Everyone at one time or another has had an idea for a product or service that they absolutely knew would appeal to the world. With so many electronic avenues for getting these products in front of customers, from Ebay, Yahoo and Google, to self service websites, the idea of selling to the world has grown exponentially.

It's great that so many people have these ideas for providing products in a way that it becomes a one stop shop, but what is forgotten so often is how to offer these products and services in such a way that you create customer loyalty, faith in what you have to sell and a scenario whereby someone tells a friend, who then tells another friend, etc. until before long your customer base has grown significantly.

There are positive and negative sale transactions. This is not generally predicated upon the amount of profit of income generated from the sale, but rather the customer will come back and make another purchase from you in the future. Repeat business is the lifeline to a successful and long term venture. If you are in it for large one time profits and residual business is not in your immediate business plan, then the likelihood of your business surviving, much less obtaining customer loyalty is slim to none.

What people fail to think about is who their target audience is and what they are really looking for, and the fact that like store fronts, they have a thousand other people offering the same or similar wares. If you start by trying to understand your target audience like Wedding Favors and NFL Fan Gear, and think about what's on their minds and where they're coming from, you are more likely to get their attention. Once you understand who they are, then your next step would be to create an advertising plan that markets to your audience and a point that they can grasp. The real key here is to think from the customer's point of view, not yours. Everything you do should be built on the concept of what is the best possible experience I can provide for the customer. Thought processes which carry this overriding theme increase your chances for customer loyalty and a more fruitful business.

A prime example of how this works effectively is the automotive industry. With so much competition out there, dealerships such as Boston Honda, Los Angeles Toyota, Dallas Mazda, Audi Seacoast and Porsche North Shore have stepped up their game by looking at how customers are shopping today, learning what appeals to them, and providing the online experience that completely pulls the customer in and keeps them wanting to come back for more.

The question you need to ask yourself is “Am I trying to sell something?” If so, start selling less and start relating to your customer more. You will find that people are more open to your message and your delivery and more likely to develop affection for you and what you have to offer, which is the first step toward long-term customer loyalty.