Many small businesses assume that using the Internet to communicate with customers is a complicated and expensive proposition.

However, the Internet provides organizations of all types and sizes affordable opportunities to greatly improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Increased customer satisfaction can often come with very little effort. Since many companies usually do little or nothing to foster ongoing customer satisfaction, providing your customers with a small amount of incremental value-added service can effectively separate you from your competition.

The Internet and electronic communications provide new and affordable means to do this.

Some examples include email-based order confirmations and status updates, as well as self-serve Internet-based order inquiries and reporting.

Since most companies already have internal systems in place that gather and track relevant customer order information, it is just a matter of making this information readily available to customers.

Keeping the solution small (and therefore relatively cheap) and providing only the most vital information in a very easy-to-use manner is actually a key to its adoption and success. Most customers want to spend a minimal amount of time both learning and using new systems. Providing the most bang for the buck will provide your customers with the greatest value requiring the least amount of effort.

Such solutions should also be flexible enough to provide the information on a variety of devices, including smartphones and cell phones. The various capabilities of different customers should not constrain their ability to obtain valuable information.

The possibilities of Internet-based customer-facing solutions are endless and will differ significantly depending on the nature of your business and the requirements of your customers. Starting with a simple solution that provides the information with the most value to your customers will make it easy for them to get on board and start realizing real value. Once customers perceive your solution as a part of their own activities, then the time is right to add more advanced features and services and provide even more value.

These solutions are extremely effective in creating loyalty when they become an integral part of your customers’ own business processes. The value that these solutions create for your customers will separate you from your competition making it increasing difficult for your customers to switch to another vendor.

The bottom line is that even the smallest of companies can create affordable Internet-based solutions that can have a great impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. And the companies that do this first and get a leg up on the competition won’t stay small for very long.


Datapro Technology Solutions is an IT consulting firm that helps small and medium-sized businesses get the most from their investments in technology.

To find out more about the services we provide and how we might be able to help your business, visit our web site at dataproforbusiness.com or give us a call at 416-977-1991.