tickets. Third, when people discover others using the same product or service, their pur-

chase becomes immediately validated, and a network of more confident patrons is born. A

strong community not only becomes a powerful first line of defense in helping answer

customer questions, but a self-sustaining internal marketing vehicle as well.

Opera Software makes the Opera browser, an alternative to Internet Explorer. The user

base is relatively small (an estimated 1 percent of web users), but extremely enthusiastic.

Sensing this zealotry, Opera built a rich community portal that has user-authored blogs,

downloads for customizing the software, an active forum, and even photo galleries.2 The

site boasts over half a million members (see Figure 1-2).

2. http://my.opera.com/community

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WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES

Figure 1-2. Opera Software provides a rich community portal for its fan base.

Customer love

As the old cliché goes, “the best defense is a good offense.” That’s partly true. In the realm

of customer support, the best defense is a proactive one. Constantly reaching out to your

existing client base and showing your appreciation can have tremendous payoff in both

the immediate future and down the road. A well-timed e-mail might retain a customer

who was about to leave. That same person, with continued customer care, might person-

ally recommend you down the road.

One of the best ways to earn customer appreciation is to make them feel rewarded for

being your customer. This can be done through incentives—offering them special discounts,

customer appreciation rewards, and so forth—or through special members-only benefits.

A customer appreciation newsletter doesn’t just keep them in the loop of the latest com-

pany developments, but also contains exclusive offers.

In customer support, the balance between budget and service capability constantly teeters

on a fine line. Staffing call centers costs money. A good support section of a website can

save money and customers—by offering as much information as possible up front, the

likelihood of customers calling with a question easily answered on the website site is

greatly reduced.

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OVERVIEW