Posted in Online Publishing Strategy	December 11, 2006

Relieving the anxiety of online financial transactions

By Peter A. Schaible, Editor-At-Large Mequoda Daily and Library

My wife once worked for a bank where the corporate culture included this little bromide: Every financial transaction is an emotional transaction.

What does that mean, I wondered out loud?

You're dealing with their money, she said. It's subconsciously very important for them to feel as though you're being precise and careful with it.

If that's true—if every financial transaction has an emotional component to it—then as part of your online publishing strategy, all online credit card transactions had better be secure and conducted with care.

That means, as part of your online publishing strategy, your website needs a privacy policy that addresses credit card safety, too.

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Your site visitors expect nothing less. Whether they realize it or not, they're very emotional about it, especially in the B-to-C environment.

And what they feel about how you care for their financial transactions will be reflected in the confidence they have in you and your online information products.

The major benefit of a Contact Us link

The late great Speaker of the House of Representatives and Irish-
American Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neil once stated that "All politics is local". He was right.

The online business corollary: "All customer service is personal."

As part of your online publishing strategy, your site should be designed so that your website visitors can contact you easily by email if they have a question, problem or other issue.

If you use an effective S*P*A*M filtering system, customers' messages may not get through to you when sent to your usual email address. Your filter may not recognize the sender's address and may purge the message.

The solution is a "Contact Us" form with a hypertext link on your website's home page. The form enables members and would-be customers to send you email directly from an approved email address (your site's URL), helping to assure it will get through to you.

Making it easy for customers to contact you should be part of your online publishing strategy.

And providing prompt replies and demonstrating a willingness to help will go a long way toward building long-term customer loyalty and credibility.

Your credibility is in the details

Almost every week I see an example of someone with an attractive online information product or service who is nevertheless sabotaging his business by recklessly neglecting the details. Inattention to detail is not an effective online publishing strategy.

"The Devil is in the details," is the old cliche.

I say, "Your credibility is in the details."

Your attention to detail has a direct affect on sales, renewal rates, and your reputation.

1. Do you acknowledge each new subscriber with a personal email or stick letter?
2. How quickly do you respond to a question or complaint?
3. How often do you pay your affiliate commissions?
4. How soon after you've processed the buyer's credit card do you ship her purchases?
5. Do you respond to customer criticism graciously or defensively?
6. Do you represent yourself as your subscribers' modest advisor or their arrogant mentor?

An effective online publishing strategy requires attention to all of these important details