Author: Andrew Griffiths
Publisher: Diamond Publishing
Reviewer: Goke Ilesanmi
For any business to survive and achieve profitability, it needs customers. To get enough customers, effective marketing is very important. Let us therefore examine this text with the title 101 Ways to Market Your Business written by Andrew Griffiths. Griffiths is a 101 Series expert because he has written many books under the series.
The author is a professional marketing consultant, as well as a director of an Australian company called The Marketing Professionals. Griffiths is an accomplished trainer and reputable public speaker.
According to him, this book will show you how to take the hard work out of marketing your business. He says it will show you how to achieve dramatic improvement in your business without investing a lot of time and money. This trainer assures you that these 101 practical marketing strategies will offer you guide on how to realise the full potential of your business.
According to Griffiths, these 101 innovative ideas are simple, affordable and quick to implement. He stresses that many of them take less than 30 minutes to implement and will bring results fast. Choose and apply a new idea each week or use this book as a source of inspiration for new ways to market your services, your products and your business itself, he advises.
This book has 13 basic sections of 101 strategies. There are 20 bonus ideas added to the major 101 strategies. Section one is entitled “Getting started”. According to him here, people generally start a small business or buy a small business for different reasons. Griffiths adds that sometimes, it is because they are good at their chosen profession and feel that they can make a better living working for themselves; sometimes it is a lifestyle change and sometimes it is simply a lifelong dream.
This author says running a business requires many skills that take time to develop. He educates that though marketing ideas are important for success in your business, he also believes that having the right attitude is essential.
Section two is interrogatively entitled “Does your business stand out from the crowd?” and contains the first nine strategies of marketing your business. These strategies are how to promote your business from the outside in; how to put your message on the company car; turning your invoice into a sales tool; selling yourself even when you are not there and using the internet in such a way as to be noticed. Griffiths advises you not underestimate the importance of a business card, a memorable name, etc.
Section three is based on making the most of the customers you already have, and contains six of the strategies, that is, strategies ten to fifteen. This author stresses importance of sending out reminder notices; stay in touch with your customers; remember important dates; ask your customers for referrals; say thank you to generate more business; and use a loyalty programme to your advantage.
In section four containing four of the strategies, that is, strategies 16 to 19, Griffiths teaches you how to write press releases, stressing that everybody loves a winner. He says you should call the local radio station and ask your customers to tell their friends about you. Section five is interrogatively entitled “Are you willing to try a few unusual ideas?” and covers 15 of the strategies, that is, strategies 20 to 34. In this section, Griffiths tells you to get behind a wacky promotion; enjoy the benefits of brainstorming, etc.
This author also advises you to use the local pizza company to generate business; take ownership of an event; think differently about marketing your business; use industry publications to collect ideas; start a marketing-idea box, etc.
Section six is based on the need to encourage your staff, and contains four of the 101 strategies, that is, strategies 35 to 38. According to Griffiths here, “Good staff are the backbone of any successful business. Unfortunately, most of the time all I ever hear are people complaining about problems with their staff, not their good points. From my experience staff are as good as the training and encouragement they receive.”
According to Griffiths in section seven that is based on how to make it easy for people to buy from you, and contains strategies 39 to 42, “I can never understand why some businesses seem to make it hard to buy things from them.” This author also discusses how to make it easy for people to give you money, etc.
Section eight is based on the need for you to have smart and hard-hitting promotional material and contains strategies 43 to 50. In this section, Griffiths discusses the concepts of making your first brochure and making up an information booklet to give customers. He says you should always be prepared to hand out a brochure; build credibility with testimonials from happy customers; start your own newsletter; deploy clever promotional materials that cost no more, etc.
In sections nine to 12, Griffiths X-rays how to daily make advertising work for your business; building credibility into your business; going out to chase business; and thinking like a customer. These four sections cover strategies 51 to 97. He says you should always try to sell to the decision-maker; make a follow-up call after the sale; ask your customers how they heard about your business; offer free delivery, etc.
Section 13, the last section is entitled “Is your business promoted in as many places as possible?” and contains the remaining four strategies, that is, strategies 98 to 101. In addition to these basic 101 strategies, this trainer also offers you 20 bonus ideas.
As regards style, Griffiths’ efforts are commendable in this book. He presents the ideas in a simple language. By segmenting the 101 strategies into 13 sections, he makes the study of this text easy. However, some strategies are repetitive in the book. It is better to make necessary adjustments and avoid the attendant conceptual redundancy.
If you aspire to grow your business through unique and effective marketing strategies, this text is highly recommended to you.
GOKE ILESANMI (FIIM, FIMC, CMC), CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Professional Public Speaker, Career Mgt Coach and Certified Mgt Consultant. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.
Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425
Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com
Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com.ng