Many Small Businesses rely solely on Word of Mouth to build their business. Finally, there is a guide that lays out clear strategies that will get more people talking positively about them. Former Bain & Company consultant and small business marketing veteran Arnon Vered, has taken the best practices of Corporate Word of Mouth marketing and translated them into practical advice every Small Business can follow. Readers can skim the book in less than 30 minutes: Each chapter begins with a one-page "The Big Idea" section and ends with a chapter summary and easy-to-implement exercises.
This Handbook provides thorough insights into crucial topics that have attracted scholarly and practitioner interest in business and management in the Middle Eastern region. The chapters of this Handbook open the window on the key areas of discussion in the field over the past few decades, including organizational behavior, leadership, business culture, business ethics, human resources, business strategy, entrepreneurship, finance, and accounting. It starts with identifying five key themes emerging from the variety of topics, locations, and questions addressed by the various authors who contributed to this volume. The remaining 30 chapters tackle various topics of interest to the research and the practitioner: institutional contexts for doing business in the region; issues of leadership, ethics, and organizational behavior; the role of women in leadership and some of the obstacles facing aspirant women leaders; people management and human resources issues in the Middle East; marketing in the Middle East; and strategy and entrepreneurship in the Middle East. The book closes with a reflection on management research in non-Western societies and describes some methodological challenges and propositions. The Handbook is designed for academics, students, and practitioners covering areas of relevance across business activities, functions, and locations in the Middle East. It is to be used as a reference for scholars doing business research or teaching and for practitioners involved in business activities in the region.
"With straightforward advice and humor, marketing expert Andy Sernovitz will show you how the world's most respected and profitable companies get their best customers for free through the power of word of mouth.
As a renowned marketing guru and small business coach, John Jantsch has become a leading advisor on how to build and grow a thriving business. In his trusted book for small businesses, he challenges readers to craft a marketing strategy that is as reliable as the go-to household item we all know, love, and turn to in a pinch: duct tape. Duct Tape Marketing shows readers how to develop and execute a marketing plan that yields more revenue and ensures the longevity of small businesses. Taking a strategic, systemic approach to marketing rather than being constantly won over to a "marketing idea of the week" helps small business leaders establish a solid--"sticky"--foundation of trust with their customers that only grows stronger with the application of more and more metaphorical tape. You'll learn how to turn your marketing efforts into a lead generation machine and move far beyond your week-to-week strategizing to create long-term plans for your business's continual growth. Plus, the revised and updated edition of this industry-leading book includes all new tools, rules, and tactics that respond to the ways social media and digital developments have shifted and evolved the marketing landscape. Let's face it: as a small business owner, you are really in the business of marketing. This practical, actionable guide includes fresh ideas that stick where you put them--and stand the test of time.
Talk Triggers is the definitive, practical guide on how to use bold operational differentiators to create customer conversations, written by best-selling authors and marketing experts Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin. Word of mouth is directly responsible for 19% of all purchases, and influences as much as 90%. Every human on earth relies on word of mouth to make buying decisions. Yet even today, fewer than 1% of companies have an actual strategy for generating these crucial customer conversations. Talk Triggers provides that strategy in a compelling, relevant, timely book that can be put into practice immediately, by any business. The key to activating customer chatter is the realization that same is lame. Nobody says "let me tell you about this perfectly adequate experience I had last night." The strategic, operational differentiator is what gives customers something to tell a story about. Companies (including the 30+ profiled in Talk Triggers) must dare to be different and exceed expectations in one or more palpable ways. That's when word of mouth becomes involuntary: the customers of these businesses simply MUST tell someone else. Talk Triggers contains: Proprietary research into why and how customers talk More than 30 detailed case studies of extraordinary results from Doubletree Hotels by Hilton and their warm cookie upon arrival, The Cheesecake Factory and their giant menu, Five Guys Burgers and their extra fries in the bag, Penn & Teller and their nightly meet and greet sessions, and a host of delightful small businesses The 4-5-6 learning system (the 4 requirements for a differentiator to be a talk trigger; the 5 types of talk triggers; and the 6-step process for creating talk triggers) Surprises in the text that are (of course) word of mouth propellants Consumers are wired to discuss what is different, and ignore what is average. Talk Triggers not only dares the reader to differentiate, it includes the precise formula for doing it. Combining compelling stories, inspirational examples, and practical how-to, Talk Triggers is the first indispensable book about word of mouth. It's a book that will create conversation about the power of conversation.
Author Steve Giroux was introduced to entrepreneurship at age thirteen and went on to create and run two successful, small businesses. He will be the first to say that small business ownership is a beast of its own. Even those with vast knowledge in business can find themselves stumbling to find their way on the path to success when it comes to running their own show. In the Black details every aspect that is key to being successful in business. Filled with real-life examples, this guide shares Girouxs journey of self-employment and the failures and successes. He offers a host of advice and tips on a variety of topics including: mentoring and networking; goal setting and perseverance; putting your time in; creating a business plan; understanding the business and sales life cycle; marketing; systematizing your business through outsourcing and automation; providing customer service and retaining customers; accounting and taxes; building a solid team; recession-proofing your business and your life; continuing education in small business; and winning. In the Black presents a firsthand look at what entrepreneurship is all about, sharing a treasure chest of information gleaned from more than seventeen years in the industry. For those serious about owning their own business or bringing an existing company to the next level, this guide helps change the way you think about and run your business for the better.
Most of us have an intuitive sense of superior branding. We prefer to purchase brands we find distinctive—that deliver on some important, relevant dimension better than other brands. These brands have typically achieved positional advantage. Yet few professionals have had the formal training that goes beyond marketing theory to bridge the “theory-doing gap”—understanding the specific techniques and strategies that can be used to create brands that attain positional advantage in the marketplace. Positioning for Advantage is a comprehensive how-to guide for creating, building, and executing effective brand strategies. Kimberly A. Whitler identifies essential marketing strategy techniques and moves through the major stages of positioning a brand to achieve in-market advantage. Introducing seven tools—from strategic positioning concepts to strategy mapping to influencer maps—Whitler provides templates, frameworks, and step-by-step processes to build and manage growth brands that achieve positional advantage. This book presents real-world scenarios, helping readers activate tools to increase skill in creating brands that achieve positional advantage. Brimming with insights for students and professionals alike, Positioning for Advantage helps aspiring C-level leaders understand not only what superior branding looks like but also how to make it come to life.
