5 Rebel Marketing Strategies

You Can Use for Your

Home-Based Business

By: Matt Bacak

Many entrepreneurs start with a vision. This vision begins as a seedling that grows when nurtured. Entrepreneurs are good listeners; they listen to consumers’ wants and set about to fill a void, a missed opportunity or a need for a specific product or service. They brainstorm options as they lay out the dynamics of a product (or service), the design, and the solution to consumers problem. While many entrepreneurs are good at developing home business ideas, they struggle with ways in which to market their product or service needed to help it grow.

1. Make sure you have a website – a place where potential customers can find you

Perception is everything. In 2011, Google and Intuit teamed up to provide small businesses with a free website for one year. WordPress and Blogger have also made it relatively easy to create a website in as little time as thirty minutes. A few home-based business owners believe that they don’t need a website especially if they have a Facebook page or a Squidoo lens in lieu of a website. A website never sleeps; it serves as a marketing tool 24/7. As you begin to build a customer base and drive traffic to your website, customers should feel confident and safe in doing business with you. Having your own website and showing what you offer is the first step in professional presentation.

2. Know your target audience inside and out.

Be as specific as possible, and write down exactly the type of person you want as a customer. This profile will go a long way in narrowing your marketing opportunities. Who are they? What are their demographics? What is their problem? Where do they hang out, shop or go in their spare time? By identifying your ideal customer ahead of time you won’t be wasting marketing dollars going after a group that doesn’t need or want your product. For example, you are a personal trainer who works with new moms to help lose their last ten pounds of post pregnancy baby fat. Your ideal customers are women in their mid-twenties to early forties, who recently gave birth; they work full-time jobs and have very little free time to themselves. This information will be useful in marketing to this group of women as you will see in the next step.

 

3. Market to one specific group – not one size fits all

Rather than trying to offer your product or service to a vast audience “one size fits all” campaign, you have zeroed in on a specific target market – women who recently gave birth. All of your marketing efforts will be focused on new moms who are trying to lose that last ten pounds of post pregnancy fat. While your service may work with other groups, such as college students and women over 40 who haven’t recently given birth, all of your marketing materials will carry the same message because your ideal customers have something in common – they are carrying ten extra pounds of post pregnancy baby fat. You don’t have to dilute your marketing message to a broader audience such as new moms, college students and women over 40. These three groups of women have different needs, different lifestyles and different goals which means they have different marketing messages.

4. Social media

Studies show 97 percent of people search online before they make a purchase. Therefore, it is important that you have a social media presence as these internet surfers may be potential customers. While all social media sites are used to build relationships, there are ways to market your product by offering interactive polls, posting questions and offering contests. Also, be sure to include your website and all of your social media addresses on all correspondence such as email signatures, letterhead, business cards, advertisements, invoices and receipts.

5. Tie in your product or service with headline news

There are two types of news: planned and headline. Assignment editors plan out news stories months in advance. Regardless of the length of time, all media put their planned stories on hold when breaking headline news happens. This is a perfect opportunity for you to tie in your product or service with the headline news. For example, a major network recently broadcast several shows on “Made in America” products. Hundreds of small businesses reached out to the network to let them know their products were “Made in America”. As a result, dozens of companies were interviewed for the series (and received free exposure on national news).

Marketing is a work in progress. It is something that you continuously do with the understanding your marketing strategies may change as a result of advances in technology and innovation. Two years ago, a small group of people visited Pinterest. Today the number of unique visitors to Pinterest has grown 20X in the last six months.

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