Resources - Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - Marketing Fundamentals

The Essence of Marketing

• The Business Review - Article: Retaining clients is as essential as getting new ones by Wendell J. Brown
• Coachville - Article: The Top 10 KeyBenefits of Building Business Relationships by Mike R. Jay
• Paul Graham - Article: How to do what you love
• Bantam Dell Publishing Group - Book: Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right Livelihood by Marsha Sinetar
• Stanford News Service - Article: You've got to find what you love by Steve Jobs This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005
• Chronicle Careers - Article: How to Do What You Love by Susan Basalla May

The Power of Public Opinion

• LookSmart - Find Articles - Article: The Simple Life by Gwen Moran. Article about how a small business enhanced their convenenience quotient
• Innovation Network - Article: Driving Forces of Change for the New Millennium by Robert B. Tucker
• Leader Values - Article: Selling to the Value Driven Buyer by Robert Tucker
• LookSmart - Find Articles - Article: Perceived value: service is in the eye of the beholder - New Dimensions by Mike Butts
• Ebook Apprentice - Article: 10 Ways To Increase The Perceived Value Of Your Product! by Larry Dotson
• The Write Market - Article: Creating Perceived Value by Ken Mathie

Establish Credibility

• SelfGrowth.com - Article: Professionalism ... How do I get one? By Edward B. Toupin

Competition

• Authentic Business - Article: Competition v. cooperation by Damon Leigh
• Entrepreneur.com - Article: Get to Know the Competition by Kim T. Gordon. A simple, 4-step competitive analysis helps you rise above the pack
• Small Town Marketing - Article: How To Evaluate Your Small Business Competition by Tom Egelhoff
• SBA Online - Short questionaire on how to evaluate the competition

The Lifetime Value of a Client

• Marketing for Success - Client lifetime value calculator
• Business Know How - Article: How To Calculate the Lifetime Value of A Client by Lisa Nirell

Trends

• Entrepenuer.com - Article: 10 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2007 by Kim T. Gordon
• Massage Marketing Rebellion - Article: The Future of Massage
• Andrea Kay - Article: Create Your Future, about projecting trends in the massage field
• Sohnen-Moe Associates, Inc - Article: The Practice of Massage in the Millennium by Cherie Sohnen-Moe
• Customer World - Article: Faith Popcorn's Consumer Trends for 2007
• Faith Popcorn's Brain Reserve - Information from the leading trend expert and author of Clicking: 17 Trends That Drive Your Business-And Your Life [requires a Flash Player plugin]
• Futurelab - Article: Top Ten Trends in Marketing Innovation by Stefan Kolle
• Entrepenuer.com - Article: Low-Cost Marketing Trends for 2007 by Al Lautenslager
• World Wide Brands - Article: Tracking Market Trends: How to Source Products Ahead of the Curve
• Trendwatching.com - Article: Trend Tracking for Your Small Business by Ann Brown
• Trendwatching - Articles and monthly reports on their findings in free, opinionated Trend Briefings, covering trends like INFOLUST, TWINSUMERS, and CUSTOMER-MADE
• ubercool - A home-page blog is analyzed and written by Michael Tchong. Ubercool is a next-generation marketing services company that publishes and produces trendsetting media and entertainment properties, designed to help its target-audience constituencies leverage key market trends
• Blog Pulse - Allows you to search, analyze, and chart blog content. Also has trend analysis

The Lifetime Value of a Client

• Marketing for Success - Client lifetime value calculator

Marketing Plan Overview

• Suite 101 - Article: One Page Marketing Plan Template by Jennifer Mattern
• Ezine Articles - Article: Set Marketing Goals To Build Your Business, And Your Confidence by Angela Booth

Marketing Plan Outline

• Mplans - Website for Marketing Plan Pro software. Includes free samples of marketing plans
• SBA - Outline for a marketing plan
• Website Marketing Plan - Article: Developing a Marketing Plan Outline and Writing the Plan by Bobette Kyle

Positioning

• Business Owner's Toolkit - Article: Promotion Ideas. Article about determining a business positioning strategy and ideas from contests to demonstrations
• How Stuff Works - Article: How Marketing Plans Work: Positioning by Lee Ann Obringer
• About.com - Article: How to Write Your Positioning Statement by Laura Lake
• Marketing Comet - Article: How To Write Your Positioning Statement by J D Moore
• Carlson School of Management - Article: Positioning Statements
• Suite 101 - Article: Growing Small Businesses Lesson 2: Positioning your product or service: Perceived Value by Bert Markgraf

Branding

• Branding - Articles and tips on issues relating to branding

The Differential Advantage

• Flying Solo - Article: Finding out what makes your business unique by Kate James
• Associated Content - Article: Building on What Makes Your Business, Product or Service Different and Unique by Kori Rodley Irons
• Inc.com - Article: Is Your Business Terminally Unique? by Rebecca A. Morgan

Massage Benefits

• Holistic Online - Article: Massage Benefits. References several research studies
• Royal Massage - Article: What is Massage?. Describes massage and has an extensive list of benefits
• Massagetherapy.com - Article: The Benefits of Massage by the ABMP
• American Massage Therapy Association - Massage Therapy Research Fact Sheet by the AMTA
• Mayo Clinic - Article: Massage: A relaxing method to relieve stress and pain

Targeting Markets

• Sohnen-Moe Associates, Inc - Article: 20-Minute Target Market Profiles by Cherie Sohnen-Moe
• eSmallOffice - Resources, news, articles, tools, special savings and offers for small business owners
• Know This - Targeting markets tutorial to help with marketing planning
• Va-Interactive - Article: Targeting Your Market

Demographics and Psychographics

• Book: Building Sales With Demographics and Psychographics: The Road to Your Most Profitable Markets (Hardcover) by Judith E. Nichols

Connecting with the Right Clients

• Creative Latitude - Article: Are You Choosing the Right Clients? by Charlene Rashkow
• Dobney.com - Article: Analysis of target markets. Website also looks at market research, market intelligence, consultancy and technology services to understand and model marketing and choice-making
• Sittig Incorporated - Article: Enterprise: Create Ideal Client Profile to increase your sales by Andrea Sittig-Rolf

Target Market Profiles

• SelfGrowth - Article: Creating Your Ideal Client Profile (icp) Worksheet by Maria Marsala
• Social Edge - Article: GSBI Planning Excercise 2: Target Market Statement

Assessment

• Power Home Biz - Article: Evaluating Your Business Ideas and Products by Isabel M. Isidro
• Elsevier B.V. - Book: Assessing Business Excellence by Les Porter and Steve Tanner. Assessing Business Excellence presents a strategic framework for business excellence and total quality management and shows how you can be actively involved in continuous improvement by systematically reviewing your business activities and results against holistic business excellence frameworks

Strategic Action Plans

• Free Management Library - Article: Strategic Planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations) by Carter McNamara
• Free Management Library - Article: Basics of Action Planning (as part of strategic planning) by Carter McNamara
• About.com: Management - Article: Cost Benefit Analysis aka: Running the Numbers by F. John Reh
• Thinking Like an Entrepreneur - Article: Implement Your Marketing Plan Marketing and Sales Are the Heart of Small Business by Peter I. Hupalo
• CRC Press - Book: Strategic Action Planning Now: Setting and Meeting Your Goals (Paperback) by Cate Gabel
• Americaon Management Association - Book: The Marketing Plan: How to Prepare and Implement It by William M. Luther
• SCORE - Article: Setting a Marketing Budget by Susan M. Jacksack, JD
• All Freelance Work - Article: Creating a Marketing Timeline That Works: 17 Simple Ideas for Your Small Biz by Sara Pedersen