Last week, I discussed the ups and downs of advertising, and it’s importance in the success of small businesses.  I’ve decided to expand a little and discuss some of these marketing tools individually.

One of the easiest, and perhaps most inexpensive, forms of marketing is the business card.  Many companies offer great deals on starter cards, and Vista Print even has a large number of cards free.  We leave our cards EVERYWHERE! 

• At restaurants with our tip (not recommended if you’re a bad “tipper”)
• Bulletin boards whenever we see one
• Any giveaway “bowl” offering a prize for a drawing
• Hairstylists
• under the wiper or tucked into the window of a car with broken glass
• in the offering plate at church…JUST KIDDING…Were you paying attention???

We leave our business cards with ANYONE with whom we exchange phone numbers.  Business cards are a perfect size to tuck in your wallet and keep with you.  You see it briefly as you fumble trying to find cash, your license, or a credit card.  But when the day comes that you need that particular service, you have to go no further than your purse or pocket.

Photo by vectorfunk via Flicker Creative Commons.

How many of us have had it pounded into us that the customer is always right?  Well, after a couple of years in business for ourselves, we’ve determined that, although customer service is our number one goal, sometimes common courtesy escapes our customers. 

My husband was on his way home today when he received a phone call requesting a job be done this afternoon after 4 pm.  He turned around, headed back to the warehouse, picked up the glass, and headed to the person’s home to do the job.  He knocked on all three doors, waited for over 30 minutes, and called the customer several times.  Having spent over an hour just preparing for the job, he headed home with a windshield he doesn’t need, and $100 less than at lunchtime, as he paid for the glass up front.  He can return the glass on Monday, but we are less the money over the holiday weekend…a long weekend at that, with a bank holiday on Monday. 

I’m sure that this is a problem for big businesses, as well.  But the truth is, when you work for a big business, you’re paid regardless.  As a small business, we are affected by every cancelled job, every glass broken, every half tube of glue that goes bad, etc.  And wasted time is never beneficial! 

Over the last couple of years, we really have done our best to make our customers happy…100%.  And I know that we have succeeded probably 99% of the time, if not more.  We have had numerous calls from repeat customers, as well as many, many referral calls.  Most of our customers have been, at least, tolerable.  Most have been very friendly and helpful.  My husband has even become friends with some of the people he’s met on the job. 

What would have happened had the roles been reversed this afternoon?  What if my husband had simply not shown for his job?  My guess is that we would have seen one unhappy customer (or former customer). 

So…Is the customer really always right?  Yes…Sometimes!

Photo by borman818 via Flickr Creative Commons. 

There are a number of work from home scams floating around out there, from the “Google Jobs” scam to different networking marketing scams. While there are some legitimate marketing scams, including MLM, it is important to note that you still need to be careful. You want to be careful to avoid scams that could turn your home business dream into a nightmakre.

Online Home Business Idea recommends that you take the following steps to avoid work from home network marketing scams:

* Research the company to make sure that it is established, and has a track record of several years. Check with the BBB for complaints.

* Look at the products being promoted. Are they useful? Would you want to buy the products? Be wary of products that offer some sort of “miracle”, “cure”, or “amazing money making potential”.

* Check with others who have done this, probing them for how they make their money, and proof that they are earning well.

You can never be 100% sure that something will work out. But you do need to be careful. Do your homework, and if something doesn’t feel right, or if it seems too good to be true, stay away.

For a home business, it is important to get “out there” in cyberspace, reaching customers. And one of the best ways to do this is through search. When you think of search, though, chances are you come up with the big guys: Google and Yahoo. These outlets can be expensive, especially as you struggle to recover from the recent recession.

One way you can still take advantage of search advertising online is to go to alternative search engines like eZanga.com and advertise. You can save between 30% and 50% over Google and Yahoo in some cases. Here is what eZanga points out on its web site:

Our innovative and proprietary technologies push the limit of Meta search technology by retrieving search results from multiple search engines, we then re-rank and display the most relevant results without duplication. We also provide online advertisers with local, regional, and national advertising focused on generating high Return on Investment (ROI).

It’s an interesting option for the home business that is looking to keep up with online advertising, but doesn’t yet have the resources to pay the big bucks.

No, FCC, I am not being paid to shill for eZanga.com.

In these times of economic turmoil, with concerns of a double-dip recession, it is little surprise that people are looking for ways to work from home. And one of the ways people do this is by making money online. There are a number of home business ideas based around the Internet. Money Ning offers an overview of some of the routes you can take if you are interested in making money online:

* Create web content: You can do this through blogging, creating articles for other sites or doing some other type of web writing. This can also include creating and selling an ebook.

* Build an online storefront: You can do this through other sites, or create your own store. Sell products and services. Some of these can even be homemade, such as creating crafts to sell.

* Affiliate programs: You can join affiliate programs and get a commission when people you refer buy something from a site. There are a number of affiliate programs you can join, and you can put badges up on your web site to increase your revenue.

In the end, there are a number of ways for making money online. But you should be warned: It takes work and dedication to get started.

