The Unofficial Guide to Marketing Your Small Business

by Turner, Marcia Layton

• ISBN13: 9780471799078
• ISBN10: 0471799076
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-09
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

From the author of the successful The Unofficial Guide to Marketing Your Small Business, this handy guide provides detailed information on low-budget, high-impact marketing techniques that produce near-immediate results. Small businesses need a quick return on their marketing investments, and this book shows the best ways to achieve it. Small business expert Marcia Layton Turner puts her wealth of business knowledge to work for business owners who need results now. The Unofficial Guide to Marketing Your Small Business provides comprehensive, straightforward coverage of everything small and large businesses need to know about the vital basics of effective marketing. Marcia Layton Turner (Rochester, NY) is the founder of her own marketing consulting firm and a small business expert who has been profiled or quoted in such publications as Money, Entrepreneur, and USA Weekend. She is also the author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business (0-7645-7285-7), from Wiley.

Author Biography

MARCIA LAYTON TURNER received an MBA from the University of Michigan and worked at the Eastman Kodak Company before founding her own marketing consulting firm, Layton & Co. She serves as the small business expert for Small Business Advantage, hosted at the BusinessWeek website. She has written for and been featured in such publications as Money, Entrepreneur, USA Weekend, and Black Enterprise, and she is the author of several books, including Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins, Emeril! Inside the Amazing Success of Today's Most Popular Chef, and, most recently, The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business, Second Edition.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
I Marketing Matters	1	(40)
1 Zeroing In on Your Customer	3	(12)
Divide and conquer	4	(1)
How many customers make a successful business?	5	(1)
Who are you currently selling to?	6	(4)
Understanding demographics	10	(2)
Picture your perfect customer	12	(2)
Just the facts	14	(1)
2 Why Customers Buy	15	(12)
Decisions, decisions: How customers buy	16	(3)
Your product meets their needs	19	(1)
Your product has a competitive advantage	20	(2)
Your product is priced right	22	(2)
Your product is convenient	24	(1)
Just the facts	25	(2)
3 Know Your Enemies	27	(14)
What do they offer?	30	(2)
How do they measure	32	(1)
What's their marketing strategy?	33	(2)
Take an inside Look at their operations	35	(4)
Information is power	39	(1)
Just the facts	39	(2)
II Planning Your Success	41	(38)
4 Positioning	43	(8)
Perception is reality	43	(1)
Who's on first?	44	(1)
What makes you different?	45	(2)
Positioning strategies	47	(1)
Holding on to the Lead	48	(1)
The follower advantage	49	(1)
Just the facts	50	(1)
5 Goal Setting	51	(10)
The bottom line	51	(6)
Financial goals	57	(1)
Customer goals	58	(1)
Image goals	59	(1)
Just the facts	60	(1)
6 Your Marketing Plan	61	(18)
Why plan?	62	(2)
Outline of a plan	64	(14)
A marketing plan's Long-term value
Just the facts	78	(1)
III The Least Expensive Ways to Market Your Business	79	(50)
7 Public Relations	81	(16)
Relevancy	82	(1)
Contact point	83	(1)
PR tools	84	(5)
More advanced PR tools	89	(4)
Beyond publicity	93	(3)
Just the facts	96	(1)
8 Networking	97	(16)
Be prepared	98	(2)
Trade and professional organizations	100	(1)
Alumni groups	101	(1)
Volunteer and civic organizations	102	(1)
Private dubs	103	(1)
Online networking	104	(2)
Networking groups and tip clubs	106	(1)
Barter exchanges	107	(1)
Referrals	108	(1)
How not to network	109	(2)
Follow up or fail	111	(1)
Just the facts	111	(2)
9 Public Speaking	113	(16)
Public presentations	114	(2)
Seminars	116	(1)
Courses	117	(1)
Webinars	118	(1)
Getting comfortable with public speaking	119	(4)
Preparing a presentation	123	(4)
Just the facts	127	(2)
IV Moderately Priced Marketing Approaches	129	(80)
10 Online Marketing	131	(18)
The best online tool: Your Web site	132	(9)
Digitally communicating your message	141	(7)
Just the facts	148	(1)
11 Printed Pieces	149	(18)
Must have: The basics	149	(5)
Helpful to have	154	(12)
Just the facts	166	(1)
12 Sales Promotion Opportunities	167	(18)
Selling to new customers	168	(9)
Selling more to existing customers	177	(4)
Selling higher value offerings to existing customers	181	(3)
Just the facts	184	(1)
13 In-Person Marketing	185	(10)
Manning a booth at trade shows	186	(2)
Setting up appointments and meetings	188	(2)
Making presentations	190	(1)
Door-to-door calls	191	(2)
Using sandwich boards	193	(1)
Handing out flyers	193	(1)
Just the facts	194	(1)
14 Telemarketing	195	(14)
Rules you don't want to break	195	(3)
Cold calling	198	(6)
Warm calling	204	(1)
Outsourcing	204	(1)
Inbound telemarketing	205	(1)
Teleseminars	206	(1)
Just the facts	207	(2)
V Higher-Cost (But Highly Effective) Marketing Tools	209	(34)
15 Branding	211	(14)
Consistency	212	(1)
Awards	213	(2)
Certifications	215	(1)
Promotional products	216	(1)
Packaging	217	(1)
Employee dress and/or uniforms	218	(1)
Signage	219	(3)
Sponsorships	222	(2)
Just the facts	224	(1)
16 Advertising	225	(18)
Print advertising	226	(6)
Broadcast	232	(1)
Out-of-home advertising	233	(3)
Indoor opportunities	236	(2)
Inserts	238	(2)
Online Advertising	240	(1)
Design Do's and Don'ts	240	(2)
Just the facts	242	(1)
VI Finding What Works and Sticking With It	243	(34)
17 Choices, Choices	245	(12)
The top tier: Selecting the most important activities	246	(2)
Expanding with additional marketing tools	248	(1)
When to do it yourself; when to delegate	249	(6)
Just the facts	255	(2)
18 Evaluating What's Working and What's Not	257	(10)
Tracking marketing methods	258	(4)
Testing your message(s)	262	(2)
Knowing when to stop	264	(1)
Just the facts	265	(2)
19 Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose	267	(10)
One-shot deals are a waste	268	(6)
Integrated marketing is the most cost effective	274	(1)
Getting better results without breaking the bank	275	(1)
Just the facts	275	(2)
VII Appendices	277	(12)
A Glossary	279	(6)
B Resource Directory	285	(2)
Organizations	285	(1)
Web sites	286	(1)
C Further Reading	287	(2)
Index	289