All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
You
can learn many things you didn't know about your business
by getting valuable feedback from your customers.
* Your customers may buy your main product just to get the
free gifts.
* Your visitors may think it's too hard to navigate
through your web site.
By
knowing this type of important information you can improve
your web site, products and services, and advertising.
Below
are eight techniques you can use to get valuable feedback
from your customers.
1.
Use surveys and questionnaires regularly to improve your business.
Publish
them on your web site, eZine, print newsletter, direct mail
material, include them with product shipments or inside product
packages. Post them on appropriate online message boards,
e-mail discussion lists and newsgroups on the internet.
2.
Create an online community for your customers.
Include
a chat room, message board, e-mail discussion list on your
site for customers to participate in. You can regularly moderate
these communities to see what your customers are saying about
your business.
3.
Give away your products to a group of your customers.
Ask
them to use and review the product. Ask them to fill out an
evaluation form and send it back. Some customers may fill
them out, some may not, but the feedback you do get will be
valuable.
4.
Offer your web site visitors an online product or service
from your web site at no cost.
It
could be an eBook, search engine submission, consulting via
e-mail, web design, etc. In return, ask them to fill out a
short survey about your web site, products or services you're
selling, customer service.
5.
Create a customer focus group.
Invite
ten to twenty of your most loyal customers to have a discussion
regularly. For example via an online chat program or by conference
call. They will give you ideas and input on how to improve
your customer service. You could give them your products for
free, or reward them in another way.
6.
Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis.
Offer
them a free eZine subscription. Ask customers if they want
to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your web
site. After every sale, follow-up with the customer to see
if they are satisfied with their purchase.
7.
Make it easy for your customers to contact you.
Offer
as many contact methods as possible. Allow customers to contact
you by e-mail. Hyperlink your e-mail address so customers
won't have to type it. Offer toll free numbers for phone and
fax contacts. This will make it easy for your customers to
voice their opinions.
8.
You could regularly contact customers on birthdays or holidays.
Send
thank you gifts to lifetime customers. E-mail them online
greeting cards on holidays or birthdays. Call them personally
to wish them a happy holiday. You could follow-up with a survey
or ask them if they're happy with your business.
You
could use a couple or all of the techniques listed above to
get valuable customer feedback.
These
aren't the only ways, be creative and come up with some of
your own.
Jim Boere is the owner of OnlineBizPromotion.
His website offers home based business ideas, opportunities
and resources. He also publishes the Home Business Tips Newsletter.
For additional information please visit: http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com
HOW TO SET YOUR FREELANCE RATES - A GUIDE FOR FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTSThere are many factors which business owners must consider on a daily basis as it relates to the running of their business. Things such as how to find good help, where to acquire supplies and how much to pay one’s employees are all pertinent matters which must be addressed. There are a few ways to go about figuring out your rates when it comes to how much to charge the customers.
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26 THINGS TO DO WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW AND IN DOWNTIME MODESome freelancers are anxious to work day in and day out which may present a problem for them when business is slow. However, there are many things which freelancers can do to bide their time while waiting for new freelance work to come in. Here are 26 ideas for staying productive during your consulting business downtime.
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DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO FREELANCE OFFSITE OR ONSITE Deciding to work onsite or offsite sounds like a relatively simple decision, but it’s actually one which isn’t easy to make. Sure, when you’re lying in bed just after the alarm has gone off and you see that it’s raining outside and all you wish was that you could go back to bed for ten minutes and then do your freelance work from home, working offsite sounds ideal. But there are as many cons to the offsite work job as there are pros and you need to weigh them carefully when making the decision about whether to work onsite or offsite.
IS FREELANCING RIGHT FOR YOU? Freelancing, a term introduced by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), is when you work without being committed to an employer. With development of internet and communication technology, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people going their own way and leaving behind the cubicles. You are reading this book, so you must be contemplating becoming a freelancer, but before you make your move there are a few things to consider.
FREELANCER'S GUIDE TO TIME MANAGEMENT The most common problem that freelancers face is figuring out the balance between work and the rest of life. While there are a few freelancers out there who don’t work as much as they need to in order to pay their bills and improve their business, most freelancers have the opposite problem – they work ALL the time. And that’s why there are a great number of freelancers who “burn out” after a short (or if they’re lucky, a long) time. In order to make sure that you aren’t one of those people who “used to freelance but got burned out”, you need to set limits on how much you work. Then you need to stick to those limits.
SHOULD I TURN DOWN FREELANCE PROJECTS? As freelancers, we often feel as if we have to say ‘Yes’ to every single job out there. However, we as freelancers are in a position where we can choose to say ‘No’ if we want to. Believe it or not, there are certain projects that you probably shouldn’t accept. Turning down work is probably the hardest decision you will need to make when running your business, but sometimes turning down a gig is necessary. In this article I will explain to you the details that you need to consider when you aren’t sure which route to take. Consider the following:
COOL IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARDS As freelancers, we need to promote ourselves with business cards. How about putting yourself ahead of the rest of them by designing and printing completely unique business cards? You are about to take a look at the coolest and most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can’t find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
The followup to Brendan Sinclairs successful Web Design Business kit is a comprehensive look at all the business aspects of working as a web designer. It's thorough and has some excellent advice in it.
A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.
All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
