But it does present its challenges. How do we find our customers? Well of course we use the internet with our websites, use social media and pretty much pester all of our friends and family. I do think it's having an effect in that our circle of friends seems to be shrinking. So what does a home based business do?
Our first tool is our website, www.mwcenterprises.biz. Simple enough, right? No. Just like customers trying to find your physical location, they still need to find your online presence. No simple task. I mean they can't pull into a gas station and ask for directions. Men, I'll explain that one some other time. With websites it's all about being search engine friendly and getting noticed by the multitude of search engines out there. Search Engine Optimization is a full time job in and of itself. So we do what we can with respect to SEO and hopefully over time we get more results.
Next, we use social media, with Twitter and Facebook being the most used. I know there are a variety of different social media venues out there but within my diminishing circle of friends, those seem to be the most relevant. Are they effective? I truly believe the answer is yes, but it doesn't just happen. Again, it's something that evolves over time. Initially, your friends on Facebook (again, the remaining ones) support and encourage you. They are the ones that give you the strength to continue and fight the battle for another day. Over time more friends and their friends become a part of your Facebook family.
Twitter on the other hand I'm still grappling with. Twitter with it's constantly moving time line is something that really seems to be hit and miss. Trying to deliver the right message in 140 characters or less in that moving time line is more difficult. There is also a lot of Twitter etiquette that you need to know about. I recently saw an article of 100 do's and don'ts with respect to Twitter. Thank goodness there isn't 101. Having "followers" on Twitter doesn't mean customers either. I do try to follow people in my local community in hopes that I will eventually "tweet up" with someone who can be a customer.
This year will be our first in having a Yellow Page ad promoting promotional products and custom apparel. The book comes out in just a couple of short weeks and we will have to wait and see if it's an effective form of advertising. If it turns out that it is, we will expand our ad next year into other nearby communities.
There is an ongoing ad on Craig's List that hasn't been very productive, but it's free, so it will stay.
We have looked at attending various events to set up a booth, but some are very costly, and for some the waiting list to get booth space is pretty long. It is however, and area to pursue.
One other area under consideration are some local community newspapers. In some cases you also get an online ad at no additional cost. Since we are providing a service to the local community it would seem a good venue for advertising dollars. There are also some "shop local" mailers that can be considered.
Line cards and good old fashion sales calls also are being planned. Face to face communication is a time honored tradition that I don't think is completely obsolete because of the internet. Call me old fashioned.
Our best advertising however comes from our repeat customers and good old word of mouth. That has been our best and most cost effective way so far. It's the one that also validates what we do and makes us feel good about the choice we made to be a home based business.
So do we need a parking lot in front of our house with painted yellow lines and a physical location. No, just a sense of eternal optimism, faith in our product and those that support us.
