by Paul Simister
on July 1, 2018
The full title of this book by Hugh Davidson is
Offensive Marketing: Or How to Make Your Competitors Followers
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 5 Stars. This means it is Excellent.
Here is my review.
The first great marketing book I read
Back in the mid 1980s, this was the first great marketing book I ever read and I must have read it half a dozen times in total. I’ve also bought the two updates of the book.
This is the book that taught me the POISE acronym for marketing: [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on June 30, 2018
The full title of this book by Drayton Bird is
How to Write Sales Letters that Sell: Learn the Secrets of Successful Direct Mail
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my review.
An excellent book for people interested in copywriting
When I first became self employed, I decided I wanted to split my time between small businesses and bigger businesses who had challenging projects. My problem was how to reach the key executives in these bigger companies. LinkedIn didn’t exist back then and my answer was direct mail. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on June 21, 2018
The Propensity To Buy Matrix contrasts the uniqueness of your product with the customer’s knowledge of your business to create four sectors with different propensities to buy.
I read about it in the book, Marketing by Matrix by Malcolm McDonald and John Leppard and wanted to share it with you.
What Is The Propensity To Buy Matrix?
This is presented as a two by two matrix, effectively forcing High/Low choices but I don’t see why it can’t be used in a three by three matrix with High, Medium and Low options. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on June 6, 2018
When I reviewed this book by Jon McCulloch,
Why Your Copywriting Sucks
on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a rating of Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
A fascinating book split into two parts
The author concedes too many copywriting books and courses are sold through hype and admits that the copywriting isn’t as important as the offer, the people who get to see the offer and any existing relationship.
The book is split into two sections and it’s almost as if these are two different books rammed together, the first for beginners the second for more advanced copywriters. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 8, 2018
The full title of this book by Doug Hall is
Jump Start Your Marketing Brain: Scientific Advice and Practical Ideas
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and is Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
Can this book rescue marketing and marketers?
I thought the author’s book Jump Start Your Business Brain was excellent when I read it and it was a no-brainer to move on to this book
Its purpose is to rescue marketing. The book starts with the assertion that between 75 per cent and 95 per cent of marketing initiatives fail. This is based on research and interviews with CEOs. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 3, 2018
The full title of this classic book by Victor Schwab is
“How To Write A Good Advertisement: A Short Course In Copywriting“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it at the FIVE STARS level, which means I consider it to be excellent.
Here is what I wrote.
A classic copywriting guide
I’m not sure what else I can say to persuade you to buy this book when there is already a five star review from British copywriting legend, Drayton Bird, on here.
It seems to me that there are three types of copywriting books available. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on April 26, 2018
The full title of this book by Tom Shapiro is
“Rethink Your Marketing: 7 Strategies to Unleash Revenue Growth”.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a FIVE star rating, meaning that I rate it as excellent.
Here is what I posted.
An excellent and thoughtful book to get your business back on track
The book encourages you to rethink seven different areas:
1-your audience
2-how they think
3-your goals
4-your marketing mix
5-your metrics
6-your revenue model
7-your future
The aim is to get your business growing again. Too often, companies get stuck and the owner-managers don’t know what to do other than more of the same, copying competitors or jumping on the latest fad. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on April 16, 2018
I am a big fan of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and how it can be applied throughout a business to improve results.
It started on the factory floor with the challenge of how jobs could be better scheduled to reduce lead times AND inventory levels. It has moved throughout the business. In the business novel It’s Not Luck, Eliyahu Goldratt introduced us to both TOC for marketing and the TOC thinking processes.
The person who has made most progress with TOC Marketing is Dr Lisa Lang and her work on Mafia Offers (those customers can’t afford to refuse). [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on March 21, 2018
I have a bit of a blind-spot about social media. I was an early adopter back in around 2008 as I did a course with the now defunct StomperNet, one of the most notorious Internet marketing companies.
Then I watched it become the “new big thing” in the mainstream and I watched plenty of social media experts suddenly burst into prominence. I thought it was very time consuming.
Here is a video produced by Sandler Training Worldwide. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 13, 2017
If your business is finding it tough to win enough sales volume to give you the profit level you want, you may be trying to solve it the wrong way.
To get the best improvement in results, you need to tackle the right problem in the most effective way. Sometimes, business owners can make faulty diagnoses of the underlying issue and this happens particularly when the business owner is under too much pressure.
If you don’t focus your time and attention on the key constraint or bottleneck, you’re likely to get disappointing results. (see The Theory Of Constraints For Small Businesses)
This diagnose the problem to prescribe the right solution is a similar process to your doctor uses to make sure that his prescribed treatment is tackling the most likely cause. For example, there are many different reasons for a patient having a headache – from eye strain to general tension to too much alcohol… all the way through in severity to a brain tumour or a fractured skull.
Sales being too low is a symptom but, without looking in detail, it’s not clear what the underlying problem is and therefore it’s not clear
What Causes A Business To Have A Sales Problem?
[continue reading…]
