Having a product or service to sell is now no longer about getting to a certain point, closing the sale and then the realtionship ends.  The old fashioned “closing of a sale” is being moved aside and skilled marketers and sales people are realizing where a sale used to end the relationship now begins.

Customers are now more sophisticted, they have higher expectations about what they are buying from you and want to know more about your company.

Customers also have a lot more choice at their fingertips.  In online marketing it is just as easy for someone to click the back button on their browser as it is for them to click on your site in the search engine results.  This is why developing lasting relationships is the key.

Customers need to feel like they have a reason for being on your site, for buying your product, becuase this is part of human nature.  As humans we seek identity, we have a tribal nature in built into us.  If we feel like we identify with a company, their philosophy, the other people that use the community, and the image they put across we are far more likely to buy from them.

Take a look at your competition in whatever market you are in.  Do your competitiors give that sense of identity and community to their customers?  If they don’t then you have a real chance to create that in your service.  Let it be part of everything that you do.  If your customers can feel part of what you create and they can identify with the image you want to send out then you will be way ahead of your competition.