SmallBusinessNewz

People want to feel loved

The task of keeping the online consumer may be a little more difficult, as it's suggested they need more than quality articles to retain them.

Few should argue the value of the returning customer compared to the one-time visitor who buys something, usually in response to a promotion, and never comes back. Acquiring a customer costs time and money, an investment that repays itself the longer someone patronizes the small business.

Small Business Trends says community, not content, will be the golden road to customer retention. Anita Campbell offered a few reasons why others need to start thinking of their online presence this way.

On the content side, quality is matched by quality across several websites. Campbell thinks content alone no longer serves visitors as well as the emotional involvement a community destination can deliver.

Building a community of dedicated customers could deliver an even greater benefit: freedom from Google and its search engine algorithms. Customers who love the business don't need a highly placed organic link in the search results, or a topmost contextual ad, to find the company website again.

But we aren't convinced blogging can't fulfill this role for a small business. Comments are hard to get for all but the most sycophantically-followed A-list types. Community comes from the visitors, not the business.

A small business pressed for its time due to being a minimally-run operation won't be able to handle heavy commentary on blogs, forums, Facebook profiles, or anything else with any degree of consistent timeliness. Authoritative content and fast responsiveness to customer needs makes a community too.