Making A New Business Ally with eBay & eCommerce

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’. Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog! If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

The theme of this week’s Spark an Idea Thursday is: Spark An Idea that Makes A New Business Ally.

Michelle & I have combined forces this week to bring you some of our ideas relating to eBay & eCommerce:

1. Providing an excellent product and customer service. This works whether you’re selling physical or digital products or a service. For example, I recently moved a client to my servers — a client who services a target market similar to mine. In doing so, and going above and beyond what many other hosts provide, I was able to make an ally out of the new client. We are planning to work together on some future projects.

2. Stop by and say hello. Sometimes just being friendly, particularly when the other business owner is local, can form an alliance. For example, I saw one of my ecommerce clients at a local festival about a week ago. We chatted about the products she sells and about how things were going for her at the festival. We are planning to have lunch together soon. This is a stepping stone on the way to building a business relationship.

You can do this at trade shows (remember to be courteous to those who are trying to sell their wares, by not hogging all their time), networking events, local festivals, or even the grocery store.

3. Find a niche that compliments yours – and cross promote each other.
There are a ton of eBay tools that you can use to help you work smarter, not harder. If you can find something that works for you, spread the word! There are a ton of mom owned businesses that love to help other moms and by doing this you will BOTH benefit.  For example, keeping track of your eBay sales is very important when you want to know your progress from year to year. I came across Easy Auctions Tracker – and have just fell in love with her spreadsheet for tracking eBay sales. I got in touch with her and we are now promoting each others business. It’s a win-win!

4. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up!  Communication is a big, big part of a successful business. Having contact with a customer before, during and after an eBay sale will leave a lasting impression that is sure to give you repeat business. Word of mouth moves faster than you think! Having a positive impact on someone will ensure that you will have new customer contact. In turn your e-business can only grow from there!

Let’s hear your ideas, we’d love to have some comments on how you benefit from a new Business Ally!