by Barbara Findlay Schenck
Marketing Consultant
Small Business
Marketing
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2
ND EDITION
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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.”

Small Business
Marketing
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2
ND EDITION
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by Barbara Findlay Schenck
Marketing Consultant
Small Business
Marketing
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2
ND EDITION
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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

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care
Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
For technical support, please visit
www.wiley.com/techsupport
.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may
not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004117340
ISBN: 0-7645-7839-1
Manufactured in the United States of America
10987654321
2O/RY/QR/QV/IN
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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.

chapters on media buying and public relations. Likewise, I’m grateful to the
team at Alpine Internet Solutions who shared hours reviewing the online mar-
keting advice included in Chapter 16.
Brad Hill, author of Building Your Business with Google For Dummies didn’t
think twice 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 Cox (a champion), Project Editor Corbin Collins (I still can’t
believe my luck that someone with his talent edited this book), and Technical
Reviewer Kimberly McCall, the Marketing Angel referred to us by the wonder-
ful editors at Entrepreneur magazine.
Finally and most sincerely, my gratitude in life begins and ends with my par-
ents, Walt and Julie Findlay, and the best three sisters ever put on this earth.
Thank you all.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration
form located at
www.dummies.com/register/
.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and
Media Development
Project Editor: Corbin Collins
(Previous Edition: Norm Crampton)
Acquisitions Editor: Kathy Cox
Copy Editor: Corbin Collins

Contents at a Glance
Introduction .................................................................1
Part I: Getting Started in Marketing .............................5
Chapter 1: A Helicopter View of the Marketing Process ..............................................7
Chapter 2: All About Customers.....................................................................................17
Chapter 3: Seeing Your Product through Your Customers’ Eyes ..............................33
Chapter 4: Sizing Up Competitors and Staking Out Market Share ............................49
Chapter 5: Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Budgets ...............................................61
Part II: Sharpening Your Marketing Focus ...................73
Chapter 6: Projecting the Right Image ..........................................................................75
Chapter 7: Establishing Your Position and Brand .......................................................89
Chapter 8: Getting Strategic before Getting Creative ...............................................103
Chapter 9: Hiring Help for Your Marketing Program ................................................113
Part III: Creating and Placing Ads ............................133
Chapter 10: Mastering Advertising Basics and Media Planning ..............................135
Chapter 11: Creating Print Ads ....................................................................................155
Chapter 12: Broadcasting Ads on Radio and TV .......................................................173
Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising .....189
Chapter 13: Mailing Direct to Your Market .................................................................191
Chapter 14: Brochures, Promotions, Trade Shows, and More ................................211
Chapter 15: Public Relations and Publicity ................................................................231
Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power ...............................................247
Part V: Winning and Keeping Customers ....................273
Chapter 17: Making the Sale .........................................................................................275
Chapter 18: Enhancing Customer Service .................................................................289
Chapter 19: Fortifying Customer Relationships ........................................................303
Part VI: The Part of Tens ..........................................317
Chapter 20: Ten Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Name ...............................319
Chapter 21: Ten Ideas to Embrace and Ten to Avoid ................................................325
Chapter 22: Ten Steps to a Great Marketing Plan ......................................................331

Strategic differences ...........................................................................14
The small business marketing advantage ........................................14
Making Marketing Your Key to Success .....................................................15
Chapter 2: All About Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Anatomy of a Customer ................................................................................18
Collecting information about your customer ..................................18
Geographics: Locating your market areas .......................................22
Demographics: Collecting data to define your market ...................23
Psychographics: Customer 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
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Chapter 3: Seeing Your Product through Your Customers’ Eyes . . . .33
In a Service Business, Service Is the Product ............................................34
Telling “Just the Facts” about What You Sell .............................................34
Tallying your sales by product line ...................................................35
Using the cash register to steer your business ...............................36
Illogical, Irrational, and Real Reasons People Buy What You Sell ...........37
Buying Decisions Are Rarely about Price, Always about Value ..............38
The value formula ...............................................................................38
Riding the price/value teeter-totter ..................................................40
Pricing considerations ........................................................................41
Presenting prices .................................................................................41
The Care and Feeding of Your Product Line ..............................................43
Enhancing the appeal of existing products ......................................44
Even products have life cycles ..........................................................45
Raising a healthy product ..................................................................45
Developing new products ...................................................................46

Part II: Sharpening Your Marketing Focus ....................73
Chapter 6: Projecting the Right Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Making First Impressions .............................................................................75
Arriving by telephone .........................................................................76
Approaching your business in person ..............................................78
Online encounters ...............................................................................82
Creating an Impression Inventory ..............................................................85
Rating Your Marketing Communications ...................................................87
Chapter 7: Establishing Your Position and Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Brands Live in the Minds of Customers .....................................................90
You can have a powerful brand without having a power brand ...90
Consistency builds brands .................................................................91
Branding makes selling easier ...........................................................91
An essential online ingredient ...........................................................92
Six steps to brand management ........................................................92
Filling a Meaningful Market Position ..........................................................94
How positioning happens ...................................................................94
Determining your positioning strategy ............................................95
Conveying Your Position and Brand through Tag Lines ..........................96
Advancing Your Brand through a Creative Strategy .................................98
Writing your creative strategy ...........................................................98
Using your creative strategy ..............................................................99
Writing Your Image Style Guide ...................................................................99
Controlling your logo presentation .................................................100
Deciding on your type style .............................................................100
Copy guidelines .................................................................................101
Chapter 8: Getting Strategic before Getting Creative . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Good Communications Start with Good Objectives ...............................103
Putting an end to shot-in-the-dark marketing instructions ..........104
Dodging the creative landmines ......................................................104

