Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World

I bought this book after hearing Shel speak. He came off as extremely knowledgeable, very down to earth, and hype-free. So is the book - I was not disappointed. In my opinion, this is a "friendly" textbook on marketing ALL small businesses, consultants, etc. should read, and certainly applicable to big biz as well. It answered questions I never knew I had. There was information I could use IMMEDIATELY! For example, I went back and made minor yet significant edits to my (very few) Press Releases right away. Let's step back for a few minutes, I knew very little about marketing despite having run my own business for 15+ years. I never paid attention to marketing, sales, or much of anything but my core competencies - what I was getting paid for as a consultant. Yeah, I'd been "lucky," but don't want to count on luck anymore. There were some basic marketing principles I lacked, and this book taught those well. I understood some advanced marketing issues and techniques very well, as I've been studying marketing the last few months out of interest and curiosity, but I lacked most basics. It's like understanding advanced calculus and topology, but not being able to add and subtract reliably. This book taught those basics. I should have read it 15 years ago, had it been published then! I still lack experience in some marketing areas, but now at least I have a "clue." In my first pass I read the topics that interested me with extreme interest. For example, I have, or thought I had, zero use for "Yellow Pages" ads as just one example. I was wrong. I've read this book cover to cover a few times and keep getting more value - and actionable information. It's been on my nightstand now for months and I often read a random section before retiring at night. If there is a downside, it's that the Internet section is somewhat out of date. That is no surprise as the Internet is evolving rapidly and the book is copyright 2000, but I still think it would be the perfect primer for the uninitiated. Hey, I'm a 25 year Internet veteran and I learned things!

In essence, marketing creates or increases demand for whatever is offered for sale. Most organizations have severely limited resources for marketing. Horowitz offers lots of sound ideas, several of them originally introduced in his previous Marketing Without Megabucks. (Even organizations which have "megabucks" can learn a great deal from Horowitz.) He correctly stresses the importance of (a) identifying precisely who the audience is, (b) getting the right information to them, "being heard" despite all the "noise", and (c) motivating them to do business with you. The material is organized within six Parts: Key Concepts, Print Promotion, Electronic Exposure, Incredible Internet, Phone and Face, and The Growth Curve. Marketing professionals may well view this book as "simplistic" and perhaps in some respects it is. However, few organizations have marketing professionals on staff. Most do the best they can with who and what they have...usually an over-extended owner with a few "extra" dollars to spend. When buying this book for about $20.00, you retain Horowitz as a consultant to help increase demand for what you sell. Take your time working your way through the book. Highlight key passages. Take notes. Go back and re-read sections which seem to speak directly to your immediate needs. Because the book offers more suggestions than you can possibly use, cherry-pick those which are most appropriate, and, which can be acted upon soon, if not immediately. Most important of all, with Horowitz's help, challenge all of your assumptions about your business. Ask tough questions. For example, why do your customers buy from you? What are customer expectations? Unmet needs that you can fill? Who else buys what you sell but not from you? Why not? Price? Convenience? Service? (Do you know?) In all contacts with customers, how effective are your and your associates' people skills? Do customers feel appreciated? How about repeat business?There's so much "noise" in every marketplace and sometimes it's deafening. So many "voices" competing to be heard. Also lots of "clutter" which makes it more difficult to see...and to be seen. Horowitz understands all this. Much of his book is devoted to attracting favorable attention. Being noticed. Try lots of stuff. Experiment on a limited basis with several different strategies and tactics. Find out what works...and what doesn't. Also find out why. Ask customers what they think. Also ask family members and neighbors. (Ken Blanchard is right: "Feedback is the breakfast food of champions.") Horowitz poses almost all of the questions which must be asked. He also offers answers. Some answers are right for your organization...others are not. Know why. Obviously, I think highly of this book as a single-source, as a basic manual, in which Horowitz provides an abundance of practical and cost-effective marketing ideas, carefully explained and generously illustrated. In the final chapter, he sums up his perspective on successful marketin

Simply put, Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed In A Noisy World by Shel Horowitz could be the difference between economic success and financial failure for any start-up entrepreneurial enterprise or small business endeavor in today's highly competitive marketplace, regardless of the product or service being offered. Grassroots Marketing covers virtually all aspects and facets of publicity, promotion and marketing including print, radio/television, Internet, telephone, email, postal, fax, and face-to-face formats. This absolutely practical, immensely valuable cornucopia of tips, tricks and techniques for marketing with limited funds is a "must" for the self-employed, the small business operator, non-profit organization directors, and anyone else with a product, service, or cause to bring to the public's attention.

(The headline here is a reference to Chapter 8. I just wanted Shel to know I really did read the book!) I used to think there were two or three books worth reading about small business marketing and advertising (my own included, of course) but we now must add this latest gift of support to struggling entrepreneurs. This one is a foundation stone, so don't begin your business building without it. You've been warned. (Michael Corbett, Author, "The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising")

Friend and colleague Shel Horowitz recently took the plunge with his latest marketing guideline masterpiece, "Grassroots Marketing - Getting Noticed in a Noisy World" (Chelsea Green Publishing, (...) - he even gave me an autographed review copy, but that is not why I'm posting this review. Shel's latest book, a complete and comprehensive update of his classic "Marketing without Megabucks," is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to understand how marketing, promotion and public relations can be done - on your own - without costing a lot of money. This book offers a great collection of insight, ideas and examples - and if I was still teaching Marketing 101 at UNLV or PR Practicum at MTSU, I'd use this as one of the required-reading textbooks - it's that good. I've written 8 published books on PR and marketing - I know how hard it can be to capture and translate the sophisticated concepts that make promotion work, while demystifying them so any competent businessperson can put them to work. Shel has done this with a grace and style that make me frankly envious.If you want to understand how you can market and promote your book, your business, yourself, you should buy and read this book by Shel Horowitz.