What Is The Invisible Customer?
The invisible customer is the same as the internet customer. This is the customer that buys from you, but you never get to meet face to face.
If you are selling anything, whether it be online or off, you need to know how to keep your customers happy. Remember if you are selling online you will have something called ‘the invisible customer’ or ‘the internet customer.’ This is a customer that you won’t see or meet, but you need to know how to sell to him and keep him happy. Remember that it is always easier to sell to an existing client than to find a new one.
Going back to offline selling, I can’t count how many times I, as a paying customer, have felt as though I am putting a salesperson out by asking for assistance or interrupting them as they were engaged in a personal conversation with a co-worker or friend.
I can recall times I’ve actually said to different store clerks, who were either fully engaged in telling their co-workers about the wild party they attended over the weekend or the big fight they had with their husband, “I’m sorry to bother you, but do you have this in my size?” and have them look at me as if I am the worst person in the world.
Have you ever experienced this?
Many years ago when competition was almost non-existent for many businesses, consumers accepted this type of behavior because they didn’t have too many other options to choose from.
Business owners had the upper hand and could charge the prices they wanted without having any real concern for whether or not the customer was truly satisfied or had their needs fully met.
Today, competition is fierce, particularly with the power of the Internet, and constantly expanding global markets.
If a consumer doesn’t like the product or service or has a bad experience, all he has to do is tuck his credit card back into his wallet and take his pick of any number of other businesses that will gladly give him what she’s looking for elsewhere.
Your invisible customer doesn’t even have to leave his home if he doesn’t want to! He can shop online from thousands of vendors who will gladly deliver the goods right to his doorstep. He has now become the internet or invisible customer.
What does this new reality of conducting business mean to you as a small business owner or home-based entrepreneur?
It means you have to provide exceptional customer service and top-quality products if you want to build long-term relationships with your clients and customers.
If you have employees, it is also critical that they understand the importance of making each customer feel like a million dollars. It’s all about the experience you provide and the feeling your customer has when doing business with you.
Get to know your clients. Find out what they’re looking for and why by asking questions, then really listen to what they say. Make it a point to truly understand what it is they want to create or solve, then if you can provide a solution, offer it to them.
We all need to build successful and profitable businesses, and we can do this a lot easier by establishing long-term and loyal customers. Pursuing new customers all the time to replace those not returning can become tiring and expensive.
As you serve new and existing customers and clients, make them feel heard, seen, and valued. No one likes to be invisible, especially those who are about to hand over their hard-earned money.
Treat every customer like a million dollars, because when you build a long-term relationship with them, they just might very well become one that purchases from you again and again. Even the invisible customer can become a lifelong buyer, simply by keeping in touch with him and getting to know what his needs are.
