What does that actually mean? Well simply this, that no business can survive on "one shot hits" Whether that business be online or offline, the same rules apply.
Finding a customer and then "over servicing" them or treating them like gold is the only way to build a business in a competitive world.
Remember that online customers can go onto someone else's website at the click of a mouse.
However if you have established a really strong, trust based relationship with them, they will always INITIALLY prefer to buy from you rather than go somewhere where they do not know either the business or the standard of service they might or might not receive.
Another way to look at it is to quickly establish the lifetime value of a customer.
How much money do you calculate they would spend over a period of say 5 years.
Although some people might think that five years is a long time to rely on customer loyalty on the internet, it very much depends on what you offer them and the value that has in their eyes.
To ensure that you keep the customer as long as possible it is vital to treat them as special.
Any online business makes the real profit from the products they sell to a loyal customer.
It costs far less in marketing terms and a customer who has already bought from you is far easier to sell to.
To this end, it is important to capture your customer's contact details at an early stage.
Once you have obtained their contact details legitimately by asking them to opt in to a regular free newsletter or something along those lines, you can contact them on a regular basis with special offers and discounts.
Giving them the first opportunity of sale prices before they go on view to the public increases the felling of being treated as a special customer.
Day to day customer loyalty is very much a product of day to day marketing.
In many ways the phrase "customer relationship management" is a bit of a misnomer, as in our view it is hard to manage such a relationship.
You either have one or you don't and it is always built on the back of the fact that that customer feels special.
You can also increase that "special relationship" by partnering with other online retailers and offering goods and services that you think your customer may be interested in.
An example would be an online business selling designer pet beds working with an online business selling specialist pet care products.
This enables you to offer a customer more service without diluting your brand.
It also has the added advantage for both businesses that they can trade off each other's email marketing lists.