Home Business Tips
Read these 7 Home Business Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Businesses tips and hundreds of other topics.
Listen To Your Customers
We're often so busy trying to grow a business with marketing and advertising that we forget to really listen to our customers. What are your customers telling you? Do you get constant negatives? How can you turn them into positives? Do you get requests for a product or service you don't offer? Are they enough you are missing the boat? How can you offer them in a cost-effective way?
Don't Spam Your Customers
One of the best ways to lose customers and your hard-earned reputation is to spam. But do you know what spam is? It's not sending an email requesting one of your articles be published for free. It's not sending a solo ad to your opt-in subscribers. Spam is unsolicited, unwanted, never been asked for advertisements from your company. No matter how you try to disguise them, spam is spam.
Give Your Sales Team A Script
Scripts keep your sales team on the same page. Don't have them guessing what to say to a customer when a new complaint arises. Take the time to develop a script for every scenario that has ever walked through your doors, and then update that script when new things happen. Organize your script in alphabetical order for easier locating and ask for your sales team's input.
Press Release Distribution
Distribute your press release (PR) to small publications geared towards your industry's niche. You can find a better response (rate of return) when you seek individual editors (or journalists) to deliver your press release. Just reword the headline and restructure your press release to meet that publication's needs. Then submit your press release via snail mail, fax, and/or email (no attachments).
Market With A Newsletter
Whether you have a thousand subscribers or only a few handful, an e-Newsletter is a captured audience. You can advertise in every issue, free of charge. You can promote your services, offer subscriber discounts, or give new product updates. Just make sure you include something else of value, like an article, interview or tips related to your business and your target audience.
Don't Sell Yourself, Sell Your Story
You can gain media attention by writing a newsworthy story. You may want to announce a great product or service you've just developed, but that is advertising. If you want to get the attention of the media you need to sell a story related to your product or service. Can you tie your story into current news or trends? Think outside the box and I bet you'll come up with a great idea.
Don't Yell At Your Customers
Let's face it. Sometimes customers get under our skin. They either just don't get it, or we're having a really bad day. The fastest way to lose a customer and customers with listening ears is to "go off" on your customer. Don't yell. Don't make snide remarks, and most definitely don't call your customer names. If you can't deal with a customer, find an employee who can.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Lynne Christen |
