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Entries Tagged as 'Books'

What can you learn from a small town?

by Drew McLellan

April 30th, 2012 · Books, Business owner/leader stuff

Turns out, quite a bit.

The whole concept of having a marketplace is blurry today.  It used to be — you sold stuff to your neighbors because they were the only ones close enough to buy from you.

But today the world is one “global small town” where all your customers can talk directly to each other and every one of them can buy from you or from the guy on the other side of the planet.

In their book Small Town Rules (click to buy it on Amazon*) authors Becky McCray and Barry Moltz take a look at what works in a small town and help us understand how those same rules apply to us, whether we are a big fish in a little pond or a tiny fish in a huge pond.

The truth is — size, scale, and resources are no guarantee of success anymore.  Who would have thought Tom’s could have created enough buzz and passion that they become the worldwide sensation that they are today?

Today more than ever before it’s about how you build relationships, trust and compelling word of mouth.  And no one knows how to do that better than a local shopkeep.

Barry and Becky tell great stories, offer up plenty of examples but best of all — give us seven rules to learn and follow, no matter how big or how local your business is.

1. Plan for zero. Planning for zero income requires building new sources of revenue and all kinds of different equity.

2. Spend creative brainpower before spending dollars. This protects you from doing something just because everyone else is… and let’s you introduce your customers to the real you.

3. Multiply lines of income to diversify your risk. That way if one stream runs dry, the others keep things flowing.

4. Work anywhere, anywhen through technology. We have new expectations and tolerance for how and when we get responses from companies.

5. Treat customers like community. Make them feel valued, special and like an insider.

6. Be proud of being small. Small and nimble is the new big.

7. Build your local connections. Making connections that count help you accomplish the first 6 rules because you quickly learn that you can’t do it alone.

This book is a great read for anyone who is running a business — anywhere.  Turns out we all have a lot we can learn from those small towns.

 

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What’s your purple goldfish?

by Drew McLellan

January 11th, 2012 · Books, Love affair with customers, Marketing

purpfish
Get your free copy of Stan Phelp’s book!

A few years ago, I met Stan Phelps, another marketing guy, online (I think he commented on my blog and we started chatting via email) and before I knew it — we were friends.  He was just dipping his toe into the blogging waters and I tried to be helpful along the way.

Fast forward to today, January 11, 2012.

Stan’s first book, What’s Your Purple Goldfish*, is being released today.  I’ve read it and know you’re going to love it.  Really love it.

I’m also very humbled to say that Stan asked me to write the forward for his book.  So I can think of no better way to introduce you to Stan’s excellent book than to share with you a bit of what I had to say.

“…He understood that marketing is about being so remarkable that people can’t help but talk about you.  That if you absolutely delight someone – they will not only come back but they’ll bring friends.  They become your sales force.

Stan delivers this marketing truth over and over again in this book all wrapped in the idea of lagniappe.  What’s so awesome about the whole notion of marketing lagniappe is that it not only teaches us what to do but more importantly, it reminds us that it must be done from the heart.

True lagniappe can’t be faked or forced.  We banter the word authentic around too much these days.  But for lagniappe to work, it must be just that — real and offered without expectation of anything in return.

In other words – you do it because you want to, not because it’s in a marketing plan document or because your ROI calculator told you it would generate a 42.36% return. (And no…there’s no such thing as an ROI calculator!)

As you read the stories that Stan has collected for this book, I think you’re going to be amazing at the creativity and generosity that many businesses have and in the end, I suspect you’ll be inspired to let your inner spirit of lagniappe loose.

You’ll probably fill up a notepad with ideas of how you could do a little something extra to enchant your customers.  When you’ve turned that corner and are thinking about them rather than what’s in it for you – you’re truly ready to practice lagniappe.

I honestly believe that the guys in the white hats do win in the end.  And companies that embrace the belief that if you give first and you give generously – you will earn customers for life are marketing’s good guys. This book shows us time and time again how to make that happen.

