Your Marketing Sucks.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone that will ever do any type of marketing. There were a few things that bored me but overall the book was a good book, and at times I found myself thinking why didn't I think of that. I think the author had a ton of great points but I also think that he is wrong when he says that your marketing sucks unless it is making money. From your marketing you will still get brand awareness and people will think to buy your brand.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and entertaining
Review: I would recommend this book to others because it is easy to read and has some really good points about marketing. Another bonus of this is book is I read it in two afternoons, which isn't a huge portion of my life gone. I found the first half of the booking to be informative and funny. Unfortunately, towards the end of the book the authors examples drove me to distraction. My advice would be to skim the examples and not waste too much of your time analyzing them. Also, I appreciated the fact that last chapter addressed implementing the author's ideas in the real world. Too many authors dump all their ideas on you with no way of actually using them in the real world.

Rating:
Summary: Two stars is being kind
Review: Just so you understand where I'm coming from, let me lay some background. I'm a small business owner. I provide a professional service to both consumers and businesses. I do okay, holding my own, looking to improve. I have a decent background in direct marketing and publicity that has served me pretty well up until now but I could use some help. I often read books of this type looking for an idea or two that I can apply to my own situation. I very, very rarely find one that is applicable, simply because I think most of these "how-to" marketing books speak way to much in generalities. So it's not necessarily a knock against the book that it doesn't really deliver because it's just one of many that are like that.

Okay, that being said, I found a lot of problems with the book, mostly in terms of how it was written and the tone some of the chapters take, but I was still interested enough to contact Mr. Stevens's firm and see if perhaps I could benefit from a direct consultation. That's where my experience went down the tubes and although I am sure it colored my perception of the book, I think it's only fair to mention it here because, after all, the book is really just one large marketing gimmick for his firm's services and his business practices, I guess not surprisingly, don't completely mirror the things he stresses in the book. He doesn't necessarily practice what he preaches. That's red flag number one.

During the initial conversation I had with his representative, I was told that there was a fee involved (somewhat exhorbitant for a small business owner, I felt) for me to come in, tell Mr. Stevens about my business, and have him tell me what was wrong with it. I may be wrong, but it seems to me I shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of deciding whether or not I want the firm to represent me (or whether or not they want to represent me). Then I was told that I could have a private one-on-one session with Mr. Stevens to "pick his brain" in whatever way I chose. Again, I am not well-versed in what a nominal fee for such a service is but it still seemed somewhat high. Red flag number two.

Second, in researching his firm through his web site, it seems that the site goes against some of the basic tenets of what he indicates a web site should do for a business. I found the site not very user-friendly and more prone to promote the book than the firm. Red flag number three.

Lastly, I just got a bad vibe that, although the book appears to have been written for businesses like mine, unless you are a multi-million dollar corporation Mr. Stevens doesn't want to talk to you. In that regard, I have to agree with one of the previous reviewers who stated that Mr. Stevens cares more about the dollars than the marketing principles he espouses in this book.

Check it out of the library if you feel you should read it for yourself but I wouldn't purchase it.

Rating:
Summary: No worth your time
Review: I thought perhaps this book would offer some insight as to best marketing practices. What I discovered was a book targeted to individuals who know nothing about marketing.

If you are not a marketing expert, I highly suggest that you read other marketing books as well. Especially one with real case stuies. How can you recommend marketing tactics without actually having some experience?

Rating:
Summary: Great place to start
Review: What a fun read! It helped us getout of the marketing rut and begin rethinking our goals and marketing vehicles.

It's short, entertaining and quite thought provoking. I think it's the kick in the pants most of us small business owners need to stop marketing the same way we always have. Some good ideas, some great coaching and glad i bought it.

I've recommended this to others and have gotten similar feedback from them.

Give it a chance, unless you're already an MBA or employed in the field, this book will certainly help you start asking the right questions of yourself and zero in on what makes your company distinctively different.