Importance of Staying In Contact With Your Ebay Customers

By Kristi Patrice Carter

The old adage ‘out of sight, out of mind’ has never been more true than with eBay customers. Each and every day, fanatical eBay browsers and shoppers are inundated with thousands and thousands of choices – it can be more distracting than a shopaholic in a 100-store outlet mall.

Every time an eBay buyer wins one of your auctions or purchases an item from your eBay store, you have a unique opportunity to turn that one-time buyer into a loyal customer. This is an opportunity that should be seized and, sadly, most sellers do not.

Consider this: Part of the money you spend listing an auction on eBay and paying a final value fee to eBay is marketing budget. Each time, as a seller, you let that customer get away and defect to another seller, you are throwing your marketing budget out the window. Take advantage of every available prospect to convert a new customer to a loyal patron.

Let’s assume that you have 200 loyal customers that have you on their list of favorite sellers and watch your auctions each and every week. First, this is 200 potential buyers that are already pre-qualified and are interested in what you are selling. Second, this is 200 people that don’t have to find your auctions through the search feature. Third, it is proven that repeat customers spend more money, purchase more than one auction item at a time, and will come back if they are enticed to do so.

OK, so eBay is a big, big community and, although it may appear that buyers just disappear into the crowd after they complete their transaction with you, this is not necessarily the case. There are several effective methods to stay in contact with your eBay customers.

Newsletter: Start a simple newsletter and send it to your regular clients each week. Let them know about new inventory you are listing and announce upcoming promotions, such as free shipping or discounts for multiple purchases. Whatever you include in your newsletter, the most important fact is that you send one. It keeps you in the forefront of your buyers’ minds and this is critical to building a solid eBay business.

Favorite List: When you send out emails to your eBay customers, including end of auction emails, shipping notifications, etc., insert a marketing prompt within the email that contains a direct link for the customer to add you to their favorite seller list. Once added, eBay will send them a notification via email when new inventory has been added to your auction list or eBay store.

Keep a Customer Email Database: Store every customer’s email address so that when you have big news, you can share it with your entire customer base. Just be sure to include a disclaimer on the bottom of the email that allows a customer to be removed from the list if they so choose.

Keep your communications light, upbeat and focused on sales. Occasionally, it may also be helpful to include short articles about collecting or a certain collectible. This will make customers loyal to your auctions, especially if they feel you are highly knowledgeable in a certain area, such as coins, cars, designer clothing or jewelry.

No matter how you choose to communicate with clients, make sure that you stay in touch with them on a very regular basis. Ebay customers have very short attention spans and even shorter memories. For many eBay buyers, the thrill is in the hunt for the perfect pair of shoes at the lowest possible price. By offering what your customers are looking for in a fun and lighthearted manner, and communicating this information to your customers, you will be that much further ahead than your competitors.