The Unofficial Guide to Marketing Your Small BusinessISBN: 978-0-471-79907-8
Paperback
312 pages
October 2006
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I Marketing Matters.
1 Zeroing In on Your Customer.
Divide and conquer.
How many customers make a successful business?
Who are you currently selling to?
Understanding demographics.
Picture your perfect customer.
Just the facts.
2 Why Customers Buy.
Decisions, decisions: How customers buy.
Your product meets their needs.
Your product has a competitive advantage.
Your product is priced right.
Your product is convenient.
Just the facts.
3 Know Your Enemies.
Who are they?
What do they offer?
How do they measure up?
What’s their marketing strategy?
Take an inside look at their operations.
Information is power.
Just the facts.
II Planning Your Success.
4 Positioning.
Perception is reality.
Who’s on first?
What makes you different?
Positioning strategies.
Holding on to the lead.
The follower advantage.
Just the facts.
5 Goal Setting.
The bottom line.
Financial goals.
Customer goals.
Image goals.
Just the facts.
6 Your Marketing Plan.
Why plan?
Outline of a plan.
A marketing plan’s long-term value.
Just the facts.
III The Least Expensive Ways to Market Your Business.
7 Public Relations.
Relevancy.
Contact point.
PR tools.
More advanced PR tools.
Beyond publicity.
Just the facts.
8 Networking.
Be prepared.
Trade and professional organizations.
Alumni groups.
Volunteer and civic organizations.
Private clubs.
Online networking.
Networking groups and tip clubs.
Barter exchanges.
Referrals.
How not to network.
Follow up or fail.
Just the facts.
9 Public Speaking.
Public presentations.
Seminars.
Courses.
Webinars.
Getting comfortable with public speaking.
Preparing a presentation.
Just the facts.
IV Moderately Priced Marketing Approaches.
10 Online Marketing.
The best online tool: Your Web site.
Digitally communicating your message.
Just the facts.
11 Printed Pieces.
Must have: The basics.
Helpful to have.
Just the facts.
12 Sales Promotion Opportunities.
Selling to new customers.
Selling more to existing customers.
Selling higher value offerings to existing customers.
Just the facts.
13 In-Person Marketing.
Manning a booth at trade shows.
Setting up appointments and meetings.
Making presentations.
Door-to-door calls.
Using sandwich boards.
Handing out flyers.
Just the facts.
14 Telemarketing.
Rules you don’t want to break.
Cold calling.
Warm calling.
Outsourcing.
Inbound telemarketing.
Teleseminars.
Just the facts.
V Higher-Cost (But Highly Effective) Marketing Tools.
15 Branding.
Consistency.
Awards.
Certifications.
Promotional products.
Packaging.
Employee dress and/or uniforms.
Signage.
Sponsorships.
Just the facts.
16 Advertising.
Print advertising.
Broadcast.
Out-of-home advertising.
Indoor opportunities.
Inserts.
Online Advertising.
Design Do’s and Don’ts.
Just the facts.
VI Finding What Works and Sticking With It.
17 Choices, Choices.
The top tier: Selecting the most important activities.
Expanding with additional marketing tools.
When to do it yourself; when to delegate.
Just the facts.
18 Evaluating What’s Working and What’s Not.
Tracking marketing methods.
Testing your message(s).
Knowing when to stop.
Just the facts.
19 Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose.
One-shot deals are a waste.
Integrated marketing is the most cost effective.
Getting better results without breaking the bank.
Just the facts.
VII Appendices.
A Glossary.
B Resource Directory.
Organizations.
Web sites.
C Further Reading.
Index.
