- ISBN13: 9780764578397
- Condition: USED – VERY GOOD
- Notes:
Product Description
Having your own business isn’t the same as having customers, and one is useless without the other. Whether your business is a resale store or a high-tech consulting firm, a law office or a home cleaning service, in today’s competitive environment, strategic marketing is essential. Small Business Marketing For Dummies, Second Edition is updated from the original version that won rave reviews and inspired thousands of small businesses on their way to becomi… More >>
Small Business Marketing for Dummies, Second Edition
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#1 by Stephen Wilson on May 26, 2010 - 7:25 am
Great book with a lot of useful tips. If you’re interested in how your business can benefit from marketing via Mobile Search (cell phones) check out Mobile Search and Local Search Marketing. It’s a brief guide that gives you step by step directions on getting to the top of local search rankings on Google, Yahoo, Yelp, etc.
Mobile Search and Local Search Marketing: The Small Business Survival Guide (Volume 1)
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by L. J. Mytych on May 26, 2010 - 9:16 am
I’m a big fan of this line of books. This one is great even if you work for a large company…but it’s specifically for small business owners. I liked it becaue it offered easy to implement ideas and suggestions for marketing your business and growing sales. Marketing can be incredible fun if you let yourself enjoy it and this book offers some sound advice for those who want to try integrating things themselves without paying an outside consultant big bucks.
Rating: 4 / 5
#3 by Rinus on May 26, 2010 - 10:04 am
It’s a nice book with some good tips. I haven’t really had the idea that the book gave me some real new ideas for my business, it’s all quite standard.
Rating: 3 / 5
#4 by Indispensable Marketing Strategies author Paul Francis Musgrave on May 26, 2010 - 10:39 am
If you are running a small business, then a knowledge of marketing can be crucial for your success. But marketing is a very broad topic, and you won’t master it by reading just one book.
While there are plenty of good marketing books to choose from, this one is a particularly good source of advice on such topics as advertising and public relations. For example, to help you create effective print ads, this book offers checklists that explain how to write a catchy headline, how to write interesting copy, and how to present your prices to maximum advantage. In addition, there are checklists comparing the pros and cons of print, broadcast, and outdoor media, helping you select the best advertising media for your needs. The section on web site design offers enough basic information that after reading it, you’ll likely have more confidence communicating with a web site designer.
This book is well worth reading in entirety as an introduction to basic marketing. On the other hand, if you are already familiar with basic marketing principles, keep it on your shelf for handy reference. Remember to consult it before undertaking each marketing communications project, and you’ll likely achieve better results with less frustration and less wasted effort.
Paul Francis Musgrave, author of Indispensable Marketing Strategies – How to Outwit Your Competition, Attract and Retain Customers, and Multiply Your Profits – Powerful Marketing Strategy Secrets for Profitable Small Business Management
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Jeff Lippincott on May 26, 2010 - 11:27 am
I purchased this book back in 2005 when it was hot off the presses. I skimmed it back then, and thought it was a good book. Last year I started working as a SCORE volunteer, and about the same time I started reviewing some of the business books I own. Since this book does not set my world on fire regarding small business marketing, I have not made it a priority to post a review. It’s raining and miserable outside right now. So I’ve found some time to write this review and post it.
I enjoyed reading this book, and I think it has some very good content. Many of my clients at SCORE are so new to writing business plans and understanding small business mechanics that they would benefit greatly from reading this book. It covers the topics of (1) advertising, (2) public relations, (3) publicity, (4) online marketing, and (5) customer service. I think it was missing some information on the “sixth topic” called self promotion that includes such techniques as writing articles, writing books, and doing talks, presentations, seminars, and workshops. Then, of course, there is also the topic of networking that could have been included.
In her bio the author says she has a background in writing, public relations, and advertising. With a background like that I suspect she could have written a better book on how to market nonprofits rather than a book aimed at helping small business. But that’s just a hunch of mine.
When I counsel my SCORE clients I rarely even discuss advertising as a marketing option. I really don’t see a place for advertising in a small business owner’s marketing arsenal. The exception to this rule is when the client runs or wants to run a retail business. However, I usually poo-poo dreams to start retail businesses since I think they are too capital intensive and usually not worth the effort to run.
But the beauty of this book is that it gives an overview of five of the seven areas a small business should consider and use when marketing his or her small business. There could have been lots and lots more on online marketing sure enough. And the title of the book probably leads many potential readers to think it would. But that subject can be, and is, covered better and in more detail in other books.
A small business owner should not ignore the potential benefits it can get from creating a public relations plan and publicity plan within its overall marketing plan. And the author does a nice job of making this point. Sure, there could have been more written, but there are other books out there that are doing that already.
The oddest thing about this book to me is that it is about marketing and it appears no marketing has gone in to promoting this book. There are currently just 4 book reviews for it listed at Amazon, and ALL are for the previous edition published in 2001. The author does not have an Amazon profile attached to her book listing, and as a result she does not have an Amazon Plog. I generally expect someone who writes about marketing to practice what they preach, and I don’t see it in the author for this book. That doesn’t mean the book is bad, but I certainly think less of it as a result. 4 stars!
Rating: 4 / 5