In the end, this book is Stan’s own lagniappe for all of us.  A genuine gesture of sharing what he truly believes with the hope that it is of great value to us.  I’m so happy for you that you’ve found Stan, his book and are about to receive a gift that could, if you let it, change how you do business forever.”

True to his belief in lagniappe — Stan is making it possible for you to enjoy his book for free.  (You can buy the paperback version here* if you’d like to go that route)

Option #1:  If you own a Kindle and are an Amazon Prime member, you can download the book for free by visiting this page.  This offer is good for the next 90 days.

Option #2:  You can download a free copy from Scribd by clicking here.

Option #3:  You can buy a paperback copy here (only at this site) and if you email your receipt to Stan (click here to do that) then he’ll send you a signed paperback and a little surprise for free.

The book is well worth the $16 and it’s a freaking steal for free.  Get it however you choose to — but get it.  And as you read it, hopefully the marketing lagniappe stories will inspire some lagniappe of your own.

Go on… get the book.

*Amazon affiliate link
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Introverted or not – this guide is a must read!

December 21st, 2011 · Books · 3 Comments

Lisa Petrilli’s guide for introverts No matter what personality test I take, I tend to score off the chart on the extrovert scale.  I like big crowds, I’m comfortable speaking in front of thousands of people and I get a buzz from being at conferences, networking events and new situations with new people. So you [Read more...]

Do you know how to hit the peak?

December 11th, 2011 · Books, Business owner/leader stuff, Love affair with customers · 2 Comments

Get your team and company to peak! I read a book that seems to fit perfectly with some of the questions we’ve been asking as we think towards 2012. Peak by Chris Conley (click here to buy*) is a book about deciding what matters. After climbing to the peak of the hospitality industry, Chip Conley—CEO [Read more...]

This book is light on the BS and heavy on social media insight

November 28th, 2011 · Books, Social Media · 6 Comments

Good primer on social media As a member of Amazon’s Vine program, I received a copy of Jason Falls and Erik Deckers‘ new book No Bullshit Social Media*. (click here to buy it) and knew it would be a great read — simply by knowing the authors. I dove into it — and was not [Read more...]

Is your business really different?

September 25th, 2011 · Books, Branding, Strategy · 11 Comments

It may be the greatest of all business cliches — you have to differentiate yourself.  I’ve said it myself more than once.  While it is certainly true… many businesses struggle with how to bring the idea to life. And even when a business believes they have achieved that level of uniqueness — their customers can’t [Read more...]

You’ve got a bird in your hand. Now what?

August 8th, 2011 · Books, Business owner/leader stuff, Customers/Clients, Love affair with customers, Marketing · 8 Comments

  … Do you value what you already have? Like the old idiom goes…a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  I’d argue, when the bird is a customer, the ratio is even greater. For years, at the risk of preaching, I have been banging on the idea that we spend way [Read more...]

How to be creative on purpose

July 31st, 2011 · Books, Innovation & Creativity · 12 Comments

…Do you need to be creative on demand? My job is to be creative on demand. The demands come in all forms.  It might be a strategy session for a client’s marketing plan, writing a print ad that will generate action or keeping the content on my blog, newspaper column or enewsletter fresh and worthwhile. [Read more...]

Stelzner’s Launch should get you off the ground

July 24th, 2011 · Books, Marketing · 5 Comments

…Stelzner’s Elevation Principle illustrated The basic premise of Michael Stelzner’s new book Launch* (click to buy) is that companies have to shift from telling customers “buy this” to asking “how can we help you?”  He goes on to advocate giving away your content (knowledge) or sampling to create familiarity, trust and eventually demand. If you’ve [Read more...]

Radio show on book crowdsourcing

July 5th, 2011 · Books, Social Media, Strategy · 6 Comments

  …media coverage for Age #1 One of the best benefits of being a part of the Age of Conversation series is that I’ve met a lot of really smart, generous people who do good work and celebrate others’ good work. That’s how I had the good fortune of being a guest on the US [Read more...]