Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: For Dummies; 3 edition (September 4, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1118311833
ISBN-13: 978-1118311837
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #86,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #84 in Books > Business & Money > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Marketing #310 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Sales & Selling #703 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Marketing
Small business owners are experts at providing a product or service, but that doesn't mean they are experts at * marketing * their businesses. As a member of a co-working organization, and as a social media marketer, I meet small- to mid-size business owners and solopreneurs on a regular basis who are confused by all of the choices available to them to market their businesses. They are intimidated and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, and the time and monetary costs associated with getting new customers.In her book, Small Business Marketing Kit for Dummies, Barbara Findlay Schenck has done a great job of laying out the different marketing options available to small business owners in a simple, clear manner.Because of the breadth of information included, I would highly recommend this book to people who are considering opening a business, people in startups, business owners who want to grow but have limited insight into what that requires, entrepreneurs and students. Even seasoned marketers will pick up some new strategies. I would also recommend this book to anyone considering hiring a marketing or advertising agency to learn the buzzwords and gain realistic expectations of what their service provider should be able to do (and not do).She starts by getting the mindset right so business owners will see through their customers' eyes to get the message right. This is a step many business owners fail to take, and when it they do, it makes them seem out of touch. So, +1 to the author for touching on this crucial insight first. I would encourage all business owners to read that part thoroughly and not gloss over it. Getting the message right comes first, promoting it comes second.
I shared this book with four friends, who are small business owners, each looking to improve their marketing strategies. They own businesses in different industries - restaurant, education, beauty and landscaping services - but shared a similar problem, not one had the capital to sign a five-figure contract with a professional marketing firm.According to the Census Bureau, about three quarters of all U.S. business firms have no payroll; most are self-employed persons operating unincorporated businesses. Hence, the audience for author Barbara Findlay Schenck's book is undeniable as there are more than 20 million companies that fit into the small business category.Over the course of six months, each of my friends reported back to me that the Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies was a useful resource. We discussed the challenges and opportunities each business faced. As limiting as small budgets are they also spur creativity and a willingness to try anything.We talked about the advice and direction provided in Schenck's book. The following highlights came from my conversations with the four small business owners.Chapter 1: Framing the Marketing ProcessSchenck lists four reasons why her book is for small businesses with comparatively micro-budget marketing resources. The four differences - dollar, staffing, creative and strategic - are why small businesses can't approach marketing in the same way international companies can.
In business school you learn that marketing consists of product, price, place, and promotion. This book doesn't begin to cover those bases in depth, but it does give you a great overview into branding, online marketing, a tiny bit on pricing and product development and many, many other aspects of marketing. It seems like there are areas left uncovered in the realm of marketing but as I page through I do find small treatments of a wide range of topics. How to work with an ad agency, whether you even need one, and how to place ads, mailers, and even broadcast media commercials.A really nice feature with this book is the companion CDROM with additional content. It contains mostly checklists in PDF format. The disk doesn't require an installation, but instead runs a little program that separates the material by chapter. I had no problems making it work on my Windows PC. As you read the book you'll see references to various forms and worksheets. Some are pretty good, some are ok. In the end for this audience I think they are great - readers likely aren't going to be doing a ton of deep dive into some of these topics (i.e. competitive analysis). if you're looking for deeper dive this isn't the book for you, but at 360+ pages you know the book is scratching the surface on a lot of things.On the section on email marketing, it was good to see a discussion on CAN-SPAM Act. That's required on any discussion of email marketing. The section on social media starts with defining your objectives. Again, this is another key aspect. And the book helps you be frank about whether you are willing an able to support the workload when diving into online channels. Spot on.There's a lot to be learned here, however.
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