by Barbara Findlay Schenck Marketing Consultant Small Business Marketing FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page v 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page iv Praise for “Small Business Marketing For Dummies” “Schenck writes with the authority of a woman who has been advising clients for 20 years. . . . Marketing issues are presented as real-world problems with real-world solutions. Entrepreneurs of all sizes should be able to identify strategies they can use immediately.” — Business Week “Barbara Schenck’s Small Business Marketing For Dummies threads the needle between sky-high strategy and ground-level tactics — the space every small business owner experiences daily and sometimes hourly. Most importantly, Barbara isn’t afraid to drive stakes in the ground with business ratios, average costs, and response rates that deliver practical value at both levels.” — Gene Kinkaid, Instructor, Department of Advertising, University of Texas at Austin “Barbara’s book is like a 4-year degree in marketing packaged by a person who has been there, done that. Her understandable and realistically actionable advice gives you the street smart steps to do the right things. This book is a shining testimony to clarity, crispness, and advice you can remember and act on.” — Bob Boylan, Executive Presentation Consultant and Author, President/Owner of Successful Presentations “Go ahead, clear your shelf of all other marketing books. From now on you only need one, and this is it! The accuracy and detail of this concise volume is remarkable. This book reads like you’re getting the real scoop from a trusted friend — only this friend is a knowledgeable marketing pro. Give it to your marketing people and ad agency; they could use it as well.” — Robert L. Newhart II, CEO, Innovation Center 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page i “It’s fun to read Barbara Schenck. But more than fun, it’s enlightening to read Barbara Schenck. It’s profitable as well to read Barbara Schenck. That’s a lot to pack into 384 pages. But it’s all there; if you don’t believe me, just read it!” — Dan Lufkin, Co-Founder, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. “Business is war. The book gives entrepreneurs the ammunition they need to survive — and thrive.” — Rieva Lesonsky, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director, Entrepreneur Media, Inc. “This book gets four stars, which means ‘Buy It!’” — Scripps Howard News Service “ Extremely comprehensive, easy to follow, and filled with practical solu- tions for small business owners.” — Jane Applegate, “Must-Reads for the Business Owner Who Never Sleeps,” Entrepreneur.com “Besides serving as a powerful motivator, Small Business Marketing For Dummies is long on specifics — the hows and whys of reaching cus- tomers and bringing them back for more.” — George Engebretson, President, Watermark Publishing 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page ii Small Business Marketing FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page iii 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page iv by Barbara Findlay Schenck Marketing Consultant Small Business Marketing FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page v Small Business Marketing For Dummies ® , 2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permis- sion of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, e-mail: brandreview@wiley.com. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2004117340 ISBN: 0-7645-7839-1 Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 2O/RY/QR/QV/IN 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page vi About the Author Barbara Findlay Schenck built her career matching products to markets, which is what marketing — and what this book — is all about. Her involvement in the field began in the University of Oregon public relations office, where she developed an interest in marketing that she has followed lit- erally around the world. She graduated with a degree in English from Oregon State University and immediately moved to Hawaii, where she became direc- tor of admissions and instructor of writing at a small private college on Oahu before joining the staff of Honolulu’s largest public relations firm. In 1978 she and her husband, Peter, left Hawaii for a village on the South China Sea, where for two years they managed a development program for the Peace Corps in Malaysia. In 1980, they returned to their home state of Oregon and founded an advertis- ing agency, attracting a clientele that included ski and golf resorts, banks, apparel and equipment manufacturers, the state’s tourism, lottery, and job training divisions, and a good number of small and larger-sized businesses that provided the wealth of hands-on experience reflected in this book. In 1995, they sold the agency and moved with their son to Italy, where Barbara began work on several book projects. In 2000, she co-wrote Portraits of Guilt, the Edgar Award-nominated memoir of internationally recognized criminal investigative artist Jeanne Boylan. In 2001, she authored the first edition of Small Business Marketing For Dummies, which Business Week praised for pre- senting “marketing issues as real-world problems with real-world solutions.” Today, she’s still forming her thoughts into headlines, news releases, and marketing plans, but on a more relaxed schedule. In addition to writing, she offers marketing presentations and workshops. Contact her by writing BFSchenck@aol.com. 