The major cardinal sin in doing business is UNRESPONSIVENESS. Yes, I yelled the word because it is that important. That applies to the Internet more so than anywhere else because you are dealing with a non-face, and you can't read body language or hear voice inflection.

Nothing frazzles me more than someone who is unresponsive. The usual response to this rudeness is, "I've been so busy." Well, who gave him a monopoly on busy? Most people doing business on the net are busy also, and an unresponsive marketer makes his job that much harder. My reaction to that is, "Hey, Bud, I don't want to hear it. Remember me? I'm the customer. You are the one wanting my business. I don't want to hear your problems. I got enough of my own."

You, the customer, have a right to that attitude. So if you are doing business on the net, remember that principle. It will serve you well in the future.

When I was in the corporate world, anyone committing this sin was severely disciplined or terminated. I would not tolerate unresponsive behavior. Emotionally, I cannot handle it. Like anyone else, I don't like to be ignored and that is my reaction to someone who is not responsive to me. Again, it's common courtesy.

How many of you have tried to get an answer out of a support person for a product you purchased on the net? How many times has it been days until you got a reply or a lot of times no reply at all. My advice is, before you purchase a product, send an email to their support address and see what happens! If you don't get a timely reply, don't buy the product because now you know how any problems you encounter are going to be handled.

If you have a product or service you are marketing on the net, make responsiveness to your customers and potential customers a priority. If you don't, your reputation will precede you. Yes, even on this huge internet, the grapevine travels. Mistakes can be forgiven, but unresponsiveness cannot be!

I don't care how good your product is. If you don't tend to the shop, your image will not be good. And image is what sells your product in this non-face way of doing business. It boils down to common courtesy or the lack thereof. There are a lot of banners that will never appear on my site and the businesses will never be mentioned because of my knowing their principals have no courtesy savvy. Their only interest is the cash register dinging, by hook or crook. There are a lot of them out there. A lot

Bill Thomas is the editor and publisher of "The Write Track" Ezine.
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