How to Make More With Your Home Business

by Stephanie Foster

Published on this site: September 8th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

One of the things you need most from your home business is money. A home business that is satisfying but costs more than it brings in or is only minimally profitable probably will not last. A little extra effort in the right areas is likely to have a very positive impact on your bottom line.

One area that is easy to ignore is studying your customers. No how much you might wish it were otherwise, your ideal customer is not "everyone" or even "all mothers."

What would you like to know about them? Just about anything you can. Where they shop. What they read. What they need from your business. This is information you'll be using to help target your ads. The more directly you can appeal to your potential customers, the better chance you have to sell to them. If you lack this information you are more likely to be wasting your advertising dollars.

Don't assume you already know or even that your old research is still accurate. Habits change. Do a survey of current customers if you've been in business a while and see what they say. You may need to offer an incentive to get customers to fill out your survey, but a well-written survey will give you information that will be tremendously useful to your business.

Make sure you're taking advantage of all advertising opportunities. Your website address and any other information that will help customers choose your business should be on receipts, packaging, business cards, products, etc.

If your customers are ordering online you can take advantage of that too. A regular newsletter (monthly at a minimum) can keep your customers coming back. Don't just send them ads, make the newsletter useful and make it easy to unsubscribe. You can offer tips relevant to your products, tell customers about special deals and so forth.

Consider rewarding loyal customers with special discounts or gifts, and make sure people know about the rewards. People love to get good stuff for free, even if they have to buy something else to get it. Telling customers that if they spend $100 they can get a free $10 gift certificate can be excellent advertising. Another reward could be free shipping if they spend over a certain amount.

Are you marketing yourself locally as well as online? Contact your local media with something newsworthy about your business and you might just get some free advertising. Participate in community events. Sponsor a nonprofit event. There are plenty of ways to get your business in the local limelight.

Communicate with your customers. Encourage them to send you feedback. A few good testimonials are a great way to improve your business's image. Being easy to contact will also make potential customers feel more at ease.

Another good tactic is to be available to help your customers. If you can provide the solution to a customer's problem, they're more likely to tell their friends about you. Word of mouth is great advertising.

Finally, don't forget about working with other businesses in your area, whether in the same general area in the real world or in complementary fields online. You can help each other advertise, suggest complementary products from each other or even participate in events together.

Stephanie Foster - has a lot of fun working on her home business and getting more time with her family. You can visit her site at http://www.aspectsofhomebusiness.com/ to learn more about running a home business.