If you run a home business using the Internet, it is vital that you prepare yourself for Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, and you need to be prepared. There are plenty of things that consumers can do to protect themselves on Cyber Monday, but sometimes home business owners forget to make sure they are ready. Here are 4 things you can do to make sure you are ready for Cyber Monday:

1. Create Cyber Monday deals: Offer specials for Cyber Monday. Provide discounts, or have a sale. Offer free shipping. Make a special banner to draw attention to the sale, and promote it on Facebook and Twitter so that your followers know what is happening. You can also send out information through your customer email list. (You can even provide special discounts to your subscribers.)

2. Double check your design layout: Make sure that your home business web site is uncluttered and attractive. Fix code problems, and make sure that you have an attractive web site.

3. Make sure your navigation is working properly: Double check your links. Then check them again. Fix broken links, or remove them. Make sure your site navigation is easy to use, and make sure that, on Cyber Monday, it is easy for your customers to find the good deals.

4. Check your web site security: Make sure that everything is in order with your home business web site security. You want to protect as many customers as possible from the unscrupulous.

If your site is too frustrating or unattractive, that will affect your sales. Make sure that you have everything in working order, and that you promote your Cyber Monday sales among your customers.

One of the reasons that some people start a home business is to help earn a little extra money for “extras”. I am in a position where my work from home income is our primary income, but when I first started, back when my husband and I were both working on advanced degrees, it was more about being able to afford a few “extras” — like pizza a couple of times a month.

Many people start a home business, or take small work from home jobs in order to be able to take care of extras. This is especially for those involved in multi-level marketing or affiliate programs. Several women in my neighborhood sell candles or jewelry, or have affiliate scrapbooking supply sites, so that they can finance their hobbies. It’s much easier to maintain your scrapbooking, or buy fun jewelry, if you participate in a program that helps you pay for it.

In the end, it is important to consider your goals for your home business. If all you want is to buy a few extras, then you can plan for that. However, if you want to use your work from home income as a larger income stream, you will need to make different plans. In the end, it is vital that you determine what you want to accomplish, and then make a plan to help you reach your goals.

I’m not a particularly “crafty” person. My talents lie in other directions. However, I know plenty of people who enjoy making things. One of the advantages of the Internet is that you can use it to work from home by connecting you with buyers who might be interested in the fruits of your hobbies. This is something that my sister-in-law discovered when she had a surplus of items she had made for fun. “What do I do with all of these?” she asked. “Sell them online,” I replied.

And it’s true. You can make handmade items on your own schedule, and then sell them online. While you can sell them on eBay, a better choice might be to go to one of the sites that specializes in crafts. Here are three web sites to consider when selling handmade crafts:

1. Etsy.com: You can trade and sell crafts, vintage items and supplies on this site. You do have to pay a commission to the site, and 20 cents per item, but it’s not too bad.

2. LillysPlace.com: This is more of a place to go and create an online craft store. There is a setup fee, and then a monthly or annual fee. It doesn’t matter how many items you sell, and membership comes with a variety of tools, such as traffic data, coupon creation and newsletter templates.

3. CraftMall.com: This is a monthly rate program. The rate is based on the number of items you have to sell. If you have a lot of items up for sale, this can be a really good deal. You can also creative incentive programs and discounts for your customers.

In the end, what you choose depends on your volume of goods to sell, and your goals. You can also check with a tax professional to see what fees you pay in connection with selling your handmade crafts are eligible for a tax break.

When you work from home, you often look for ways to make a little extra money. These types of activities are generally things that you can do in your spare time, when things are slow, and you don’t have a lot of clients to take care of. It is important, though, to watch out for scams. One of the sites that provides you with money for filling out offers, and for providing referrals, is Cash Crate.

Cash Crate

I have not actually used Cash Crate. However, someone I admire and trust in the online world, Peter from Bible Money Matters, has been using it for a little over a year. He hasn’t made a ton, but he has made $1,744.83 over the course of a year. Which isn’t bad. That’s pretty good, for making a little extra money online.

He does caution against filling out all the credit card applications available, and being discriminating so that you are only filling out the free offers, and not signing up for monthly services and what not. It doesn’t sound like a bad way to make a little extra cash in your down time. And if you put a badge for referrals on your home business blog (if you do advertising), you might find that you can bring in a little extra.

One of the things you need to watch out for when looking for home business opportunities is the prevalence of scams. Recently I wrote about the Google work from home scam. I received a couple of questions from readers about multi-level marketing (MLM) as a result. MLM isn’t always a scam; in fact, there are plenty of legitimate MLM companies out there. Cash Money Life offers a very in-depth and helpful look at MLM today. But I do have a couple of thoughts on MLM myself.

Selling anything is hard work

Selling something, whether you are selling Classified ads for a newspaper (I did this for a while), furniture or Mary Kay, is hard work. I know. I watched (and helped) my mother sell Avon products while I was growing up. She made a little bit of money, but really did it for the discount on the products.

I decided that MLM wasn’t for me. At least when I worked for the newspaper, I got a salary plus commission. It was a very simple structure, and I always made a certain minimum that I could count on. (Of course, being a freelance writer doesn’t offer me the set minimum, but I have some clients that I can rely on.) With MLM, you never know, and it is difficult to do well.

If you decide to go with MLM, be sure that you understand what you getting into. I have friend who does MLM and is quite successful. He likes to sell, and he works hard, and has defined goals. He’s a top salesman. But it didn’t just happen. And that’s how it is with any sales business, including MLM. You have to work hard, and market your product if you want to succeed.