It Is All About Customer Service!

In this day of terrible customer service, it should come as no surprise that serving your customers, also known as visitors to your web site, must be a top priority. Forget about return on your investment, how your site looks, keywords, meta tags, and the like. Are they important? Yes, of course. However, they mean nothing if you cannot attract and retain visitors to your site.

In 2002 I built a niche community for corporate flight attendants. I started off with a message board and then added web pages six months later. Traffic was decent with just the message board but it really took off when I created the web pages. The key? Customer service. In order to attract and retain my customer base I added a resume posting service. In fact, I allowed people to send to me a copy of their resume and I posted it on my site. I took the time to reformat each copy and added attractive backgrounds to each page. Next, I linked it to my site. How much did I get paid for this? Nothing! Why did I do it? Because it showed my customers - the visitors to my community - that I had a stake in their success. When you care about people, they will care about you and come back. And tell a friend. And click on your ads. And generate money for you.

I have also run contests where I have given away books, magazine subscriptions, and music CDs. The goodwill generated by the contest has strengthened my relationship with community members. I have come to know quite a number of my members personally, and have met some at conferences or have been in touch with them via email and phone calls. My members have helped me as much as I have helped them with advice that has thrust my community to the top.

Who has time for top notch customer service? You do! Push away from your keyboard and brainstorm how you provide superior customer service. Then, make a point to implement your plan on a regular basis. Do you answer all your emails from members? Are you even that accessible to members? Plan on responding promptly [within one business day] to all inquiries from site visitors. Always answer their questions to their satisfaction and thank them for their inquiry. NEVER come across as impatient or bothered. Hey, they do not have to visit your site, no matter how much of a niche you think you provide.

Altogether if you become more customer focused you will set yourself apart on the internet and that is where your success will ultimately come from. Customer service is sorely lacking in the business world, give yourself a leg up and make your site visitors happy by providing exemplary customer service at all times.

Matt Keegan is a webmaster and internet marketing guru. Matt runs the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and http://www.cabinmanagers.com as well as the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.net. Both communities are strong performers in their respective categories.

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Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:50:53 GMT GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain - New York Times Voice of America GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain New York Times - 1 hour ago By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ELISABETH BUMILLER Republican leaders across the country said Saturday that they were worried that Senator John McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message ... Antiwar Protestor Disrupts McCain Iowa Rally Washington Post Obama needs 75 percent turnout in Philadelphia, says Rendell CNN Political Ticker The Weekly Standard - Summit Daily News - USA Today - WNCT all 1,087 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:23:47 GMT World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says - MarketWatch BBC News World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says MarketWatch - 2 hours ago By Rex Nutting WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Financial policymakers from 180 nations around the world are united in their resolve to tackle the financial crisis, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, head of the International Monetary Fund's policy committee, ... G7 nations face going cap in hand to China guardian.co.uk Finance officials comments at IMF meetings Reuters AFP - BBC News - Bloomberg - New York Times all 579 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:23:46 GMT Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details - New York Times Telegraph.co.uk Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details New York Times - 3 hours ago The bailout plan gives Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary, three broad choices in buying assets. By ALAN S. BLINDER THE House of Representatives was against the bailout bill before it was for it. US firms up plan to buy into banks to stem crisis Reuters Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' Bloomberg Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - The Miami Herald - International Herald Tribune all 2,358 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:39:07 GMT Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young - International Herald Tribune Times Online Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young International Herald Tribune - 10 hours ago AP HELSINKI, Finland: Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari said Saturday that finding jobs for more than 1 billion young people in the Middle East and Asia will be a major challenge to peacebuilding in the next decade. Video: Ex-Finland President Wins Nobel Peace Prize AssociatedPress Nobel Finn Wall Street Journal Voice of America - Times Online - Burlington Hawk Eye all 1,453 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:12:07 GMT YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads - Afterdawn.com Vancouver Sun YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads Afterdawn.com - 2 hours ago Google has announced that it will begin offering full-length TV episodes through its YouTube platform beginning this week, thanks to a content deal with CBS. YouTube to Offer TV Shows With Ads Strewn Through New York Times YouTube beams up Star Trek for long-form video, prominent new ads CNET News Wall Street Journal - eFluxMedia - Silicon Alley Insider - Bizjournals.com all 109 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:13:12 GMT Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut - New York Times Boston Globe Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut New York Times - 5 hours ago In Hartford, Crystal Pretzman of Willimantic, Conn., celebrated the State Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Video: Connecticut Court Allows Gay Marriage AssociatedPress Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. The Associated Press Newsday - Washington Post - Reuters - NECN all 1,711 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:13:08 GMT US space tourist set for blast-off - Reuters Canada.com US space tourist set for blast-off Reuters - 40 minutes ago By Maria Golovnina BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War. US space tourist set for launch BBC News Russian space chief reassures US partners The Associated Press Times Online - USA Today - Spaceflight Now - RedOrbit all 287 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:10:50 GMT RSS Datafeeds Amazon Associate Store

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