Small Business Marketing for Dummies (Paperback)

by Barbara Findlay Schenck (Author), Linda English (Contributor) "You're by no means alone if you don't have a pat answer to the question "What is marketing, anyway?..." (more)
Key Phrases: small business marketing, segmenting customers, revenue analysis, Yellow Pages, Hungry Minds, Lifestyle Market Analyst (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Must-reads...This book is extremely comprehensive, easy to follow and filled with practical solutions for small-business owners." -- Jane Applegate, Entrepreneur.com, July 1, 2001

...The Bible, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights receive five stars...This book gets four stars..."Buy It!" -- Paul Tulenko for Scripps Howard News Service, July 9, 2001

Schenck writes with authority...Marketing issues are presented as real-world problems with real-world solutions.... -- BusinessWeek Online, June 28, 2001

Product Description
Big-time marketing know-how for the small business owner.

Entrepreneurship is booming. And more people with great ideas face the age-old challenge of marketing their products and services. This book gives you marketing strategies that are specifically tailored to your special needs as a small business owner, taking into account your lack of time, money, and staff. Coverage includes:

• Savvy marketing methods developed by pros
• A guide to marketing effectively on the Internet
• Outlines for creating marketing plans and finding customers
• Strategies for building an image for a new business and using a wide spectrum of media
• Online resources to help your small business grow

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764553097
• ISBN-13: 978-0764553097
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #222,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take it from a dummy: This book works!, April 25, 2001

By	George Engebretson "georgewatermark" (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews

As a card-carrying dummy, I opened "Small Business Marketing for Dummies" with high hopes. I wasn't disappointed: in great detail and in plain English, Barbara Findlay Schenck has produced an exhaustive, fact-packed, thoroughly enjoyable guide to marketing. While I've picked up a few tricks of the trade during my ten years in retail/distribution, both as a sole proprietor and in a partnership, Schenck's book shows me how much more I have to learn in this wide and fascinating arena. Besides serving as a powerful motivator, "Small Business Marketing for Dummies" is long on specifics: the hows and whys of reaching customers and bringing them back for more. The book's Internet chapters, for example, are chock full of Web sites and strategies completely new to me. Having read many other marketing resources over the years, I can say without equivocation that this one comes closest to being a bible of the genre. Even the most clueless among us can use the book as a kind of in-house consultant, an easy, expert guide through the labyrinth of marketing a small business.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for dummies!, November 16, 2001

By	"cliff_joyce" (Bend, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Don't let the title mislead you. Even if you already have a background in marketing, you'll love this book-- I did.

Barbara Schenck clearly explains the jargon, terminology, value, and implementation details of each facet of marketing, using real-world (and often humorous) examples. This book is so accessible to non-marketeers that our company has made Chapter 21 (Customer Service) required reading for each member of our team.

This book is empowering, informative, inspirational. If you're rethinking your marketing (and what business isn't constantly obsessed with satisfying their customers), then make this book your road map. As instructed by the simple exercises in each chapter, I took notes while making my way through the book. Then following the instructions in the final chapters, I was able to create a Marketing Plan in just a few hours. I found the process invigorating, and our clients can already feel our enthusiasm-- and we haven't even started implementing yet!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The PEERLESS new "Bible" for small businesses!, June 7, 2001

By A Customer

Barbara Findlay Schenck has FINALLY brought us what we've all, as small business owners and entrepreneurs been in need of, the consummate book of wisdom and guidance for marketing concerns A-Z. I had not a single question remaining in my mind when I closed the back cover. She's thought of it all. Absolutely invaluable information, in fact, perhaps priceless.Excellent investment.