5 BEST SUMMER READS

1. Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
   
   A New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, Purple Cow shows businesses how to be distinct and “remarkable” – how to be the purple cow among a herd of brown ones. Author, marketing guru Seth Godin, is punchy and original – offering unique thoughts and short, sharp messages to ensure his points hit home.
   
   In its first two years of release alone, Purple Cow sold over 150,000 copies. It’s one of 11 bestselling books written by Godin, who is also the author of the world’s most popular marketing blog; founder of Squidoo.com, a fast-growing recommendation Web site; highly sought-after lecturer and successful entrepreneur.


2. The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with KindnessSquidoo.com Authors Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, also founders of the Kaplan Thaler Group, one of the nation’s fastest-growing advertising agencies, sing different praises than that of other business executives. The book they co-wrote together thus offers a unique, fresh idea of what really works in today’s business world.
   
   They don’t approach the business world with fierce dog-eat-dog tactics that are deemed necessary, especially for women, in the cutthroat advertising industry. Instead, they run their business with the philosophy: It pays to be nice. The Power of Nice has been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, Nightline, The Today Show, The View and various other news broadcasts. Donald Trump has recommended everyone “memorize” the book.


3. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
   
   The list of best summer reading wouldn’t be complete without including a book by New Yorker magazine writer and bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell. In this book, “tipping points” are defined as, "the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable." Gladwell defines a tipping point as, "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point."
   
   Although the book is not your typical “how-to” marketing paperback, many of Gladwell’s references can be applied to the way we think about and subsequently promote our products. A brilliant Gladwell seeks to explain and describe "mysterious" sociological changes in everyday life, stating that "ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do." The book examines the idea of “change” and presents a way of understanding why change often happens so suddenly and unexpectedly through social interaction.


4. Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service
   
   Raving Fans is a simple and charming story about the importance of defining a vision, learning what customers really want, instituting effective systems and going beyond creating loyal customers by turning them into raving fans. The book, written by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, has been heralded as “a book every organization should read” by Eamon Ryan, president of Lexmark Canada Inc. James Nordstrom, co-chairman of Nordstrom, Inc. said, "Making your customers Raving Fans is the competitive edge today. This book can jump-start you in that direction."


5. How to Become a Marketing Superstar: Unexpected Rules That Ring the Cash Register
   
   The fourth book in Jeffery J. Fox’s “How to Become” series is just another testament to the effectiveness of honest, to-the-point marketing advice delivered in a street-smart style. This quick read contains 50 two- to three-page chapters, each featuring jargon-free snippets of practical advice and useful anecdotes to cut through many of the myths of marketing.
   
   How to Become a Marketing Superstar, along with the other “How to Become” books in the series, presents money-making techniques in an entertaining, fun way, using real-life examples to examine the difference between effective and ineffective marketing.
   

10-STEP GUIDE TO THROWING A GREAT OUTDOOR BUSINESS EVENT THIS SUMMER

1. Send invitations two weeks before the event
2. Follow up with an electronic “blast” to remind invitees one week prior to the event
3. Contact the media to let them know about the event. Be sure to prepare several “pitch points” to let them know exactly what sets your business apart and why they should attend your get-together.
4. Make calls to media a day or two before. Ask who they will be sending rather than if they’ll be attending.
5. Remember that the food, accommodations and time of the event set the feel. For instance, serving barbeque and beer in the afternoon makes for a less formal event.
6. Consider a “concierge” service. Pick up guests in a golf cart if there is a considerable distance from the parking area to the venue. This denotes a more sophisticated event, and attendees will act accordingly.
7. Remember, you’ll want to portray your business in the best light possible. Make sure you decorate tastefully, and use matching plates, napkins and serving dishes. If the event will be held at your place of business, make sure you manicure your lawn. Spray the lawn with a bug repellant a day or two before the party.
8. Have plenty of business cards available. Lay brochures on a table for those who want more information, but don’t pass them out. You want your event to be a party, not a commercial.
9. Have a backup plan in case of rain. Make sure there is a place your guests can retreat to in case a summer shower strikes. If there isn’t, renting a tent is a good way to provide a place for shade if it’s bright or rain, if it comes.
10. Hand-write personal thank you notes to those who attended the event.