Evaluating proposals .........................................................................130
Signing a contract ..............................................................................130
Handing off the content ....................................................................131
Part III: Creating and Placing Ads .............................133
Chapter 10: Mastering Advertising Basics and Media Planning . . . .135
Moving the Market through Advertising ..................................................135
Image versus product advertising ...................................................136
Image-plus-product advertising — the have-it-all approach .......136
Talking to the right people ...............................................................137
Creating Ads That Work .............................................................................137
Bringing in the pros ..........................................................................138
Starting the creative process ...........................................................138
Landing on the big idea ....................................................................139
Brainstorming ....................................................................................140
Golden rules .......................................................................................140
Capturing Prospects with a Media Plan ...................................................141
The media menu ................................................................................142
Mass media pros and cons ...............................................................142
The Making of a Media Schedule ...............................................................149
Balancing reach and frequency .......................................................150
Timing your placements ...................................................................151
Evaluating Your Advertising Efforts .........................................................152
Generating ad responses ..................................................................153
Keying responses ..............................................................................153
Chapter 11: Creating Print Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Writing and Designing Your Ads ................................................................155
Packing power into headlines ..........................................................156
Writing convincing copy ...................................................................158
Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition
xvi

Television ad guidelines ...................................................................185
Infomercials .................................................................................................186
Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising .....189
Chapter 13: Mailing Direct to Your Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
One-to-One Marketing .................................................................................191
Direct Sales: The Do-It-Yourself Distribution Channel ............................193
Marketing with Direct Mailers ...................................................................194
Direct mail success factors ..............................................................195
Building your direct mail list ...........................................................195
Deciding on your offer ......................................................................200
Creating your mailer .........................................................................201
Writing direct mail letters ................................................................202
Sending your mailers ........................................................................203
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Following up ......................................................................................204
Scouring your list ..............................................................................206
Direct mail — or junk mail? ..............................................................207
E-mail Marketing ..........................................................................................207
Opt-in e-mail .......................................................................................207
Writing e-mail that gets read ............................................................208
Chapter 14: Brochures, Promotions, Trade Shows, and More . . . . .211
Producing and Using Marketing Literature ..............................................212
When, why, and how to produce brochures ..................................212
Launching and maintaining newsletters ........................................217
Converting Business Material to Marketing Opportunity ......................222
Weighing the Benefits of Advertising Specialties ....................................224
Choosing and Using Trade Shows .............................................................225
Building Sales through Promotions ..........................................................227

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Is E-Commerce Right for Your Business? .................................................260
E-commerce green lights/yellow lights ...........................................260
Selling online using auction sites ....................................................261
Establishing Your Online Identity ............................................................262
Driving Traffic to Your Site .........................................................................264
How search engines and directories work ....................................264
Registering your site for online searches .......................................265
Optimizing your site for search engines ........................................266
Promoting your site ..........................................................................267
Building links to your site ................................................................268
Evaluating Your Online Activity ................................................................270
Advertising Online ......................................................................................270
Banner ads .........................................................................................270
AdWords advertising program .........................................................271
Part V: Winning and Keeping Customers ....................273
Chapter 17: Making the Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
Converting Prospects to Customers .........................................................276
Moving prospects to the buying decision ......................................276
Prospect conversion guidelines ......................................................277
Winning at Sales .........................................................................................279
Selling redefined ................................................................................280
Preparing for the task .......................................................................280
Establishing contact ..........................................................................281
Presenting your product ..................................................................283
Closing the Deal ...........................................................................................285
Buying signals ....................................................................................286
Asking for the order ..........................................................................286
Make buying easy ..............................................................................287
Chapter 18: Enhancing Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289

Chapter 20: Ten Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Name . . . .319
What Kind of Name Do You Want? ............................................................319
What Do You Want the Name to Convey? ................................................320
Is the Name You Want Available? ..............................................................320
Is It Easy to Spell? ........................................................................................321
Is It Easy to Say? ..........................................................................................321
Is It Original? ................................................................................................321
Is It Universal? .............................................................................................322
Is It Memorable? ..........................................................................................322
Can You Live and Grow with This Name? ................................................322
Are You Ready to Commit to the Name? .................................................323
Chapter 21: Ten Ideas to Embrace and Ten to Avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . .325
Ten Worst Marketing Ideas ........................................................................325
Ten Best Marketing Ideas ...........................................................................328
Chapter 22: Ten Steps to a Great Marketing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
Step 1: State Your Business Purpose ........................................................331
Step 2: Define Your Market Situation ........................................................331
Step 3: Set Goals and Objectives ...............................................................332
Step 4: Define Your Market .........................................................................332
Step 5: Advance Your Position, Brand, and Creative Strategy ..............333
Step 6: Set Your Marketing Strategies .......................................................333
Step 7: Outline Your Tactics .......................................................................334
Step 8: Establish Your Budget ....................................................................335
Step 9: Blueprint Your Action Plan ............................................................335
Step 10: Think Long Term ..........................................................................336
One Final Step: Use Your Plan ...................................................................336
Small Business Marketing For Dummies, 2nd Edition
xx
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Appendix: Where to Find More Information .................337

In response to the reality that small businesses either use advertising or alterna-
tive means to get the word out, you’ll find the contents of this edition are
arranged so that all information on advertising is consolidated into Part III,
and all information on how to get the word out without advertising — using
direct mail, publicity, Internet communications, and promotional literature —
is in Part IV. This way you can flip right to the part featuring approaches that
fit best with your business.
Finally, in response to the fact that today’s consumers are wooed by competitive
alternatives as never before, this edition includes an all-new Part V, with
advice for converting prospects to customers, making sales, developing cus-
tomer satisfaction, and cultivating loyalty.
Whether you’re running a home office, a small firm, a family business, or a
nonprofit organization, winning and keeping customers is your key to success.
This book shows you how.
How to Know That This 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?
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