What I want to discuss in this article is the basic idea of honesty.
The internet is a wonderful place to do business, but with the
continuous flood of spyware, malware, and spam, it can be a horrible
and very frustrating for the average user. I am amazed, but not
surprised, by the unethical practice of businesses using popups and
spam to sell a product. It isn’t surprising because the fact is that
those business practices work. Any of us that have worked in this field
for awhile know that traffic is king.
My experience has been one of honest return for honesty when dealing
with customers. Maybe it’s not a quick buck, but I can look at myself
in the mirror in the morning and know I did the right thing. I would
rather have a customer for life than a fly by night sale to a customer
that I tricked into buying my product. It isn’t always about the bottom
line of making cash. It should be about service and product value. Over
the past couple of years I have had more business cleaning up computers
that have been completely overran with viruses, trojans, and spam than
I’ve done computer builds. The number one complaint is ‘I just want to
be able to use my computer, not worry about viruses and trojans and
updates!!!’ Do I profit from unethical business practices? Yes I do
when I spend an hour cleaning up a computer. Do I take the time to
teach the user? You bet I do! I spend an hour to two hours with a
client after I do a cleanup or a computer build. Do I lose money with
this practice? Yes I do, but I gain respect from the customer and that
customer will always come back.
The one major challenge with doing business online is that we don’t
always get to be face to face with our customers. Even so, there are
ways around this that will bring value to your customer and value in
repeat business. It doesn’t cost that much to call and thank someone
for their business. It doesn’t cost much to send out a thank you card.
I think at times we forget that email isn’t the only way to
communicate. With the prevalence of spam it isn’t always the best way
to communicate either. The internet can be a very impersonal place. It
is ethically challenging to all of us who try to sale a product or
business online. Is there a chance of giving away too much with little
return? That is always a chance we take when we offer advice or tips to
a customer. I can guarantee that over time, the word gets around, and
your business will develop a core group of customers who value your
service and will tell others.
Being a small business is a challenge in the fast paced retail world of
chain stores. We can’t offer the huge discounts the major chain stores
can, but we can offer service value for the product. I challenge anyone
in the IT industry to take that little bit of extra time to teach users
the do’s and don’ts of surfing the web. It will benefit your business
and benefit the customer as well.
