Testing. User testing to iron out any bugs.

Conversion Optimisation. A/B split testing, button placement size and colour etc. Analytics reports – utilise top content, improve weak exit pages etc.

Competitor Analysis. What are the competition doing right? What are they doing wrong? What are people saying about them?

Reputation Management. Use Google Alerts, Twitter and even searches to ensure you’re addressing your target audience.

About Us page. Ensure you use plain English. Outline who you are. Make it personal. Use pictures. Include contact info. Show your human side. Demonstrate your passion. Tell you story.

Mahon, thanks for the comment. Interesting point about the post-sale feedback and supports. While you don’t get that till after you’ve committed your payment, it does help to reinforce your purchase decision and will also help to bring people back to you as a trusted provider. In terms of basic level of service, it should always be fit for purpose – people are still paying money and for that they deserve products and services that actually do what they’re supposed to.

Prompt and accurate feedback of transactions (by e-mail for example) is crucial for any customer engaging in your service. Order numbers, details of the transaction and easy ways to cancel or modify transactions all give the customer peace of mind and, if they are missing, may lead the customer to do their very best to cancel the order!
Proper phone numbers (i.e. standard landlines) that can be phoned from overseas also will help maintain those customers who happen to reside outside your country.

The title and definition of your service is also important so that the customer does not get frustrated to find they have spent an hour on your site trying to find something that is not there. Transparency about the range of products and services is important. When was the last time you logged on to “cheapflights.com” expecting to find a cheap flight?

I like your comment about hidden costs etc. Small print really gets me down and is usually a sign that as a consumer I am not properly protected. Independent reviews by customers and links to review sites is a real plus and I find this a very useful feature on amazon for example.

Something else to consider… Your customers are all going to have different budgets. When you offer the basic level of service, make sure the quality is sufficient that it will not reflect badly on you, while when you are offering a “gold star” product, make sure you are absolutely sure why it has added value, and be able to back it up with hard evidence.

Cheers Bren!
Mahon