You will not get more passionate advocates for your talents or your business services than your family and friends. It’s a marketing channel that many may overlook yet it can be one which provides sales leads and contacts that can have tangible benefits.

Your friends and family can help you in a number of different areas. View your friends and family as a network of contacts, each person will know several other people who may potentially require your business services. Make sure that your friends and family have your email address so they can send your website to those they know who are potential customers. Give your friends and family members a pack of your business cards and arm them with any marketing materials you have spare.

High quality business referrals are built around trust, prospective customers like referrals from those they know well as it helps mitigate the risk of receiving a poor service or product.

Market intelligence and research are key to running a successful business, friends and family may have a broad range of experience you can tap into. As well as business experience it is worth considering another important type of information important to business people – life experience!

If you have a business idea, a product in need of fresh ideas or are looking to gain valuable feedback on a new marketing campaign then look no further. The most honest (brutally so!) focus group money can buy is ready and waiting at a fraction of the cost of a market research agency.

Your family know you better than you know yourself, use this to your advantage and try out ideas on them, they may come back with constructive comments that you had never considered before.

Word of mouth promotion is also key, engage your friends and family in everything you do, keep them up to date with exciting projects and clients as they will talk to others and ‘spread the word’ about your business.

Using your family as part time employees may be another option you wish to consider. Employing family members should not be entered into without some thought as sometimes tensions arise, on the plus side you will have an honest employee who won’t abandon you for a better paid role at the drop of a hat.

So go ahead, try some of these ideas and you may be surprised at the success it brings your business.