service formally reserved for external customers is now extended to internal customers to keep those jobs in-house.

The key point is every business has internal customers and suppliers, even the commercial printer. Communication between every department your product touches and the suppliers involved is essential when providing world-class products and services. Improving your work processes and lowering your costs make happy customers — both internal and external.

But how can this actually work to help protect and improve your business?

Say that you own a pizza shop. You have customers that order on a regular basis. Yet the day comes when you realize one of your regular customers seems to quit ordering. You pick up the phone and ask if there were any problems with past deliveries. “Bob” the customer says they found burn marks or “black stuff” on the bottom of his pizza crust. It seems the kids no longer want to order pizza from your shop because it looks funny.

Armed with this new information, we approach your baker. You mention the problem and ask him to clean the ovens more often. While it seemed like the logical, quick fix, the baker says it will delay each order about 10 minutes. He says the real problem is the sauce seems to drips over the edge of the pizza as it is cooking and burns into the crust. The story continues the farther back up the chain you go. The toppings chef says the crust dough isn’t right, and the crust “flipper” says the dough maker has skimped on something else …

The point is, they all have problems, yet it took you talking to them individually to trace back their concerns. Like it is for any business, you must look to satisfy the needs of your own internal customers … all those other departments counting on you … so you can together, as a team, satisfy the external customer.

I am sure you can make similar analogies within your own shop. The order was late because it was printed on the wrong equipment. The customer is upset because we mailed using the wrong database. This order got messed up in binding because…. The list can go on and on.

If you think of your internal employees and co-workers as “customers,” you can build a better process for internal communication. Good communication will allow you to look past the obvious symptoms of a problem and allow you to find the underlying root causes.

It is common knowledge that 100% inspection is not 100% accurate. To prevent the shipment of a bad product, design an internal process that prevents if from being made in the first place. Your own internal customers can help you do it.

So, when was the last time you asked your internal customers how you could improve your goods or services?

Be Knowledgeable of products or services: I have seen many times that the front-desk employees do not have enough knowledge about the products and services and when a customer enquires about them, either you will get the wrong information or no information related to it. Keeping your employees knowledgeable of your products or services, especially those who are interacting with customers like sales people and customer service personnel is very important if you want to deliver good customer service.

Consistently following the procedures and policies: Ensure the employees who are constantly interacting with outside customers follow the procedures and policies of your organisation like refund policies, warranty and guarantee policies, etc. In failing to do so, will cause unnecessary misunderstandings, chaos and other problems leading to poor customer satisfaction. Provide the employees with right set of tools and train them how to use those tools. You will have little time to provide the requested information to the customer, so make sure you have all the right tools and right training.

Immediate resolution of complaints: It is very critical that you provide the solution to the Customers complaints as soon as possible. A poor timeline for resolution of problems of customers will lead to significant damage to company’s reputation and image, which will cause serious trouble to your business. Also document the complaints and their solutions for future reference, so that you can resolve those problems, if they resurface in future, immediately rather than reinventing the wheel.

Taking feedbacks and putting them into action: The best way to improve your customer service and keep a touch with customers is to ask for feedback about your company, products and services. This way you not only know where you are lacking but also gets new insights about the expectations of the customers. Many organisations follow this method to stay competitive and improve their processes and products.

Keep it Simple:Simplicity is the way to go in today’s businesses. You can see this approach in every business today. Take for example ipod, it has become popular mainly due to its simplicity in use. People love simple and good design products. Make your procedures and processes simple so that customers do not go through the complex processes to contact a customer service personnel or order a product or enquire about a product.

Use the principle KISS: Keep it Short and Simple. Or in a funny way: Keep it Simple, Stupid.:)

At the end I would like to conclude that it is not easy to accomplish the above strategies without the use the technology in today businesses. Invest in the appropriate technologies with clear goals as much as you can and you reap the benefits many more times than your investment (High ROI, Return on Investment).

Follow the above steps and you will be on the fore-front of the Customer Service with Happy and satisfied Customers.

