As the economy waffles along increasing one minute and decreasing the next, and unemployment hovers near 10% nationwide, people are fast realizing that they need to take control of their own destiny. As a result, home based businesses have jumped to the fore as a way for anyone to supplement or replace their income without being dependent on others to provide work.
MSNBC recently completed a study shows that 75% of all newly created jobs are directly related to home-based businesses. The US Census Bureau states that 49% of all businesses in the US are home-based businesses. A recent survey conducted by Yahoo revealed that 75% of its user base claimed the Internet helped them to start their own business. These numbers are just skimming the top of a mushrooming trend of people ready to get out of the rat race, and take control of their lives.
While it’s great news, that people can take control of their income and their future, there is another alarming statistic we need to recognize. Of all the new home-based businesses started over the last few years, a whopping 97% are failing. That means that only 3 out of every 100 businesses started in America are going to survive. Most of them go down within the first few months. Why is this happening?
It takes two essential ingredients to start and run a successful home-based business, customers and prospects. For any business to succeed, there has to be a steady influx of customers to buy your product or service. There must also be a steady flow of leads or prospective customers so you can continue selling your product or service, and grow your business. Knowing this, you can logically deduce that you must have a way to attract and keep your customers.
That’s where marketing comes in. Without an effective marketing plan a company is doomed for failure. Marketing is considered by the successful as an essential investment, in money and or time. When done correctly, yields massive returns. Done badly, marketing costs can double or triple, in addition to not attracting customers to your business. While you often hear that companies close because of cash flow problems, the root of those cash flow problems stems from a lack of marketing or bad marketing. Without customers, there’s no business, and naturally, cash flow problems arise. This means budgeting for marketing right from the beginning.
Use the following three powerful and effective marketing strategies to help ensure your business success:
1. Offer Value
Marketing your business properly is a key component of having a successful business. Some people claim that instead of marketing, they on word of mouth and referrals. In today’s parlance, this has become known as viral marketing, and it can be extremely powerful in today’s marketplace. If you provide top-notch customer service that not only encourages customers to return, it also influences them to recommend you to others. No matter what approach you take to marketing, you must offer your customers value. If they do not feel like they have received anything of value then they are unlikely to return, and very unlikely to recommend you to others. On the other hand, great customer service, drastically increases the likelihood of them returning and referring.
2. Use Social Networking
When you offer great customer service as well as implied value, you can then turn to the social networking sites to exponentially increase your market presence. Sites like Twitter and Facebook are uniquely designed to allow Internet marketers to exploit the power of marketing through these social networking sites.
3. Offer a “Loss Leader”
Another key way to draw customers in attract customers is to offer a “loss leader”. What this means is, you offer something at a discounted price, or for free, to get prospects to your site. Once there, you give them a reason to buy, i.e. you offer something of value to them, and then you provide excellent customer service. Marketing your business can be done in many different ways. If you are not marketing savvy and know how to market a business, then take the time to learn using the Internet, reading books, or attending sessions offered by the experts. Marketing your business is key to your survival and to your success.
What are you waiting for, get out there and start promoting your business today!