Customer Reviews

Marketing Your Small Business for Big Profits

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many marketing books are written by experts far away from the rough and tumble of in-the-field marketing. This marketing book is NOT one of them.

It is a practical, hands-on marketing book obviously written by a man who practices what he preaches.

I have bookshelves of marketing books.In my opinion, this is one of the better resources.

If you want to make money in your business you need to read this book.

As I read this book, I was again reminded of a GE annual meeting during which Jack Welch explained why he admires entrepreneurial companies: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."

At least by implication, Welch cites many of the same competitive advantages that David Mason focuses on in this book as he explains how effective marketing can help small businesses to sustain profitable growth. Mason offers no head-snapping revelations, nor does he make any such claim. His purpose is to provide practical advice based on years of experience with several hundred small companies. He is well aware of the mortality rate of small companies. According to Michael Gerber, in E-Myth Mastery, "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." These are indeed chilling statistics. Why do so many small businesses fail? One of the most common reasons is an inadequate understanding who their core customer is and/or not using a profile of that customer for marketing initiatives to create or increase demand for what it offers to prospects that fit that profile. Hence the importance of Mason's advice. I do not damn it with faint praise when suggesting that, as noted earlier, I find nothing original in what he recommends. The great value of his advice is that he can help the owner/CEO of a small business to devise and then implement an appropriate marketing plan. That said, there are two important caveats: manage operating costs with ruthless rigor (eliminating "fat" while strengthening "muscle"), and, never compromise margins.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Robert Bloom's The Inside Advantage, Chris Anderson's The Long Tail, Marc Allen's Visionary Business, Jason Jennings' Think Big, Act Small, Paul Flowers' Underdog Advertising, Jay Conrad Levinson's Guerilla Marketing (4th Edition), and Hector Barreto's The Engine of America.

If you are ready for Success, using this book can take your business and your life to the next level! Marketing Your Small Business for Big Profits is a quick and easy read that you can use and implement in under an hour.

For the price of a pizza - and a small one at that -- Dave provides easy to digest nuggets of practical information - on every marketing topic from "soup to nuts." Any business owner who has ever wondered how to find time to market their business needs to thoroughly digest this book.

Marketing Your Small Business for BIG Profits. This is a simple, skinny and pragmatic book full of do it now advice. Written for a small business audience, there is still very good advice for the tech industry, which tends to view marketing in a simplistic and out of date fashion. ( And we are supposed to be such "smart" guys in this industry. )So how is marketing really working for you? ) His appendices are worth the price of the book, such as "The top 5 most powerful headline formulas. EG No 1. How to Headlines----->How to pay less taxes and keep more money for yourself.