In today’s competitive world, a satisfied customer is no longer enough. A satisfied customer is still shopping around until you provide that WOW experience and make that WOW connection that creates customer loyalty. To do so, you must move beyond mere customer service to the new world of Customer Astonishment. To astonish is “to strike with awe and wonder.” Using the 10 Secrets to World- Class Customer Care, you will learn the principles and methods to make these secrets work for you and your team.

#1: Be Customer Champions! Know what your team stands for and communicate it through words and actions. Champion your core purpose in direct response to what your customers want and need the most.

#2: Get Connected. Know the interdependencies represented by your own Chain of Customers. Make communication linkage a top priority that demonstrates the importance of all of your customers, internal and external.

#3: Get It Together. Quickly resolve internal conflicts so they do not become apparent and weaken the customer’s confidence in your team. Achieve crystal clear agreement on team priorities and individual responsibilities.

#4: Know Your Customers. Listen to them. Observe them. Make a commitment to NO SURPRISES, except on their birthdays. What you promise is what they get and more.

#5: Know the Bear. There is a bear out there, behind you. Faster is not fast enough. Reliable is not reliable enough. World-Class means you set a standard for the world to follow. The bear cannot keep up.

#6: Take Ownership. Champion the idea that “I am the one.” For each member of your team, this means “I am the one who first spoke with the customer. And, at the end of the day, I am the one who will follow through to be sure WE met their needs.”

#7: Stake Your Reputation. Create your very own Hallmarks of Professional Excellence. Seize those crucial moments of truth in a way that shows your true commitment to each customer.

#8: Add Value at Each Step of the Way. Be sure that whatever it is that you do, you do it with the customer in mind.

#9: Smooth the Way. Always treat the customer as an honored guest. Never place your convenience above that of the customer. Your professionalism will shine as you do.

#10: Create Options. Never say “No” to the customer. NO is often uncreative. YES is great, but may be over-commitment. The customer needs options. Create them. Even partial solutions are better than roadblocks. Be a world-class problem solver!

Use these 10 tips and you will achieve your goals and prosper. They will help you set your own mark for world-class customer care.

In recent times, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has risen to the fore in a number of companies that have multiple touch points with their customers. As an effective response to consumer demand, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software can track when, how and why a customer interacts with the business. Indeed, CRM software can prove very beneficial in helping a business to identify and understand their customer’s needs. In turn, this can lead to increased satisfaction as the business targets to meet exactly what the customer wants. This of course, can help to build customer relations, which in the long run can lead to customer loyalty.

In addition, the entire customer process should be transparent across the organisation, allowing every employee in every department to be able to track each customer’s dealings with the business. Crucially, that information should be available in real-time to ensure a smooth and consistent customer dialogue.

From the customer’s point of view, successful CRM software will mean that every time they need to contact the business, the service assistant they reach will already know everything about them and their customer history. As a result, the company in question is able to target and tailor their current and future products successfully to their customer’s needs and shopping habits.

But regardless of the method of contact the customer prefers, every interaction that takes place will be recorded. As it goes, their preferences will have been requested, recorded and more importantly, acted upon each and every time they deal with the business. And that gives a favourable impression of the organisation to the customer which as previously mentioned, helps engender customer loyalty.

From the business’s perspective, CRM software allows them to institute immediate real-time campaigns that will flag up qualifying customers the instant they interact with the organisation. Furthermore, as it allows for such effective targeting, it offers a possible sales opportunity every time a customer interacts with the organisation. And, because of the information held on customers’ histories, CRM software also enables the organisation to develop complex customer profiles, whilst also helping to develop a predictive model of customers’ behaviours.

However, to ensure that an organisation maximises its CRM software to its full potential, it can often be useful for the various departments within a business to develop a co-ordinated strategy for dealing with their customers. Therefore, providing that CRM software is introduced at the same time as the company adopts such a customer-centric approach then there are many benefits to be achieved from using such software.

I will make this quick. I know you are busy.

We are a very impatient nation. It’s a nation that gets antsy after 20 seconds on hold on the telephone and 3 minutes max in a line. A nation that wants everything so fast we purchase our meals at drive through restaurants. Do our banking and buy our prescription drugs out of the car window. We don’t even get out of the car to have our oil changed or wash the car.
If you ask your customers, “Do you feel more time-poor or money-poor,” the answer almost always is time-poor.
Your customers walk in the door, call you on the telephone or answer your call with the clock ticking.