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page vii 01_578391 ffirs.qxd 12/28/04 8:55 PM Page viii [...]... Book Is for You Are you just starting out in business? Or are you so busy trying to run your business that you barely have time for marketing? For that matter, do the words marketing, advertising, and sales seem interchangeable or confusing? Do you wish some marketing guru would step in to help you out? 2 Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition, ... Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition Introduction W elcome to the 2nd edition of Small Business Marketing For Dummies, updated for faster and easier use by the millions of small businesses that comprise the vast heart and soul of today’s business world Since Small Business Marketing For Dummies first hit bookshelves in 2001, I’ve visited with hundreds of small business owners to learn how they’ve... More Information 337 Small Business Web Sites 337 Advertising and Marketing Web Sites .337 Internet Marketing Web Sites .338 The Newsstand 338 Advertising Periodicals 339 For Dummies Books for Small Business Marketers .339 Marketing Classics 339 The Library Reference Area .340 Index 341 xxi xxii Small Business Marketing For Dummies, ... in Marketing 5 Chapter 1: A Helicopter View of the Marketing Process 7 Seeing the Big Picture .8 The marketing wheel of fortune 8 Marketing and sales are not synonymous 9 Jumpstarting Your Marketing Program 10 Marketing a start-up business 11 Marketing to grow your business 12 Scaling your program to meet your goal 12 How Small Business Marketing. .. Organized Each part of Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition, tackles a different aspect of your marketing program From marketing terms to marketing plans to nitty-gritty details for getting your marketing message into ads, promotions, and online — you’ll find it all shoehorned into the pages of this book Part I: Getting Started in Marketing Part I begins with a plain-language marketing overview... right now Or become the marketing genius for your business by reading this book from cover to cover It will walk you through the full marketing process and help you tailor your own marketing program, create your marketing messages, and produce marketing communications that work For the cover price of this book, you can get what big businesses pay big dollars for: a self-tailored marketing “consultation.”... specifications 111 Chapter 9: Hiring Help for Your Marketing Program 113 Can You Afford to Hire Professional Help? 114 Knowing When It’s Time to Get Help 115 xv xvi Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition Where to Turn for Help 116 Tapping in-house talent 116 Using free or almost-free resources 117 Hiring marketing professionals .118 Choosing... before responding to my call for help The same is doubly true for Jim Schell, author of Small Business For Dummies, with whom I’m fortunate to work on an ongoing basis In the first edition I wrote that my book’s editorial team, led by editor Norm Crampton, “would make any author wish for an encore performance.” This edition is proof that wishes come true This time, thanks goes to Acquisitions Editor Kathy... Acknowledgments As I finish this second, updated edition of Small Business Marketing For Dummies, my gratitude reaches back to all those who helped bring the book into existence the first time round, and it spins forward to the current long list of those who helped me overhaul the contents to incorporate the rapidfire changes that affect today’s business world As in the first edition, my greatest thanks... buying behaviors 24 Using customer profiles to guide marketing decisions 26 Determining Which Customers Buy What 26 Viewing your sales by market segment 27 Tracing your distribution channels 29 xiv Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition Chapter 3: Seeing Your Product through Your Customers’ Eyes 33 In a Service Business, Service Is the Product 34 Telling “Just . iii 01_ 5783 91 ffirs.qxd 12 /28/04 8:55 PM Page iv by Barbara Findlay Schenck Marketing Consultant Small Business Marketing FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_ 5783 91 ffirs.qxd 12 /28/04 8:55 PM Page v Small. by Barbara Findlay Schenck Marketing Consultant Small Business Marketing FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2ND EDITION 01_ 5783 91 ffirs.qxd 12 /28/04 8:55 PM Page v 01_ 5783 91 ffirs.qxd 12 /28/04 8:55. 9 Jumpstarting Your Marketing Program 10 Marketing a start-up business 11 Marketing to grow your business 12 Scaling your program to meet your goal 12 How Small Business Marketing Is Different 13 Dollar