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Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive and Up-to-Date
Review: The authors begin the fourth edition of their book with a declarative statement: "Marketing means running a first-rate business and letting people know about it. Every action your company takes sends a marketing message." Clever ads, the authors suggest, are a waste of resources. Advertising is not effective for business building, customers lured by ads are fickle, and there are better ways to invest resources for business building. That said (Chapter 1: Advertising: The Last Choice in Marketing), the authors proceed to give us a comprehensive, practical, in-depth journey through a wide range of marketing strategies. Topics covered include the physical appearance of your business, pricing, people treatment, openness and trust, educating prospective customers, demonstrating expertise, helping customers find you, dynamic interactive marketing, and use of the internet. A valuable section of this book deals with designing and implementing a marketing plan, the all-important work of organizing your strategy. An appendix includes recommended reading, how to contact the authors for consulting help, and 21 worksheets to help you evaluate how you're doing. Good index. This book covers a lot of information-strategies and techniques-that will be valuable to any small or mid-sized business. I mention this broad-base value since the book is published by a firm that specializes in law books. Obviously, there's great value to law firms in these pages, but readers should not expect the book to be exclusive. In fact, the chapter on Creating a Calendar of Events uses examples of an interior design firm and a chiropractic clinic. Questionnaires and call-out boxes throughout the book help readers get the message and understand it. The only negative I would share, which is minor, is the unusual page numbering system. Instead of starting with page 1 and continuing, as most books do, this book numbers the pages by chapters. Example 9/15, indicating the 15th page in chapter 9. Useful as a read-through and as a reference book. A worthwhile read for anyone seeking to build a business without dumping a ton of money into advertising that won't produce a return.
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