Customers are the greatest asset an Internet marketer has and savvy entrepreneurs know how to get them and just as important, how to keep them. While Internet shoppers spend billions and billions of dollars online each year, the competition for those dollars is fierce, and only those who are meeting and exceeding customer expectations will survive. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that you deliver what you promise your customers 100% of the time. Without effective time management skills, you could be in danger of letting your customers down so realize early on that time really does mean money.
Turnaround Time
If you’re a marketer who ships goods to buyers, have you set aside certain days for shipping? Are you meeting your promised delivery times? If not, this is something you should immediately address before you lose loyal customers. Some Internet marketers rely on positive feedback or ratings from customers to help draw in new customers, some of which will only purchase from those with extremely high ratings. However, even if you’re not operating under this type of system, rest assured that your customers will rate you and spread the word about their experience with you or your company. They may blog about it, tell their friends, or cancel their order so don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are not operating under some type of rating system. You are!
Do You Need to Hire Help?
Anytime you have difficulty keeping up with customer demand you may need to assess whether or not you need to hire someone to help you to keep up. Even if you can’t afford to hire full-time help, having a dedicated person to respond to customer inquiries can help you to retain those customers and attract more, which will profit your bottom line and move you to a position where you can afford full-time help. If that just isn’t possible, schedule a block of time each day to ensure you are on time with such tasks as answering customer questions or complaints, issuing refunds, processing orders, and anything else that your customers need from you. If you’ve promised customers an immediate refund upon request, make sure you keep that promise. If you need to set aside one day a week to take care of such tasks, indicate in writing that requests will be processed within that time frame. That way, if it takes a week for customers to receive a refund or another type of communication, they will be expecting to wait a few days instead of fuming because they haven’t heard from you.
Take the time to put your customers first, whether they are complaining or buying, and they will return the favor by putting you first when they are deciding where to spend their share of the billions of e-commerce dollars spent annually. Once you’re able to discern how much time you need daily or weekly to tend to customer concerns, utilize time management skills to stay on schedule.
The time to be concerned about time management isn’t when things are falling down around you and you realize you aren’t getting much done. The time to think about time management is before you even start your business, when you are still in the planning stages. If you haven’t yet implemented a well thought out plan for time management, here are some tips to get you started.
Keep a To Do List
Maintaining a to do list is a crucial step for any business person and important for Internet marketers because you have enough to do without constantly trying to remember things and because having a list that you consult on a daily business will keep the important things at the forefront of your mind.
No one has enough time to do everything; however, a to do list will help you to prioritize what is really important so that you don’t get caught up in tasks that may need to get done but are not as important as the ones on your list. You might want to make up a Master To Do list on a weekly basis and go over it each night and assign the tasks that you need to get done the following day, crossing them off as they are accomplished. No tool can keep you more organized than a well maintained to do list.
Keep regular hours
Internet marketers often work irregular or odd hours, especially those that may be dealing with global markets or customers. As much as possible, though, try to stick to a regular schedule, even if the hours you work are not the usual 9 to 5. By working the same hours every day, your body and mind will be more efficient and others in your life will know the hours you are working so there is less chance for interruption. Internet marketers, especially those who work from home, have to have a great deal of discipline to be successful and working the same schedule every day is far more efficient than working a few hours here and there.
Use Time Management Skills in Your Personal Life
Time management isn’t just good for business; it’s also a necessary skill in your personal life as well. In fact, the better managed your personal life is, the smoother your business life will go, and for those Internet marketers working from home, this is especially important.
Be Kind but Firm when Faced with Interruptions
Not everyone will realize you are working when you are home and even if you work from an office away from your home, you are sure to be faced with interruptions from time to time. Although it’s always important to be kind, it’s just as important to be firm when it comes to your working hours. Internet marketers working from home who are also parents may have very little time to devote to their business and often must guard their time jealously. No one says you have to answer the phone every time it rings, but do try to return calls. If they are business related, though, you may need to answer, although today’s technology can tell you whether it’s business or personal before you ever pick up the phone. If it is personal, either don’t answer or tell the caller you’re working and will call them back later.
Schedule Time for Everything
Beginning Internet marketers have to wear a lot of different hats. They may be product developers, writers, graphic designers, content buyers and sellers and yet still have administrative duties, such as billing to contend with. If you have various functions to perform, be sure and schedule specific time for each function so that you are able to balance each facet of your business.
Remember, time is money and the better you manage your time, the more money your business is likely to bring in.
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