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MarketingFORDUMmIES‰3RDEDITIONby Alexander HiamAuthor of Marketing Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Marketing For Dummies, 3rd EditionPublished byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.comCopyright 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished simultaneously in CanadaNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior writtenpermission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for theRest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making EverythingEasier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associatedwith any product or vendor mentioned in this book.LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NOREPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THECONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUTLIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BECREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIESCONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THEUNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OROTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OFA COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THEAUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATIONOR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OFFURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THEINFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAYMAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORKMAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHENIT IS READ.For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer CareDepartment within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, 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 maynot be available in electronic books.Library of Congress Control Number: 2009934563ISBN: 978-0-470-50210-5Manufactured in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the AuthorAlexander Hiam is a consultant, corporate trainer, and public speaker with20 years of experience in marketing, sales, and corporate communications.He’s the director of Insights for Marketing, which offers a range of marketing services including design, branding, and strategy consultations for bothnonprofit and for-profit marketers. He’s also active in developing the next generation of leaders in the workplace through his educational publishing firm,Trainer’s Spectrum.Alexander has an MBA in marketing and strategic planning from the HaasSchool at U.C. Berkeley and a BA from Harvard. He has worked as a marketingmanager for both smaller high-tech firms and a Fortune 100 company, led creative retreats for top consumer and industrial firms, and served as an instructor at the business school at U. Mass Amherst, where he taught marketingand advertising.He is the coauthor of the bestseller The Portable MBA in Marketing (Wiley),as well as numerous other books and training programs. Additionally, he hasconsulted to a wide range of companies, nonprofits, and government agencies.Alexander is also the author of a companion volume to this book, MarketingKit For Dummies, 3rd Edition (Wiley), which includes more detailed coverageof many of the hands-on topics involved in creating great advertising, directmail letters, Web sites, publicity campaigns, and marketing plans. On the CDthat comes with Marketing Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition, you’ll find forms,checklists, and templates that may be of use to you. Also, he maintains anextensive Web site of resources (www.insightsformarketing.com) thathe organized to support each of the chapters in this book.

Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact ourCustomer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax317-572-4002.Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:Acquisitions, Editorial, and MediaDevelopmentProject Editor: Chad R. Sievers(Previous Edition: Tere Drenth)Acquisitions Editor: Stacy KennedyCopy Editor: Jennifer Tebbe(Previous Edition: Laura K. Miller)Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan MooneyComposition ServicesProject Coordinator: Patrick RedmondLayout and Graphics: Samantha K. CherolisProofreader: Toni SettleIndexer: Potomac Indexing, LLCSpecial HelpMegan Knoll, Todd LotheryEditorial Program Coordinator: Joe NiesenTechnical Editor: Alberto F. Hidalgo Jr.Editorial Manager: Michelle HackerEditorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggarCover Photos: Brand X PicturesCartoons: Rich Tennant(www.the5thwave.com)Publishing and Editorial for Consumer DummiesDiane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer DummiesKristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer DummiesEnsley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, TravelKelly Regan, Editorial Director, TravelPublishing for Technology DummiesAndy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General UserComposition ServicesDebbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a GlanceIntroduction . 1Part I: Designing a Great Marketing Program . 7Chapter 1: Optimizing Your Marketing Program . 9Chapter 2: Strengthening Your Marketing Strategy . 25Chapter 3: Writing a Marketing Plan . 43Part II: Leveraging Your Marketing Skills . 67Chapter 4: Researching Your Customers, Competitors, and Industry . 69Chapter 5: Engaging Your Marketing Imagination . 87Chapter 6: Pumping Up Your Marketing Communications . 107Part III: Advertising for Fun and Profit. 125Chapter 7: Perfecting Your Printed Materials . 127Chapter 8: Signing On to Outdoor Advertising . 147Chapter 9: Broadcasting Your Message . 167Part IV: Finding Powerful Alternatives to Advertising .183Chapter 10: Maximizing Your Web Marketing. 185Chapter 11: Making a Positive Impression in Low-Cost Ways . 209Chapter 12: Leveraging Face-to-Face Marketing Opportunities. 223Chapter 13: Going Direct with Your Marketing . 237Part V: Selling Great Products to Anyone,Anytime, Anywhere . 257Chapter 14: Making Your Brand Stand Out . 259Chapter 15: Finding the Right Pricing Approach . 279Chapter 16: Distributing Your Product Where Your Customers Are . 299Chapter 17: Succeeding in Sales and Service . 313

Part VI: The Part of Tens . 333Chapter 18: Ten Common Marketing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) . 335Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Launch Guerilla Marketing Attacks . 339Chapter 20: Ten (Or So) Ways to Survive Sales Downturns . 343Chapter 21: Ten (Plus One) Tips for Boosting Web Sales . 347Index . 353

Table of ContentsIntroduction . 1About This Book . 1Conventions Used in This Book . 2Foolish Assumptions . 3How This Book Is Organized . 3Icons Used in This Book . 6Where to Go from Here . 6Part I: Designing a Great Marketing Program . 7Chapter 1: Optimizing Your Marketing Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Knowing Your Customer . 9Asking the right questions . 10Filling the awareness gap . 11Focusing on your target customer . 12Identifying and playing up your strengths . 13Discovering the best way to find customers . 13Defining Your Marketing Program . 15Finding your influence points . 17Analyzing your Five Ps . 17Refining your list of possibilities . 18Avoiding the pricing trap . 19Controlling Your Marketing Program . 19Refining Your Marketing Expectations . 22Projecting improvements above base sales . 22Preparing for (ultimately successful) failures. 22Revealing More Ways to Maximize Your Marketing Impact . 23Chapter 2: Strengthening Your Marketing Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Finding and Riding a Growth Wave . 25Measuring the growth rate of your market . 26Responding to a flat or shrinking market . 27Growing with a Market Expansion Strategy . 28Offering more products. 28Riding a bestseller to the top . 29Specializing with a Market Segmentation Strategy . 30Gauging whether specializing is a good move . 31Adding a segment to expand your market. 31