Revenue building strategies for small business

Very few work at home or small business owners think about revenue generating. In fact, if you ask most ‘how will your business generate revenue,’ most will give a vague, random answer that is based on clichйs from business management and ‘How to Start a Business’ books. After investing a few thousand dollars into the business, and spending several months struggling, the business owner is forced to sit down and create a strategy for generating wealth.

The ideal strategy is found in business expansion and promotion. It does not take a long time to create a strong revenue generating strategy. Small business owners who learn how to create a marketing plan will have the edge over their competition. There are a few basics that can help all work at home and ecommerce business owners.

Understand Marketing

There is a difference between marketing and sales. The act of selling generates revenue when a product is sold. Marketing is the act of attracting attention, branding a product or person, and then creating a buzz that will eventually result in sales.

A good marketing plan is an essential tool for any business, including ecommerce ones. It should be viewed as a blueprint for generating revenues. Some small business course instructors tell their students, ‘if you cannot create at least five pages of revenue generating strategies, you haven’t thought through the process well enough.’

The basics of marketing involves showcasing the product for sale. This involves more than posting a website and creating a shopping cart. Many new business owners lose track of the most important word ‘showcase.’ The product must be put before the general public. Not in a way that shoves the product or the company down prospective client’s throats, but in a way that generates interest.

There are several ways to do this on the Internet. The most common is writing press releases, reviews on the product, and participating in forums where you can casually mention how the products solved your problems. Another way is to join a community and help other members solve their problems, and in turn, earning their respect and turning them into clients.

Vary the Payment Options

One of the most overlooked aspects of the ecommerce and brick-and-mortar business is the payment options. Consumers usually favor one or two methods of payment, if those are not available they will leave.

Payment options must be a foundation of a revenue generating strategy. The business owner should design different strategies around different payment methods.

One of the biggest mistakes is giving potential customers only one place to purchase the item. Many small businesses limit their sales to their personal website. Internet customers who are afraid of phishing scams will prefer to walk instead of making a purchase - no matter how much they like the product. Many ecommerce sites are now selling through Amazon. com using their fulfillment option, or Ebay, to offer a ‘familiar’ method of selling to their businesses. Others are building PayPal stores, taking advantage of Ebay’s promotion and advertising to gain credibility and respect from prospective clients.

Information

It is amazing how many web businesses invest hundreds of dollars in creating content, but none of that has to do with their products. They do not write reviews, or even have guest books were current clients can write their own reviews on the product. The short blurb on a shopping cart is never enough to sell a product. The potential customer must be sold before reaching the product.

There are three customer needs that the information must cover. First, how the product can solve problems. Second, how the product can improve life. Third, how the product will save time.

A revenue generating strategy that covers these three areas, and meet the three needs of customers can be labeled a ‘blueprint of success.’