And if they perceive you are not efficient, thinking it will take more time than they mentally allowed the clock ticks even faster.
What you say is what they expect to happen:

I was patiently waiting my turn to talk to a salesperson in a local Sun Com store, shopping for a new cell phone provider, when another customer came in. One of the salespeople did the right thing, immediately acknowledging the presence of the new customer by excusing herself from her customers and quickly saying, “Welcome to Sun Com. There will be someone with you in a few minutes.” The customers immediately responded, “How long is a few minutes?” “Five,” replied the sales woman. The customer glanced at his watch and the clock started ticking.

I positioned myself next to the waiting, impatient customer, and at exactly five minutes from the sales woman’s statement, he looked at me and said, “Her five minutes are up.” And then he walked out of the store.
Two customers to service at once. What do you do?

First: You do not promise, and what ever you say is a promise, what you cannot deliver.
Second: Give them something to do

In our stores when we had two customers at once we always give the customer we could not give our direct attention to something of interest to do. Something relating to the product they wanted to exchange their money for. It could be:

a. Information about the product to read

b. A video of the product to watch

c. A list of discounts we were offering

d. Information about a new product we were selling
We also always had refreshments at hand for the waiting customers. Many a time a soft drink kept the customer in the store while I closed another sale.
The Telephone rings while you are selling a customer:

How to use your voice mail to gain customers: Not chase them to the competition.

You see it happen all the time. It happens to you. You are standing at the counter making a purchase and the business telephone rings. Immediately you are forgotten in the salespersons mad dash to answer the phone.

Or, you are talking on the phone with a salesperson and they put you on hold to answer another line.
Some businesses make it the policy to leave you standing and answer the telephone. Their thinking is, we got you as a customer, we do not want to lose the one calling.
Our policy: The customer in front of you, the one you are talking with deserves all of your attention. Always have someone else available to answer the telephone. If that is not possible, have a strong 100% Customer-Centered voice mail message that gains the caller’s interest and compels them to leave you a message and wait for your return call.
A strong 100% Customer-Centered voice mail message is one that gives the customer an overwhelming reason to wait for your call back. One loaded with the Benefits they will receive from you. One loaded with proof that they are not wasting their time waiting for your call back.
It is estimated that 50% of the callers who receive a voice mail message, do not leave their name. They hang up and call your competition.
Most voice mail messages sound like this, “I am sorry I cannot take your call. I am either on another line or away from my desk.” That message will chase the customer to your competition. They will hang up and call the next supplier of your products and services.
7 Steps to a 100% Customer-Centered Message
1.Proper greeting (tells the caller they have the correct telephone number)

Always give your name and business.

Hello, this is Bob Janet, Sales Growth Now
2.Inform the caller that you are not able to answer the phone. “I am sorry I am unable to take your call.”
3.Give them a 100% Customer-Centered reason why you cannot take their call. Make the reason about the customer, not about you.

“As I am helping a client increase sales and profits, the same way I will help you increase sales and profits.”
4.Ask them to give their contract information and a message. Asking for a message gives them the feeling you care about their problem.

“if you will please leave your name, number and a message”
5.Assure them you will call them back. “I will return your call.”
6.Give them the time increment in which you will return their call (if possible)…. “Within the hour”
7.Thank them. “Thank you.”
Example: “Hello, this is Bob Janet, Sales Growth Now. I am sorry I cannot answer your call as I am assisting a client to increase their sales and profits. The same assistance I will give you if you will please leave your name, number and a message I will return your call within an hour. Thank you.”
When recording your message, remember to “Smile” while you are talking. Remember, when greeting prospects face-to-face your voice accounts for only 33% of your effectiveness. In a telephone greeting your voice accounts for 84% of your effectiveness. By simply smiling, your vocal quality, pitch, tone, and inflections are more pleasant and convey the feeling of care and concern to the prospect.
When the Clock Starts Ticking, make sure it is not a ticking bomb that will clock out your sale.

