Online sales stood out as the most positive news in recently-released economic indicators–but the news wasn’t good for “web-only” marketers.   And it may well be that a customer satisfaction questionnaire, as part of a solid web site survey system, may be what they need to compete successfully.

The latest figures for the first three months of 2009 show that online retail sales climbed by an average of 11%, with more than half (58%) of the 80 firms surveyed reporting increased online sales, compared to the same period in 2008.

That’s great news, interpreted by some analysts as indicating increased consumer confidence.

But the picture for those of us who market only online isn’t nearly as rosy.  A whopping 60% of “Web-only merchants” reported declining sales.

What’s going on–why are the “Web-only” merchants losing out?

One explanation is that, as more merchants moved online in the economic downturn, some online marketers found themselves unprepared for the increased competition.  The things that worked in the past just weren’t working anymore.

This clearly suggests that many online marketers need to “step up their game.”  And one key way to do that is to make sure that you’re listening to your customers and your prospects.

The simple fact is that they have a lot to tell you.  They can tell you

• what products they want–and what they’ll pay for those products;
• how they like the products and services you’re selling now and what you need to do to improve them;
• how they like your customer service,
• what they want to hear from you in your newsletters and ezines, how they want the information delivered, and how often they want to hear it, and they’ll give you
• referrals, prospects who are “pre-qualified” because they’re like the customers who are already buying from you.

And that’s not all.  If you put a survey system in place and learn how to do a good job of interpreting survey data, you’ll get three forms of proof that will convert prospects and turn them into customers who will buy from you, over and over again.  If you start doing websurveys regularly in your business, you can produce

• hundreds of testimonials quickly, easily, and cheaply, stories that will show how your products and services work and why;
• case studies–stories that stick because they show your prospects exactly how your product or service solved their problems, eased their pain, and
• the gold standard–statistical PROOF that show your products work and your services change lives.  The proof that only comes from surveys.

And you think the successful online marketers, the ones whose sales are UP in the first quarter of 09, don’t know that, you’re wrong.  I just got 3 surveys last week for products and services I purchased from one of the top online marketers, a true “guru” that has continued to make millions, throughout the recession.

Clearly, HE knows the secret.  He’s getting Survey Monkey data on every single product and service he sells and even some of the things he gives away!  He has a survey system in place that includes a client satisfaction questionnaire or customer satisfaction questionnaire on everything that goes out his door, because he KNOWS it works.

And you want to know the best part?  It really isn’t that hard to do.  We’re about to launch a product that will give you a questionnaire template for every survey you need to do in your business.  And we’re going to show you exactly how to put those questionnaire templates together into a survey system that will let you blow your competition away.  So if you don’t know what a Likert survey is or you’re confused by any of the other buzzwords, no worries–we’ve done the work for you.

We’re going to show you how to go about interpreting survey data, too.  How to minimize measurement error in survey data.  How to put an intake questionnaire in place for your coaching programs–the list goes on and on.

The product will be released in just a few short weeks.  But if you want to get started right now, just sign up for our free e-course.  And check back at the blog for all the valuable free content we put out every week.

You CAN compete, you CAN be one of the marketers who succeeds wildly, even in the midst of this recession.  Don’t be left behind in the competition.

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