7 WAYS TO UTILIZE SEASONAL MARKETING

1. Offer seasonal and limited-time discounts to promote urgency. If you offer products online, offer free shipping for a set number of days surrounding an event.


2. Score some PR points and help your community by donating a portion of your sales, during a specific period of time, to a worthy cause.


3. Profit from Valentine’s Day during February. Are you in the healthcare industry? Launch a “Heart Healthy” campaign to promote wellness and offer your patients a special incentive for each new customer they refer who makes an appointment. Are you a developer or in real estate? Offer a “Sightsee and Stay” promotion and offer a free night’s stay in one of your properties for couples who take a tour of your development.


4. July is the perfect time to throw an outdoor event. Mingle with current and potential clients and friends in a casual setting and spur great word-of-mouth advertising afterward. If you’re a retailer, offer a certain percent discount during the event.


5. September 4 marks the beginning of the 2008 NFL football season – AKA, a season of spending. The multibillion-dollar football industry doesn't just make players and team owners rich. The wealth can be shared by any creative entrepreneur, no matter how unrelated your business seems to quarterbacks and touchdowns. Football has a way of bringing people together and spurring instant rapport, even among complete strangers. Get in the spirit by incorporating your team colors into the office décor during a big game week. If you’re feeling extra festive, throwing a football-themed party during a home-team away-games will show your connection to your community and create camaraderie.


6. October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. Have the ASPCA set up a traveling adoption agency outside your business. The event will not only draw positive publicity from local TV, radio and newspapers, but will draw people to your place of business, create name recognition and show community support.


7. During December, offer gift certificates to your current customers at a special 25 percent off rate, which they can purchase and give as gifts. Offer a special incentive for the customer who purchases the most gift certificates. The promotion is not only a creative way to please your customers, but is a great way to generate awareness of your business! (Remember to stipulate that only one certificate may be used per person to prevent your current customers from using more than one on themselves).

Remember that it’s important to keep your brand in front of your audience, even during your off-peak season. You may want to scale down your advertising a bit and have less promotional activity, but continuing to promote brand recognition will ensure people recognize you when your busy season rolls around again.

5 WORST PUBLIC BLUNDERS

1. One minor detail.
   The Mars Climate Orbiter, one of two spacecrafts in the Mars Surveyor '98 program, was to be used to study Martian weather, climate and water and carbon dioxide budget. The Orbiter was intended to enter orbit at an altitude of 140–150 kilometers above Mars. However, a navigation error caused the spacecraft to reach as low as 57 kilometers. Due to the low altitude, the spacecraft was destroyed by atmospheric stresses and friction. The navigation error arose because a NASA subcontractor overlooked one tiny detail: they used Imperial units instead of metric units, as specified by NASA, when programming the device. Total project cost for the (crashed) orbiter: $327.6 million.


2. If you’ve ever wondered about the importance of ad placement
   
   


3. One embarrassed editor
   
   


4. Why this company should’ve practiced what they preached
   According to BBC News, TextTrust, a company which sells software to prevent spelling mistakes on the Internet, had to reissue a news release after letting several typos through. Canadian company TextTrust, which sells software to eliminate "the negative text impressions on Web sites," had to send out its own statement again. The news release listed the words "independent," "accommodation" and "definitely," spelled "independent," "accomodation" and "definitely." The company’s PR rep: "It's very embarrassing."


5. Understand the culture you’re trying to reach
   A passage in Principals of Marketing describes the dangers of not completely researching other cultures and practices before marketing internationally. According to the book, McDonald's and Coca-Cola managed to offend the entire Muslim world by putting the Saudi Arabian flag on their packaging. The flag's design includes a passage from the Koran (the sacred text of Islam) and Muslims feel very strongly that their Holy Writ should never be wadded up and tossed in the garbage.

SHOCKING STATISTIC

LinkedIn is currently the world’s largest – and fastest growing – professional network. The networking site, which launched in 2003 and is free to join, currently receives more than 560,000 hits per day. More than 20 million professionals from 150 different industries are represented. Through the site, members can find potential clients, service providers, subject experts and partners who come recommended, be found for business opportunities, search for jobs, discover inside connections that can help land jobs and close deals, post and distribute job listings, connect with other professionals.