When you are with a Direct Sales Company, part of your business success comes from customers placing re-orders with you.

I often hear Direct Sales Consultants saying that it all boils down to customer service. In my opinion, that is only partially true. There are other things that you need to be doing in addition to providing top notch customer service.

Let’s look at a few ways that you can get customers, to keep coming back to you for their product orders.

1. Post Sale Follow-Up: Customers want to know they are important to you. It is your job to go out of your way to make sure your customer is satisfied with their first purchase from you. After your customer has received their first purchase, make sure you follow up with them to make sure they are 100% satisfied with their purchase. If not, work promptly to correct it.

2. Company Catalogs: Every time your company changes their catalog, make sure your customers receive a new copy. I find that most of my customers prefer receiving a hard copy of our catalog vs. an online copy. You can do this one of four ways:

a. Mail out a new catalog to your customers via postal mail.

b. Mail out a postcard letting customers know that you now have new catalogs available and how they can request a new catalog from you.

c. Send an email if you have permission from your customers to contact them via email. Let them know a new catalog is available and how they can request a new copy from you.

d. Call your customers up by phone and let them know that you have new catalogs available and ask them if they would like to receive one.

3. Monthly Customer Newsletters: I recommend that you do a monthly newsletter to keep in contact with your customers. You can announce party host specials, customer specials, recruiting specials and new catalog releases. If you are going to do a monthly newsletter, make sure you have some informational content within it. Customers don’t want to receive newsletters that are nothing more than spam advertisements.

4. Open Houses: Hold a Open House bi-yearly party in your own home or other location. Invite your customers to the party so that they can see and touch new product releases. Offer some refreshments, games with prizes and some product sales specials.

5. Business Cards: Include a business card with all shipments of products. I make all of my business cards into refrigerator magnets and feel that business card magnets yield me better results than just a plain old business card. Customers will put them on the front of their refrigerators which keeps you and your business in front of them.

6. Business Coupons: Offer a coupon with all customer purchases.

example: Thank you for your purchase! Please take 10% off your next purchase before (date). I find that when you include an expiration date on your coupons, you are more apt to get another order from your customer. Try dating your coupons for 90 days.

7. Re-order Stickers: If you are selling consumable products, purchase some re-order stickers and place them on the packaging of your products. Make sure your contact information is on that sticker.

I think it makes smart business sense to pay attention to the customers that you already have. If your current customers like doing business with you and your company, they will happily refer new customers to you.

No business succeeds without customers, and in order to attract customers, it is increasingly necessary for businesses to be approachable, contactable, and interested in communicating with customers whenever there are any queries or issues relating to the products or services available.

In the modern world of internet technology, more and more customers today are often beginning to expect that businesses can be contacted at any time, and day, and in a way which is convenient. In the twenty first century we have shed the expectations that we had of only being able to contact a business or company between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. With international time zones, more people working weekends, and working hours no longer traditional, we all expect to be able to pick up the phone, or send an email, and have our queries or concerns dealt with promptly.

If you are seeking to buy in to a franchise or business opportunity, it will be important to understand in advance what the customer service arrangements involve. Will you be responsible for any issues that arise, and need to provide a means by which customers can contact you directly, or is there a customer service center or arrangement already in place? If you will be relying on an outsourced service center, then you may find that giving them a call yourself, alleging to be a potential customer, reveals the level of support which your own customers could face.

Although outsourcing of service centers is increasingly common, primarily as a means to cut costs and long term overheads, it can sometimes cause problems for customers who have difficulties communicating with people who do not speak the same language fluently, or have strong accents, limited knowledge of the product or service, or limited access to relevant information about you and your account.

But the issue of providing support for customers will be something you’ll need to approach yourself if the responsibility with a franchise opportunity is left with you and if you are starting out on your own with your business idea as an independent entrepreneur.

If customers are not happy with the level of customer service, such as failing to have queries dealt with, having to wait excessive periods of time to wait for a response, having responses which make little sense, offer little support, express little concern or fail to resolve the issue quickly and effectively, then the chances are high that you will lose that customer.

