Home Office Success Stories – April 2002

Gone viral lately? With Web ads, paid advertising, direct mail, even radio or television spots, another very important – and time-tested – marketing tool has been forgotten: Your customers’ mouths. Word-of-mouth advertising is an essential, and potentially far more powerful, advertising tool than anything you can buy. Endorsements, praise or a simple referral from a client to a potential prospect can work wonders to build a customer base or simply name recognition.

In my recurring small business strategy column in the Sun-Sentinel, we explore different ways to conduct “viral” marketing. From using bounce-back e-mail messages on the Internet to electronic newsletters to hand writing cards to potential or past customers, getting people to remember you or your business – and then to talk about you to others –predates Benjamin Franklin’s first ad insertions in his Pennsylvania Gazette. Learn more about viral marketing at:

www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-ybviral01apr01.story?coll=sfl a%2Dbusiness%2Dheadlines

This weekend, I found another great marketing resource – if you can afford the expense. Beth Lewis, an ally and owner of Computer Coach (www.computercoach.com) computer learning center in Boca Raton, hosts Computer Coach Show, a radio show airing across South Florida each Saturday from 9-10 a.m. on WSBR AM 740 (www.wsbrmoneytalkradio.com). While Beth took a 52-week commitment to the show, I asked what she does if she can’t make it on a given Saturday morning. She said she airs reruns of a previous show. I suggested if ever she has such an opening again, she contact me – or another business owner who might be interested in paying her for the airtime. The show can be heard globally via the Internet – meaning I could potentially widen my scope of influence for a nominal fee. I’m not committed to any long-term gig, but the “expert” positioning of my having a radio show can do wonders for my brand.

Browse your local radio dial to see what shows air, and where your content could be a fit. At the very least, offer yourself as a guest to speak on your area of expertise. It could turn into a “guest host” gig – and a powerful form of marketing.

If you’re into a bit of humor (at my expense), you’ll be pleased to know that the board of directors of Goin’ SOHO! (namely, the Zbar family) have talked me into a lobotomy, or rather, getting a dog. For tax purposes, Riley has been “hired” as my new “administrative assistant.” Our Kerry blue terrier arrived last week, and has been an interesting addition to my work routine. Read more about pets in the home office at

www.goinsoho.com/SuccessStory.cfm

Then, browse through the latest additions to my archives.

And finally, as always, if you’re a teleworker looking for powerful strategies on working outside the corporate office, check out Home Base, my weekly telework column for Network World magazine. Read it online at www.nwfusion.com/net.worker.

The columns, plus a few others on the topics of working from home, Telework and telemanagement, will debut in the next month in my latest book, “Telework Know-How: Power Practices from Top Telecommuters and Remote Workers.” Order an advance copy online at www.goinsoho.com/stuff.html

Jeff Zbar, the ChiefHomeOfficer.com, is a speaker, writer and expert on alternative officing. He is the author of Teleworking & Telecommuting: Strategies for Remote Workers and Their Managers (Made E-Z Products, 2002); Safe@Home: Seven Keys to Home Office Security (FirstPublish 2001) and Your Profitable Home Business (on CD-ROM from Made E-Z Products). Visit his Web site to subscribe to Home Office Success Stories, his free electronic magazine on home business and teleworking.