Offers advice on starting a direct marketing campaign, including tips on doubling response rates, writing creative copy, and evaluating mailing lists.

In today's business environment, many professionals are getting back to the basics of key topics such as marketing. In this new edition of the popular The Complete Idiot's Guide to Marketing, author Sarah White gives a comprehensive update on marketing today. She takes a firm foundation of the basics and adds to it accessible marketing techniques including guerrilla marketing, marketing to the Baby Boomer generation, online marketing, targeted affordable direct mail, and more! With all the formal material readers need for positioning products or services including marketing plans, distribution strategies, and more, this completely updated edition is the book readers need for today! New coverage includes sample marketing plans for several types of small business – and a couple of larger projects; practical do-it-yourself strategies and tactics; how to analyze business segments, trends, etc.

With the sky-high price of advertising and direct marketing, only Fortune 500 companies can afford to promote their products and services through traditional channels. Add to this problem the greening, graying, and huge youth markets that have learned to turn off Madison Avenue-style promotions, and the vast majority of small to mid-sized companies, entrepreneurs, and overworked marketing staffs are challenged to expand their customer base in other ways. That's why "guerrilla," aka "unconventional marketing," was born. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Guerrilla Marketing, written by marketing experts Susan Drake and Colleen Wells, presents a detailed blueprint of the dozens of new and exciting methods available-methods that save money and get new customers.

The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Social Media Marketing, Second Edition, covers cutting-edge techniques for small and large businesses alike. Ask the Author Q: How has social media marketing changed business and personal lives? A: The playing field has been leveled for business. No longer do you need a 6 or 7 figure budget to reach people around the country or globe for that matter. Personally, many lives have been affected. Many people more connected, businesses have grown because of the connections, TV and singing careers have been launched, money has been raised for charity, books have been marketed and purchased, and so on. Q: What has been the most challenging part of utilizing social media? A: I think the learning curve. With all of these sites . . . they come with no directions and no LIVE phone number. Q: What has worked the best and worst thus far? A: Facebook because of it’s broad reach really has worked for me, but many would argue that YouTube works the best; particularly since it is the search engine of choice with the 11–34 age group. Q: How can a person searching for a job use social media marketing? A: So many ways. . . . They need to be on LinkedIn with a professional looking profile, photo, and contact information. They could also utilize video to begin sharing their expertise. Candidates need to stand out in a crowd of millions so if they say . . . sent in a video introducing themselves and a video follow up email . . . that would wow them! Q: What is the newest thing since Twitter? A: I believe companies and individuals are starting to utilize audio for creating their own iTunes channel, and also location-based social media like FourSquare. I personally, am not sold on location based services as of yet from a safety point of view, but for retailers it can be a good thing. I believe video is going to explode in popularity in 2011 for the 35+ market as well. They just need to get comfortable being on camera!

Twenty-first century tools and tactics to get the word out You want to get the word out to buyers about all the great things your business has to offer. Too bad a big-bucks marketing campaign just isn't in your budget right now. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Target Marketing is full of clever, practical, and easy-to-use strategies to help you get your message out to the right people, at the right time, and in the right place. You'll learn: • Five easy steps to identify the most lucrative niche markets • Tech-savvy tips on using online surveys and other e-tools to identify your customers' needs • Powerful pointers on viral marketing, blogging, webinars, and other web marketing ideas • Highly-effective and low-budget advertising strategies and customer retention techniques

Does this sound familiar? 'If I could get in front of the prospect, the rest of the selling process becomes easier. It's just getting in front of them that's the challenge'. The fact is most cold-calling efforts are doomed from the start. Salespeople lose sales not due to a lack of effort but because they lack a prospecting system they are comfortable with, and can trust to generate greater, consistent results. If you are feeling the same way you have been for the last several years (including the 'calling to check in, touch base or follow-up' approach) or haven't been prospecting at all, you're simply making it easier for your competition to take away the new business you are working so hard to earn. So, if you love to sell but hate (or don't like) to prospect, this book is your opportunity to maximize your cold calling potetnial and boost your income by learning how to get in front of the right prospects in less time and create greater selling opportunities without the fear, pressure or anxiety associated with cold calling.

This work offers all marketers, in any size company, a strategy for creating and sustaining a profitable direct marketing programme - both on- and off-line.

A comprehensive guide to running a retail store, with advice on hiring and training, licenses and registrations, working with customers, and learning the retail market.

Gain some insight into the game of life... Game Theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It is based on the idea that everyone acts competitively and in his own best interest. With the help of mathematical models, it is possible to anticipate the actions of others in nearly all life's enterprises. This book includes down-to-earth examples and solutions, as well as charts and illustrations designed to help teach the concept. In The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Game Theory, Dr. Edward C. Rosenthal makes it easy to understand game theory with insights into: • The history of the discipline made popular by John Nash, the mathematician dramatized in the film A Beautiful Mind • The role of social behavior and psychology in this amazing discipline • How important game theory has become in our society and why

Judith Donovan reveals the secrets of her craft, guiding readers through each step in the process of creating successful direct marketing campaigns, including list building, media buying, copy and design, and making advertising work.