Entrepreneur magazine has volumes of information on starting a successful online business. An online business can be fun, challenging and a great way to make some extra money. There are lots and lots of websites that sell everything from jewelry to online dating.

One thing you can do to guarantee your online business will be a huge success is to offer outstanding customer service. Recently, I received an email from the Napoleon Hill Foundation that said, "With the dearth of outstanding service that exists in the world today, you can instantly differentiate yourself from the competition simply by providing good service.”

If you can instantly differentiate your online business by offering good customer service as the Napoleon Hill Foundation says, why not offer outstanding customer service, and guarantee your online success.

In order to provide great customer service to your clients, you first need to get those customers to your site. Once they are there, they will make an instantaneous decision about your site. If they feel your site is worthy of a little attention, you may have twenty to thirty seconds to make sure your online business appears credible.

One of the most important things you can do to improve the credibility of your online business is to have your contact information clearly posted on the site. I don't mean having a link on your site that says contact us, which is nothing more they a hyperlink for an email contact message.

If the only way your customer can contact you is though a generic email, then you are not offering great cus

tomer service. If you are starting an online business and you want to build instant credibility with your customers, then you should have your phone number and civic address clearly posted on your site.

If a customer has a question about your product or has a complaint about your service, make sure it is convenient for them to be able to find your contact information right away.

When your customers call you, deal with them in a respectful and polite manner. If they have an issue, listen to their concerns. Perhaps their issue maybe a misunderstanding, or perhaps it maybe a legitimate complaint but the important thing is for them to be able to speak to a real human being when they have concerns.

Mickey MacDonald, a local entrepreneur in the Halifax area, has turned a small business into a thriving multi million-dollar empire. If you ask him, he will tell you the secret to his success has always been providing great customer service. It's not surprising his motto is, "Customer service, it doesn't cost, it pays.”

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