Your home based business ideas take time to flourish but there are few key concepts which you need to follow while implementing your ideas. Customer loyalty is one of the major factors responsible for business success. It is one of the proven methods to keep your customer happy in order to get repeat business and recommendations from them with your home based business ideas.Retaining customer on a long term basis is a very trying task in any business. You’ll need to have proper strategies in place to retain them. You could entice the customer once or twice by offering special offers and discounts. However, to retain your customers for the long term will require some special efforts on your part.Here are some ways to achieve customer loyalty:Keep your customers attracted:In order to achieve customer loyalty, you will need to deliver quality to your customers with a firm indication of value. Some of the other popular methods of achieving customer loyalty are:o Free offers
o Issuing discount coupons
o Providing products on credit with low interest rates
o Extended warranties, and
o other rewards and incentive programsUsing these techniques will help to keep them constantly attracted towards your home based business. Remember that the main idea of the customer loyalty program is to keep the customer happy and induce them to do repeat business with you. It will also motivate them to persuade others to use your products/services.Excellent customer service:The next key element to gain customer loyalty is by providing excellent customer service to them. Customers always expect help whenever they encounter issues and problems related to your products or services. You’ll need to have a proper support system in place to help them with addressing their concerns and finding solutions to their problems.They may not always come to you with the same problems and therefore it is very important for your support team to know everything about your business in order to provide effective resolutions.For example, if there are any problems with your product, it should be replaced or repaired or the customer’s money should be refunded. Dedicated customer support guarantees better results.Keep in touch:Never let your customer loose contact with you. Initiate contact periodically and remind them that you value them as your customer. You can do so with the help of newsletters, monthly fliers, holiday greeting card, anniversary cards etc.For any business to flourish, it is very important to retain your customers with periodical customer loyalty programs which will encourage them to do more business with you through your home based business ideas.
Home Based Business Ideas – Customer Loyalty Generates More Business
A Home Based Business and the 4 Pillars
Starting a home based business is a good option for those who want to have a great work life balance. Care should be taken to make sure money is not poured down the drain in the name of starting a business. People preach the many pitfalls that can be avoided and the wise do take heed and tread with caution.Is it all Doom and Gloom?The fragile world economy features in the news everyday and so does how things are expected to get even tougher. A lot of people are anxious about how to support a decent lifestyle. For most families it is almost impossible to cover expenses on two salaries with increase in food costs, household bills and other basic needs. A home based business is a great consideration for anyone who wants to supplement their income or create flexible working hours to meet family demands, get rid of unemployment or solve other issues.Working from home is a great way to earn some extra income and for some people their entire income comes from their home business. The best thing about this type of set-up is the low start-up costs. A home based business is not as easy as it sounds though; it requires a lot of planning with the right knowledge and skills.Pillar 1 – If It Is Too Good To Be True It Probably IsYou probably have seen a lot of adverts online about how someone made £10,000 in one day. We will all like to strike it lucky and find that deal of a lifetime. But beware, if you are thinking of working from home, do not get sucked into these false claims of making millions in a few months. There are businesses that generate a healthy profit but think about it, if those claims were true everyone will be doing it.Consider the risks involved before you take up any offer for a home based business. Carry out adequate research about the business before you commit funds to it. Search yourself, if this is what you really want to do or if you are doing it for the love of money. Remember the love of money can only satisfy temporarily.Pillar 2 – Start with Minimal CostStarting a home based business should not cost the earth. Just because you are not renting an office space, does not mean you should blow your budget on a state of the art computer system, an executive desk and a recliner chair with a built in massage service. Manage your budget effectively especially when starting off as money may not come in immediately but bills still need to be paid. Beware of the stationery habit; it can spiral out of control especially for those who work from home.Pillar 3 – Dream Big Start SmallDon’t bite off more than you can chew when starting a business from home. Consider your working hours, family schedule, space within your home and other important factors before you commit to your customers. Do you have the space to store the raw materials for your products? Can you manage more than 10 clients a month without impinging on family time? These are some of the important factors you need to consider when you start your home based business. Remember your business reputation is at stake if you do not deliver on your promise.Pillar 4 – Easy MaintenanceMany people who choose to work from home are probably tired of the status quo. So why complicate things even further by setting up a home based business that is too complicated to run. This opportunity should give you the chance to follow your passion and run a business too. Working from home should be a pleasure not another daunting task you hate to wake up to. You should set things on your own terms and within certain guidelines. If you intend to laze about the house and pretend to be working, you might as well stay in your current job. It takes a lot of dedicated hard work to get any business off the ground – a home based business is no exception.All these pillars might sound like child’s play when it comes to starting a home-based business, but one wrong turn can lead to a frustrating experience. Make sure you follow your passion when starting a home based business and understand the basics of running a business. Consider the 4 pillars stated above in addition to other relevant information when starting out to help you stay on the right track and enjoy the process.
Five Tips for Selling at Live Auctions
Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.
People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!
Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.
Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.
Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.
After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.
Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.
Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.
Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.
Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.
Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.
It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.
Tip 4: Present your items neatly.
No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.
There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.
While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.
Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.
The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.
Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.
If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.
Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!
The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.