Home-based businesses are the latest and possibly the greatest way to make it in America today. People no longer have confidence in their future working a regular job or depending on the government. Instead, they are looking elsewhere for their bread and butter. One of the best things about a work from home business is you are the boss, and as such, set your own hours.
However, let's remember, 97% of all home businesses started will fail. WOW! This means that only 3% of all businesses started today will survive, which is a pretty frightening thought.
So that you avoid being part of that 97% statistic when you start your work at home business, here are five quick and easy ways to help guarantee your success:
1. Marketing is critical
Without a proper marketing strategy, you are destined to fail. Marketing attracts customers, and without customers, don't have a business. And today, if you are not taking advantage of social networking to increase your marketing efforts, you are way behind. New startups need to immediately shock social media sites with as many hits, and views as they possibly can. This is the quickest way to establish your presence in the marketplace, and start driving customers to your website.
2. Having a system
While marketing is extremely important to your success, there is another key element that will help you advance beyond being just a mediocre business that does minimal sales. That element is a System. What is a system?
A system is a standardized process or set of steps that allows anyone, to perform the steps and produce the same results. Take McDonald's for example. They deliver the same burgers, and fries around the US no matter who is working the fry station or the grill. They have standardized the process to complete each product they sell.
3. Defining your system
Defining your system is a key starting point. It needs to be a process that, once in place, can "rinse and repeat" itself over and over again, guaranteed to get a result. Once you create a marketing strategy that works, and starts to attract new customers, you need to set that up as a system, and continue to repeat it as many times as possible. Let's say you sell widgets and you advertise an offer, one free widget with every four widgets bought, and this generates a flood of orders. As long as you are not losing money, you have created a simple system you've tested and know that it works. That being the case, you can "rinse and repeat" this over and over, and reap the rewards.
4. Refining what works
You can never rest on your laurels and think that you have a system in place, and you don't need to do anything else. The marketplace is constantly changing and you need to stay abreast of these changes, and observe how it affects the marketing and sales to your target audience. You always want to be looking at refining what's working in the hopes that it will work even better. Think about additions or substitutions you can make with your offer. Can you bundle it with another product or service to create something even better?
5. Providing the unexpected
Customers expect value and good customer service. However providing unexpected customer service and help to separate you from your competition. Take time to think about what you can do for your customers that is totally unexpected. Can you send them a free ebook, or give them a special introductory offer price on anything new you bring to the marketplace? Anything you do that's unexpected helps communicate that you appreciate your customers; something you need to do regularly. Never take them for granted; as soon as you do, they will go away and find another supplier.
Everything discussed above boils down to, "making money." When you create the right marketing strategy, define and set up systems to run your business, and then offer unexpected customer service, you're well on the way to being a member of the one of the three percent club whose business, not only survives, but also more importantly, makes a profit.
However, let's remember, 97% of all home businesses started will fail. WOW! This means that only 3% of all businesses started today will survive, which is a pretty frightening thought.
So that you avoid being part of that 97% statistic when you start your work at home business, here are five quick and easy ways to help guarantee your success:
1. Marketing is critical
Without a proper marketing strategy, you are destined to fail. Marketing attracts customers, and without customers, don't have a business. And today, if you are not taking advantage of social networking to increase your marketing efforts, you are way behind. New startups need to immediately shock social media sites with as many hits, and views as they possibly can. This is the quickest way to establish your presence in the marketplace, and start driving customers to your website.
2. Having a system
While marketing is extremely important to your success, there is another key element that will help you advance beyond being just a mediocre business that does minimal sales. That element is a System. What is a system?
A system is a standardized process or set of steps that allows anyone, to perform the steps and produce the same results. Take McDonald's for example. They deliver the same burgers, and fries around the US no matter who is working the fry station or the grill. They have standardized the process to complete each product they sell.
3. Defining your system
Defining your system is a key starting point. It needs to be a process that, once in place, can "rinse and repeat" itself over and over again, guaranteed to get a result. Once you create a marketing strategy that works, and starts to attract new customers, you need to set that up as a system, and continue to repeat it as many times as possible. Let's say you sell widgets and you advertise an offer, one free widget with every four widgets bought, and this generates a flood of orders. As long as you are not losing money, you have created a simple system you've tested and know that it works. That being the case, you can "rinse and repeat" this over and over, and reap the rewards.
4. Refining what works
You can never rest on your laurels and think that you have a system in place, and you don't need to do anything else. The marketplace is constantly changing and you need to stay abreast of these changes, and observe how it affects the marketing and sales to your target audience. You always want to be looking at refining what's working in the hopes that it will work even better. Think about additions or substitutions you can make with your offer. Can you bundle it with another product or service to create something even better?
5. Providing the unexpected
Customers expect value and good customer service. However providing unexpected customer service and help to separate you from your competition. Take time to think about what you can do for your customers that is totally unexpected. Can you send them a free ebook, or give them a special introductory offer price on anything new you bring to the marketplace? Anything you do that's unexpected helps communicate that you appreciate your customers; something you need to do regularly. Never take them for granted; as soon as you do, they will go away and find another supplier.
Everything discussed above boils down to, "making money." When you create the right marketing strategy, define and set up systems to run your business, and then offer unexpected customer service, you're well on the way to being a member of the one of the three percent club whose business, not only survives, but also more importantly, makes a profit.
Written by Susan A Friedman.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6457995
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