Relationship e-commerce is the next big thing. As the name suggests, r-commerce is focused on building relationships with your customers. While traditional e-commerce focuses on getting people to buy things, r-commerce focuses on the customer experience and how a consumer feels about the business. Relationship e-commerce is more than just selling products online—it's about building trust, love and respect between you and your customers by providing them with excellent service and a great product selection. By putting customer satisfaction above all else, you'll be able to create loyal customers who will return when they need something new. Word-of-mouth marketing can be an extremely efficient, worthwhile, and inexpensive tool when you're selling products online. You know it's true because you've experienced it yourself: when your friend or family member recommends something, it's almost always the best thing and if the product or service is good enough for them to recommend. Well, then it's good enough for you! But what if there was a way to make that recommendation even more compelling? That's where brand advocates come in. Brand advocates are the real MVPs of e-commerce—they're active community members who are willing to suggest products or services they know will benefit their friends and family members. In exchange for their loyalty and recommendations, merchants offer brand advocates discounts on products or free samples of items they may want to keep them happy and engaged with their brand. Next time someone asks about a particular product or service, these loyal customers can refer them directly to the source with confidence that their friend will be satisfied with their choice. This works on multiple levels: not only does it encourage repeat purchases from existing customers, but it also encourages new sales from people who have never bought from that merchant before—and those.