More than this, by losing a customer, you are highly likely to lose any potential sales you may have acquired through recommendation. With so much choice available and so much variety, increasingly we are relying on personal recommendations, and online reviews, to help make up our mind on whether to commit to a retailer or service provider, especially if it is likely to be for a significant sum or a long term contractual arrangement.

Failing to provide adequate customer service can easily result in losing out on personal recommendations, and could easily result in publically viewable reviews advising against your company or service. The internet can easily work in your favour, but similarly it can work against you if you fail to meet expectations.

To a large extent, the importance and intensity of customer service is likely to depend on the nature of the business in which you become involved. If you’re seeking to start out as an individual entrepreneur, working from home with little direct contact with customers, then you may consider the importance of customer service to be less of a priority than those entering into a business arrangement which has massive contact with customers and relies heavily on customer loyalty.

This is turn may impact on your decision when it comes to deciding what kind of business to enter into, what kind of franchise opportunity to become involved with, or the nature of any solo business you choose to initiate. Are you a people person? Do you like solving problems and offering a high level of service to customers? If not, then a business model which relies upon this may not be for you, and the issue of outsourcing the service center becomes one to consider.

Ultimately it will be important to think about customer service not from the business point of view alone, taking on board the financing, the time, the means by which issues can be filed, dealt with, followed up and referred back, but also from the point of view of your customers. Happy customers equate to customer loyalty and recommendations, which in turn results in a more profitable and successful business. Get your customer service right and you’re more likely to see the business succeeding where other, perhaps larger companies are losing sight of the very blood which made them successful in the first place.

Unfortunately, I didn’t need 3 cases of copy paper or a new desk chair so I told the young man that I could not take advantage of the program at this time. I expected to hear him say, “Thanks for your time and we look forward to serving you when you need future office supplies.” Unfortunately, the next words out of his mouth were – “I need you to place an order today because I have a quota and will be fired if I don’t meet my quota this week.” Very little in the business world shocks me anymore but this did. I immediately asked him if I could speak to his supervisor and he uttered some expletive as he quickly disconnected our phone call.

I wish I could say this is an anomaly in the business world but it has become more and more common place over the last year. As our sales slow and our profits turn to losses, all companies are reducing personnel and asking our remaining employees to do more until the recession ends. Many small and medium businesses are currently staffed with 50% to 75% of their normal employee level. We all recognize that while sales are down from last year, there is only so long that we can stretch our people until they become as frustrated as the telemarketer from the national office supply company.

Due to my work as a consultant, I am much more tolerant than most customers and will continue to use the national office supply company but how many individuals would simply tear up that rewards card and switch to a different office supply company? I have to believe that young man will run off many customers before he gets fired by the company and the company will have no idea why several of their customers are not returning. I suspect the young man was hired just over the past several months after he was fired from another firm and was hired because he was cheap and had experience. His training definitely was not very good and his supervision is not good at all.

Small and medium sized business must pay very close attention to their customer service attitude at all times since this is the primary element separating you from your competitors. The internet and our new global business environment insure that having a unique product is no longer the only acceptable piece of a company’s sales strategy. Better products are showing up in the marketplace daily so a good business uses great customer service to keep customers from trying different products and companies. It is ironic that your company must pay more attention to customer service when sales drop yet you cannot afford customer service employees. It is, however, a fact of business life.

Great companies make sure all their employees are involved in customer service. Are your employees trained and a part of your customer service strategy? The Accounts Payable clerk, the warehouseman, your delivery personnel, and even your janitor must all be trained and understand the company’s customer strategy and how they fit into it. If this has not been the case in the past, take the time right now to start. This cannot be a onetime all employee meeting. This must be several meetings every month and must continue forever !!

Customer Service must be in your Mission Statement. It must be a part of your interview process with potential employees. It must be in your training for all employees. It must be a part of your incentive package. It must be a chapter in your employee manual. It must be talked about daily in staff meetings, employee gatherings, etc. The bottom line is that it must be the primary attitude in your business and it must be communicated and discussed daily. You, as a business owner or senior manager, must embrace customer service and demonstrate good customer service at all times.

