THE KEY IS TO BE EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH. HERE'S HOW.

GIVE 'EM WHAT THEY WANT

Does your website give your customer what they want? Visit your website as one of them. If you don't see what you want, or have a hard time finding information you needed, make changes NOW.

IS YOUR SITE COMPREHENSIVE?

If your customer can't find EVERYTHING they need to do business with you then you are missing boat. Internet customers DEMAND a complete solution. If you don't provide it, someone else will.

IS YOUR OFFER UNIQUE?

Let's face it. There are only so many products and services in world. While that's true it's just as true that each person in business has a UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION. Your USP can be defined this way, after all is said and done, WHY should I buy from you. Find your USP, make your site shout it out to every visitor and not only will you get repeat customers but REFERRALS as well.

STICK WITH THEM

Not only does a contest give you a special kind of visibility, it gives you a method to 'capture' names and email addresses of folks who enter. (Don't worry, I'm not advocating that you spam them later - but there are legitimate ways you can use that list of contest entrants that you'll have).

If you decide you'd like to run a contest, you need to take following questions into consideration:

1. What do you want contest to accomplish for you?

I know, you're saying, "But we just answered this question - to get people to my site, and to capture their email addresses." Wrong answer! There's more - do you want to get feedback for a new product or service you're offering? Are you wanting to expand your market? Would you like to start a newsletter? Once you've determined your 'agenda' for contest, this will help to clarify ways to achieve your desired result.

2. What kind of prizes do you want to offer?

First of all, prizes you offer should be in some way related to your business. For example, if your goal is to increase your customer base, then you'll perhaps want to offer one of your products or services as prize. This helps to insure that you're attracting audience you want - your target market!

You may not have to offer prizes yourself, either - many merchants are happy to offer prizes in exchange for exposure to their product or service, or a link to their site. This may be a perfect opportunity for you to work with other non-competing merchants in ways that will be beneficial to both of you.