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Small Business Marketing For Dummies, Second Edition is updated from the original version that won rave reviews and inspired thousands of small businesses on their way to becoming big businesses. Updates include more information on online marketing, a whole new section on getting and keeping customers, new cost-effective, fast-acting ideas for instant impact, and more. The book covers:
Whether you’re running a home office, a small firm, a family business, a nonprofit organization, or a retail operation, you’ll discover how to: * Custom design your own marketing program * Create effective marketing messages * Produce marketing communications that work EDITORIAL REVIEWS"Marketing ideas are presented as real-world problems with real-world solutions. Entrepreneurs of all sizes should be able to identify strategies they can use immediately." Business Week
"...easy-to-implement solutions. 4 1/2 stars." Scripps Howard News Service "This book gives entrepreneurs the ammunition they need to survive–and thrive." Entrepreneur Magazine AMAZON.COM READER REVIEWS"In great detail and in plain English, Barbara Findlay Schenck has produced an exhaustive, fact-packed, thoroughly enjoyable guide to marketing." "Absolutely invaluable information, in fact, perhaps priceless. Excellent investment." "Empowering, informative, inspirational...Make this book your road map." "This book is well worth reading in entirety as an introduction to basic marketing. On the other hand, if you are already familiar with basic marketing principles, keep it on your shelf for handy reference. Remember to consult it before undertaking each marketing communications project, and you'll likely achieve better results with less frustration and less wasted effort." "The beauty of this book is that it gives an overview of five of the seven areas a small business should consider and use when marketing his or her small business." |
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING RESOURCESMARKETING AT A GLANCE
Marketing is the process through which you create – and keep – customers. Since it takes customers to stay in business, think of marketing as your business lifeline. It's more than advertising, or sales, or public relations, or customer service. It's a non-stop cycle that involves all of these steps: * Customer, Product & Competitive Research, which involves learning everything possible about your target customer and marketing environment * Product Development, which involves creating an offering that serves your target market niche in a unique, meaningful, and desirable manner * Pricing, which involves establishing a pricing structure that achieves necessary profitability for your business while simultaneously reflecting the value and brand image of your offering, your competitive market position, and the ability of customers to purchase what you're selling * Packaging and/or Labeling, which involves presenting your product in a compelling manner consistent with its price and brand image * Distribution, which involves establishing points of purchase that are accessible to customers and in sync with their purchase preferences * Advertising, Promotions, and Public Relations, which involve presentation of marketing messages that grab attention, inspire interest, and move prospects to the purchase decision point * Sales, which involves presenting your offering, making the case for its purchase, guiding customers to the buying decision, and processing the business-to-customer payment and product exchange * Customer Service which is the all-important marketing step where you develop and kindle customer satisfaction leading to repeat business, word-of-mouth advertising, and customer loyalty Every enterprise needs to follow the same marketing process, but small businesses and organizations have vastly different budgets, staffing, creative approaches, and communication techniques than their big-business counterparts. That's why small business marketing is such an important marketing category. In this teleclass presented by the Principal Financial Group, Barbara Findlay Schenck presents best small business marketing practices and addresses questions from business owners. You can read the site for marketing advice and then register (for free) to listen in on the teleclass.
When people hear your business name, they conjure up a set of impressions that influence how they think and buy. Those thoughts define your brand. This book excerpt tells you how to build the brand you want.
Click to read about delivering your marketing message and product offerings directly to carefully selected prospects and customers without violating the guidelines of the Direct Marketing Association.
This excerpt explains how good radio ads grab attention, involve listeners, sound believable, create mental pictures, spin a story, and call for action – all while keeping the product on center stage and the customer in the spotlight, and all without getting pushy, obnoxious, or boring.
Not every marketing idea is a good one. This excerpt alerts you to marketing landmines that masquerade as quick fixes.
Marketing Tip: ENHANCE YOUR ONLINE IDENTITYA marketing question I get asked often has to do with online identity, presence and activity. Here are three tips regarding your domain name: * Try to register your business name plus .com. If that domain name isn't available, avoid grabbing your business name plus .net. Why? Because most people automatically type in .com. If you register your name plus .net, people trying to reach are likely to be misdirected to the .com site instead. * If your business name plus .com isn't available as a domain name, see if your business slogan or positioning statement lends itself to an online address. For instance, www.justdoit.com takes you to the Nike site, and www.gohawaii.com takes you to the site of the Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau. * If people frequently misspell your business name, capture more traffic by registering various misspellings as alternative domain names. Then redirect all traffic to your primary address. For example, if you type www.googel.com into your web browser, you'll be automatically redirected to the primary www.google.com site. Be similarly smart with your own web strategy. For more information, go to Chapter 16 of Small Business Marketing for Dummies. Plus, go to the Bizstrong Bookstore to order a copy of Building Your Business with Google for Dummies by Brad Hill. |
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