Home businesses are often great ways for entrepreneurs to start out or for those who are focusing on the family to make some side income. But one of the hardest things about home businesses is marketing. Unlike brick and mortar stores, you don’t get foot traffic from people looking for businesses in a specific neighborhood, and you often don’t have a big enough name brand to garner attention. Because of this, most marketing has to be done online for home businesses.
Starting a home business offers terrific opportunities for you to do the work you enjoy while earning an income. However, as you are responsible for all facets of the business, you will need to organize a marketing campaign to solicit and maintain new customers. Rather than rely on a commercialized approach to attract clients in the traditional way, you can take a more personalized approach to establish professional credibility and build positive customer interaction. Some ways to personalize your marketing outreach can include voice contact, text messages, visual appeal, and frequent updates. By following these tips, you will be able to personalize your marketing outreach as a home business.
Voice Contact
Word of mouth is still one of the most important ways to get your product out there. Encourage friends, families, and clients to talk to their friends about you. But also, know that you can also speak directly to your consumers as well, through your website. Speak to viewers on your company website by posting prerecorded greetings and announcements. Hearing your voice connects viewers with a real person rather than just words on a page. You can also contact prospective customers by phone and leave voicemail messages if they don’t answer or hire a telemarketing firm to do this for you. Consider recording a podcast for your website and interview local experts in your business sector to attract listener interest. By having a voice and personality to put to your brand, more people will connect to you, and by extension, your business.
Text Messages
While you can call customers, often people don’t like to talk on the phone. So a great alternative is text messaging! Most customers check their texts immediately after receiving them, unlike emails which are often checked once or twice a day in bulk. And unlike emails, texts won’t be sent to an automated spam folder. Automated texting campaigns can target huge numbers of confirmed or potential customers. Send a brief text message that contains focused details for immediate recognition of your brand and directions to your website or featured products. Use p2p text messaging to quickly and efficiently target people who are most likely to patronize your business or refer others to it.
Visual Appeal
It doesn’t matter where you are able to get your advertising to show up if the ads themselves are ugly or difficult to read. Visual appeal will make a big difference in getting your home business marketing to pop. Post selected color pictures of leading products and services on your company website. Your marketing materials should also include at least one or more color images to attract viewer attention and provide opportunities to see the items close up. Consider posting brief videos of you talking about the business or a related topic. You can do this on your website, on social media like Instagram or Facebook, or on youtube. Prospective customers often buy into the business representative before buying their products, so put yourself in the best possible light to attract viewers and potential customers.
Frequent Updates
Stay in touch with your customers on regular basis. A quick text message or email lets them know that you care and are thinking of them. They will likely keep your company in mind when the need arises for products like yours. Routine marketing contacts also help to keep your business relevant to those with whom you do business or are trying to impress.
Marketing is one of the most important tasks a home-based business needs to cover. Add a personal touch to your marketing efforts to show the public the human side of your enterprise. They are likelier to do business with a company that cares versus those that lack a personal touch.