I'm giving
Speak Human: Outmarket the Big Guys by Getting Personal five stars because it is a business book every marketer and business owner should read. It's an appeal to getting back to business on the human level where people are treated not only as individuals, but as someone the people running the business truly care about. The book is also a celebration of small business. Being a small business is an advantage in today's impersonal and busy world so, rather than rue the fact that your business is small you should celebrate because you have distinct advantages in the marketplace. Small businesses are more flexible, can focus better on a target niche and get much, much closer to the customer.
Let's sum up the key message of the book - Deal with people on a human level.
The title of the book confused me at first. What exactly was the book about? What did "Speak Human" mean? Was this a book on body language or some esoteric communication method? No, this is a solid book about business and marketing that advocates connecting and communicating with people on a human level. Connecting with people, dealing with them like they matter and using new technologies, like social media to stay connected is what this book will teach you. The whole point of the book is that you need to build and manage your business' relationship with your customers and clients. As the author states on Pg. 147 - "People like to feel special."
Kurjaluoto is clearly a cheerleader for the small business person and beats the drum throughout the book that it is small business that has the advantage when it comes treating people like they matter. Small businesses operate close to the customer and have the knowledge, or the means to acquire the knowledge, to relate to customers on a personal level. Large businesses often are too far removed from the actual customer to deal with people on a individual or "human" basis. The bigger a business gets the more they are forced to deal with a demographic representation of that customer instead of the individual.
We like people that treat us special and, given the choice, prefer to deal with them. Large businesses, along with businesses that are unfocused, dilute their appeal and product offerings in an effort to please the mass of people instead of focusing on a small, clearly defined segment of the market. Let's face it, they have to in order to support their larger staff's. What they end up with are homogenized products and services that are nothing special and that tend to be bland and "simply OK". When there is there is nothing to separate you from competitive "me too" offerings other than price it's easy to fall into "commodity hell", where no business wants to be. How to avoid this? Be different and, as the author explains, your business can be different simply and easily by relating to people on the human level.
The book is chock full of fun, educational stories that drive the authors points home. "Speak Human" reads different than your traditional marketing tome - it is actually engaging and fun to read rather than a boring academic-like text. The tone and language of the book is conversational, which appealed greatly to me. People learn best through stories and Karjauoto (the author) communicated his message well with engaging and entertaining ones.
This book reached out to me on several levels. Personally I love the type of personal interaction recommended in the book when I deal with any business or service. (Come to think of it, we would all benefit greatly if the Government would read and follow this advice. Imagine a Government office that really cared for you as a person instead of merely another number to be serviced as fast and efficiently as possible!) Taking that little extra effort to connect with me on a personal level makes all the difference in the world and is the deciding factor in my decision whether or not to re-patronize an establishment. I am sure others feel the same way.
Following Karjaluoto's advice will position any small business well with their customer base and go a long way towards making your business the preferred customer choice. I highly recommend this book to every marketer,small business person, or the person simply interested in bringing business back to the personal level.
