Marketing Online – Apologize If You Need To

We all make mistakes in our business lives. Being able to admit these mistakes and to apologize to our prospects and clients can make the difference in your success. I have seen how this works both with brick and mortar and online businesses. Be truthful and transparent at all times and you can turn the mistake into a learning experience. Think about the effect your mistake had on your client, what you can do to make it right, and how you would handle it differently the next time.

Sometimes your mistake can seem small, like when you send out the incorrect link to a training teleseminar you will be offering or forget to include the link to a report or video you had promised. You can make that up quickly by sending out another email, but even that is an inconvenience to those who were counting on receiving your information in a timely manner.

Other times the mistake may be much bigger, resulting in lost time and confusion that cannot be fixed so easily. When this happens, simply tell the truth and apologize for the mistake. Then, to show goodwill on your part as a business owner, offer your prospects and clients something special, like a discount on a future purchase or a download link to a report or other information that you have not shared with the public.

The act of making it right can work towards building your reputation. I am reminded of a situation in my town regarding a health food store. They offered a weekend sale to the general public, and even told the regular customers to wait until the weekend to take advantage of these special prices on several high-priced items. When the weekend rolled around, the store ran out of the most popular items within a few hours.

This was an inconvenience for everyone, but especially for the regular customers who could have made their purchases during the previous week at the regular price. This store already had a reputation for being aloof, so this was their opportunity to make it right. Instead, they refused to issue rain checks or to offer any substitutions on the items they had run out of early on Saturday morning. The customers were all left with a bad feeling about what had happened. This store went out of business less than a year later.

In an online business, you have the opportunity to rectify mistakes and situations very quickly and easily. Take a look at what is happening with your prospects and clients, and go out of your way to make them feel appreciated and special. Your business will prosper if you get this right.