Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Making Your Customer the Star

We encourage you to make your customers the stars of your show. One way you can encourage in-store customers to check out your online store (and, you hope, check out with some purchases in their online shopping carts) is to involve them in the online presence. Take pictures of your retail store and your in-store customers, and feature these pictures in your online storefront. Do surveys of customers who shop both in-store and online, and feature those testimonials on your Web site or your social media outlets, such as your business blog.

Most people love to see their name in lights — whether it's a neon sign or a backlit computer screen. If your customers know that they might (or will) be featured, they will not only log in to see their name and review but (chances are) also tell their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even their daughter's soccer team about it.

Making your customers the “stars of the show” builds excellent word-of-mouth advertising, and the feedback that you receive from surveys and testimonials gives you valuable data about how to improve or update your online store. Putting your in-store customers in the spotlight also shows your online customers how fun, personal, and interactive your physical store can be, which may create the bonus effect of turning loyal online shoppers into loyal in-store customers.