Using Value Added Services To Increase Satisfaction Level Of Your Merchants

When a merchant doesn’t have a good experience offering one of their products or services on a deal site, it makes the deal sector as a whole look bad.  Investors shy away, and other businesses become hesitant to feature a deal.

A brilliant way for you to keep your business moving in the right direction (on the up and up) is by offering additional value services to the business you are working with.  In this process your business can grow a meaningful and more profitable relationship with each merchant that you do business with.  Rather than just negotiating a product or service to feature at a discount on your site, you can also offer and provide additional value add services to your offering that can help the merchant get more business and pull more revenue.

Does the company follow up via email or snail mail with their customers? 

Many offline businesses are still in the dark ages when it comes to anything regarding technology.  If a business doesn’t put a certain amount of focus on gathering contact information for their customers, they are missing out on additional revenue that can be made.

Solutions: Help the business understand the importance and power of acquiring their customer information and that they can follow up and provide additional coupons and reasons for the customer to re-visit their business.  You can recommend that they get a service to broadcast emails to their customer base (Exact target, SilverPop, Return Path, iContact, Aweber, Infusion Soft, etc).  Formulate follow up email sequences with them and help them put it into play.  Within a month, the business should start seeing more revenue from these actions.

What does the business actively do to turn customers into repeat buyers?

A major goal of all businesses is to turn customers into repeat customers.  It is usually much harder to acquire a new customer than it is to have a previous customer return.

Solutions:  Work with the company to figure out what they are doing to get repeat business.  Does the business ask customers to come back in?  What can they do to incentivize the desired behavior?  Show them how they can turn customers into repeat buyers by giving additional coupons and putting a major focus into providing excellent service.

Does the business have a strong presence on social media?

We live in a social world where user generated recommendations are more powerful than paid advertisements.  A company that has a dedicated group of followers on the major social networking sites has a much greater chance to connect with new customers.

Solutions: Help the business understand the importance of having a solid presence on social media.  You can offer them services to get set up on FB, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Does the business have a primary website?

Surprisingly enough, many businesses still don’t have a website.

Solutions: Help the business understand the importance and reasoning behind having a primary website and connect them with a cost-effective company who can help them get a website up.

Could the business benefit from having a mobile app?

Certain businesses could benefit from having a mobile app for their customers.

Solutions:  Help the business understand how they could benefit from having a mobile app for the customers and connect them with a company who can make it happen.

The deal industry is all about the deals, but it shouldn’t stop there.  Put time and energy into ensuring that merchants have a pleasant experience working with your company.

Marc D. Horne
Daily Deal Builder

Source: Daily Deal Media