Most employees see customer service only as a way of treating individuals who buy your products or service. As a business owner or manager, you must help everyone understand that Customer Service is an attitude that governs how we deal with everyone including fellow employees and suppliers.

Now that you have established a great customer service attitude in your company, you must make sure the training and follow up with all employees is in place; even in a financial downturn.

There are many great resources on the internet and many good consultants who can get your company up and running quickly and assist you in making sure that training continues in a positive and efficient manner.

There are also numerous hardware and software products on the market that allow you to record and listen in on your employee’s phone conversation. This is a great training and follow up tool for every business. I personally like the various software products that record these conversations directly to your network computer server and can be reviewed directly on your PC in your office. Some of your employees may initially see this as an invasion of their privacy but you must explain this is your way to provide positive feedback and customer service training. Your employee manual should already have a statement outlining that all activity on company assets such as phones and computers can be reviewed by management at any time. Your outside legal advisor should assist you with your state requirements but this is not a major issue in any state.

If that young man from the office supply store was being reviewed with phone recording software, he would already be unemployed and I would have received a personal letter from the company’s president apologizing for that call and offering me an amazing deal to keep me as a customer. Since I have not received that letter, I have to assume his only review comes from a list of the purchase orders his calls have generated.

I have used this software in the past as an initial as well as a continuing training tool to ensure a company knows and controls the exact message it is sending to its customers and potential customers.

Another great and inexpensive customer feedback tool is your own company website. Make sure you have something listed on your home page that makes it easy and simple for a customer to get information to you. You can make this as sophisticated as you wish but do not burden your customer with having to know the serial number, date purchased, color of the cashier’s hair, etc. Start out simple and make it easy for your customer to give you whatever information he or she feels is necessary.

This also gives you the ability to lead your customer back to your website for additional information you want to provide. It’s truly a win-win situation. I would also recommend having your website programmer attach a simple “auto-responder” message for your customer. The message should be sent to their email address within 5 minutes of them hitting the submit button. It should be simple and just state something to the extent of “We appreciate you taking the time to contact us and someone will be back with you within 24 hours. If you do not hear from us, feel free to contact our President personally at 999-999-9999.”

Your problem is to have an employee review this information every few hours and you, as President, must be able to take those phone calls if your company doesn’t respond properly. Putting your phone number on the email will ensure your company listens to the customer feedback and replies timely.

Customer Service is a major responsibility and privilege for every company. Not paying enough attention to customer service will ensure the failure of every small and medium business. Take the time during this financial downturn to review your company’s customer service attitude and insure your customer has no need to buy from your competitors.

FaceBook or MySpace are two of the primary Social Media Marketing sites. Setting up an account with either is easy; just follow the virtual form that is given. When you enter your data, include your company name and important information about your company. This will become a part of your profile for people to see whenever they visit your home page.

You do not have to stop there, though. Continue with your Social Media Marketing by updating your status frequently. Go onto FaceBook or MySpace and write a bit of news or information about your company as a post. You can also post links to your website whenever you choose.

The important thing to remember about these Social Media Marketing websites is that you want to make friends online. You will be given a chance right away to invite people to be your friends. It is a good idea to start out with as many friends as possible, but having even a few is helpful in Social Media Marketing. Over time, you will be given the option to add friends who have mutual friends with you. The more friends you get, the more people you will reach.

Twitter is also becoming popular these days. People like to tweet messages about what they are doing and read about their friends. Again, use this Social Media Marketing tool to make as many friends and potential customers as possible. You will have followers, some who will decide to follow you with no prompting from you at all. It is also a good idea to follow others, as these people will probably follow you. The things you can post are similar to what you can post on other Social Media Marketing sites such as FaceBook and MySpace.

There are special Social Media Marketing groups online that work as insiders’ clubs. You are asked to join, and then you ask others to join. This is a way to create a professional network. LinkedIn is one of these Social Media Marketing directory type programs you can use. Not only can you create a network of associates; you can also get people in other businesses involved who might, then, be your customers.

Social Media Marketing is the one of the best ways to reach people through the Internet on a personal level. It is all about making friends and then updating them on your business. It will only take a fraction of your time, and it may pay off in large rewards.