01/08: Getting your customers to work for you
If you don’t get a receipt, your purchase is free… and other ways your customers can help you.
It seems that I have been spending a lot of time in airports lately, which offers plenty of access to convenience stands for snacks. While there are few airports that I actually look forward to jetting through, I am pretty sure that Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport ranks as my least favorite. The architect Paul Andreu must have had kids when he was designing it, because the tube tunnels appear to be an homage to the Habit-trails where children keep their pet hamsters.
Trying to keep my time in the CDG than time to a minimum, I grabbed an espresso from a local merchant while on layover in Miami, a city certainly familiar with a good espresso. A sign on the counter offered a free purchase if I didn’t get a receipt. Proprietors do this to enlist the support of customers to make sure that the cashier handles the transaction appropriately through the cash register rather than her pocket. Every customer becomes a free security guard of sorts, helping the shop owner keep everything on the up and up. I started thinking about how this can also be true on the web.
Some web sites enlist customers already. Amazon has a link where you can report finding the product cheaper somewhere else. They don’t guarantee a price match, but this makes it easy for them to keep on top of the competition. MySpace, YouTube and other sites that thrive on postings from the public feature options for visitors to report offensive or copyright protected content. As long as the companies treat these reports seriously, this tends to shield the companies from legal issues.
As you are creating your web site, think about how you can enlist the support of your site visitors to make your site and your business better. From competitive monitoring, site performance checks to adding new features or products, interested site visitors are willing to offer free support. One important item to consider: be polite. If someone takes the time to help you, be sure to thank them personally.
Trying to keep my time in the CDG than time to a minimum, I grabbed an espresso from a local merchant while on layover in Miami, a city certainly familiar with a good espresso. A sign on the counter offered a free purchase if I didn’t get a receipt. Proprietors do this to enlist the support of customers to make sure that the cashier handles the transaction appropriately through the cash register rather than her pocket. Every customer becomes a free security guard of sorts, helping the shop owner keep everything on the up and up. I started thinking about how this can also be true on the web.
Some web sites enlist customers already. Amazon has a link where you can report finding the product cheaper somewhere else. They don’t guarantee a price match, but this makes it easy for them to keep on top of the competition. MySpace, YouTube and other sites that thrive on postings from the public feature options for visitors to report offensive or copyright protected content. As long as the companies treat these reports seriously, this tends to shield the companies from legal issues.
As you are creating your web site, think about how you can enlist the support of your site visitors to make your site and your business better. From competitive monitoring, site performance checks to adding new features or products, interested site visitors are willing to offer free support. One important item to consider: be polite. If someone takes the time to help you, be sure to thank them personally.
