If you are building a website, think of it as your "store". Don't think anonymous "cyberspace" store, think "Wow, I'm going to have to look these people in eye when they walk in." kind of store. It's easy to start thinking that we can simply hide behind virtual room divider and no one will know who we are. But with all of that anonymity in your corner, how many people do you really think will be knocking down your door to make purchases?

Take a few mental notes next time that you are shopping, online or off. What attracts to store? What turns you off and makes you want to leave? What makes you want to purchase or return again? Does manner in which they care for their store reflect on your feelings about how you would be treated as a customer? If you are shopping online, what do you do if you have a question?

Take your likes and dislikes into strong consideration when creating your own Internet business presence. Would likes and dislikes of your prospective customers be that much different than yours? Get in habit of presenting yourself only in manner in which you would like to be thought of. Treat others way that you want to be treated as a customer.

Be different from multitude. Be yourself. Put your picture on your website so that people can see you welcoming them in door. Let them know how they can contact you with questions, then take time to answer them when they ask.

Let your customer know what YOU can do for THEM. Studies have shown that number 1 reason that a person returns to any business is connection that they feel with people that they deal with. The personal connection.

Form quality relationships with your customers. Follow up after sales to make sure that they are satisfied. Give them more than what they expect. By showing your prospective customers that you care about their opinions, their needs and wants, their concerns, you are building a relationship that will last lifetime of your business.

8. Customer Feedback Made Easy – The Internet makes it possible to capture visitor information. Keeping in touch (via email) helps to cultivate long-term relationships. Also, widespread use of discussion forums is a popular way to get quick, low-cost customer feedback.

9. Frequently Asked Questions - Questions that may normally be answered by phone can be answered on Internet. A website can list answers to most frequently asked product or service related questions. This can save on phone bills and free up a lot of time and maybe an extra employee.

10. Interactivity – The Internet is much more dynamic than a few years ago. Some examples of this include:

- Automatic product updates through use of databases. - Automatic web site content and image changing. - The increasingly common use of live video and audio streaming. These and other Internet service can save money and increase business efficiency. They can also open door to exciting new marketing opportunities.

11. Test Marketing New Products – The Internet offers quick and easy ways to conduct low-cost market research. A questionnaire on a web site, or by email, can test very quickly and inexpensively whether a product gets a good response. What’s more, different offers or marketing approaches can be tested using different pages on same website.

12. Use of Time Sensitive Promotions – It is easy to quickly change promotions or offers on Internet. Emails can be sent out or a website offer changed almost instantly. Time sensitive promotions such as running contests, or product specials can be a good way to attract traffic and sales to an online business.

For those who haven't developed a web site for their business yet, now could be a good time to start. Local competitors may already have one. And remember; it’s now much easier for almost any business to tap into almost any market, from almost any geographical location. That’s why I say - Marketing on Internet is not really a choice anymore. It has almost become a necessity in today's marketplace.