Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Essential Small Business Marketing Reading List

The Internet show about small business marketing.

Podcast Episode #60 – Power to the Small Business


If you want to grow and learn, the best way to do that is read books. I once heard Brian Tracy say that in five years you will be the same person you are today, except for the books that you read and the people you meet. In this special episode of Power to the Small Business, I present my small business marketing essential reading list, and will features five of the authors of books on that list. But first, let’s reveal the list:

The Essential Small Business Marketing Reading List

The list is organized around The Marketing Circle of Life. It is comprised of books that will give you a foundational understanding of the four essential spots of small business marketing.

Branding Books

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Microbranding: Build a Powerful Personal Brand and Beat Your Competition by T. Scott Gross

Experience Books

The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore
Managing the Customer Experience: Turning Customers into Advocates by Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler
What’s the Secret: To Providing a World-Class Customer Experience by John DiJulius

Conversation Books

Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Promotion Books

Advertising Secrets of the Written Word: The Ultimate Resource on How to Write Powerful Advertising Copy by Joe Sugarman
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy


The Guests:

Five of the authors listed above will be guest on this podcast…with one exception. Brad Shorr will be discussing Ogilvy on Advertising (David Ogilvy passed away in 1999)

Length: 41 minutes

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You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #60 (for personal use only)

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iTunes

Show Notes:

Bonus Authors:
There were no authors from the recommended experience books. However, authors of all three books have previously appeared on Power to the Small Business. Here are the links to those shows:

Instinct and Remarkable Customer Experience Creation with Shaun Smith
What’s the Secret to a World-Class Customer Experience? with John DiJulius
The Experience Economy: 10 Years Later with Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore

SELECTED QUOTES FROM THE AUTHORS

JACK TROUT on Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
“It was the first book that really introduced psychology and marketing and crossed the two of them, and essentially introduced the mind as the key battleground.”

T. SCOTT GROSS on Microbranding
“The definition of a microbrand is a little brand, that sits on top of a big brand, and is often the more powerful of the two.”

JACKIE HUBA on Creating Customer Evangelists
“These tenets that we looked at among the businesses who have great evangelists, these are evergreen concepts.”

CHARLENE LI on Groundswell
“We designed it to be a book that would have some legs, because it’s not a technology book. It’s a book about how you can accomplish goals by changing the relationships you have with people.”

JOE SUGARMAN on Advertising Secrets of the Written Word
“Knowledge of copywriting is extremely valuable…I’ve had a lot people contact me and tell me that their life changed because they spent time learning how to be a copywriter.”

BRAD SHORR on Ogilvy on Advertising
“David Oglivy was a guy who was way ahead of his time…There’s just so much in here that I think is still of value to any business for writing, for marketing, for advertising.”

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Episode 59: Marketers Roundtable 6 – Discussion of Current Marketing Issues

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Hear ye, Hear ye! Interested citizens of The Internet, you are invited to the sixth gathering of the Marketers Roundtable.

Whereas marketers like to congregate and discuss marketing,
Therefore, let them gather at The Marketers RoundTable to discuss marketing issues for all to hear on
Power to the Small Business.

Guests:
Jay MiletskyMango! Creative Juice
Rich BeckerCopywrite, Ink
C.B. WhittemoreSimple Marketing Now
Jay Ehret The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 34 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #59 (for personal use only)

Press the play button on the Box player above and get started.

iTunes


Selected quotes from the show:

ON MARKETERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA REALITY:

C.B. WHITEMORE: There are commodity products and then there are products that require greater engagement.

RICH BECKER: We don’t need to connect with everybody and every product and everything.

JAY EHRET: People don’t want to be social with every brand that’s in their cupboard.” “Marketers tend to make things more important than they really are.

JAY MILETSKY: What I think is important is to use social media not necessarily as a conversation piece at all times, but to use it as a listening piece.

ON MANAGING AND MEASURING THE MARKETING MIX:

JASON MILESTKY: “We’ve gotten so into this culture now of believing in the one-to-one communication, and the conversation with individual consumers, because social media allows it, we forget that scale is still important.”

RICH BECKER: “I think that’s where some of the consumers have had some push-back, is they feel like conversations are sometimes thrust upon them in the wrong venue.”

JAY EHRET:I don’t think there’s a way that you absolutely control and say 100% of the people who come in contact with this message are perfect targets for this message. We’re not that good in marketing yet.

CB WHITTEMORE:Traditional ways of reaching people and building brands should go hand in hand with the newer ways, the more social ways.

ON BLENDING ONLINE AND OFFLINE MARKETING:

C.B. WHITTEMORE: “Social really offers a gift…in that there’s a renewed focus on people and customers vs. products.”

JAY MILETSKY: “There’s no way you’re going to be able to show an ROI model, so that social media will generate X amount of dollars immediately. What you can show, though, is how it’s going to enhance a traditional campaign and bring down the cost of all your other efforts, including HR, customer service and marketing.”

JAY EHRET: “I’m just not for meeting the needs of the people. Because you can’t discover what the needs of the people are, the people don’t even know what their needs are.”

RICH BECKER: “I think the most successful companies, 100% of the time are able to deliver a product that the customer doesn’t even know exists, or that they have a need for.”

ON BEING DIFFERENT VS. BEING BETTER:

RICH BECKER: “Generally (businesses) want to be better than the other guy. But that’s not necessarily something that’s worth pursuing, because you have to be different.”

C.B. WHITTEMORE: “An easier way to become different is to do it in small steps.”

JAY MILETSKY: “I don’t think it comes down to a matter of different or better, I think it comes down to a matter of successful.”

JAY EHRET: “The more you try to become better at something, the actual ‘less different’ you will really be.”

Show Links:

Jay Miletsky: Mango! Marketing Juice @JayMIletsky on Twitter
Rich Becker: Copywrite, Ink@RichBecker on Twitter
C.B. Whittemore: Simple Marketing Now@CBWhittemore on Twitter
Jay Ehret:
The Marketing Spot@TheMarketingGuy on Twitter

Book Reference: Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd

Event: Transformational Branding at Optimization Summit

A complete archive of all past episodes can be found here: Power to the Small Business Got a marketing question? Call the “Help Me Help You” line: 254-433-8529. I’ll answer the question in a future episode.

Subscribe to this podcast by email: Power to the Small Business by Email

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