Marketing Without Advertising: Easy Ways to Build a Business Your Customers Will Love and Recommend

408 Pages·2008·4.28 MB·English

by  Michael Phillips

6th edition
Marketing
Without
Advertising
by Michael Phillips & Salli Rasberry
Sixth Edition May 2008
Editor CathErinE Caputo
Cover Design SuSan putnEy
production Sarah hinMan
proofreading robErt wEllS
index baySiDE inDExing SErviCE
printing ConSoliDatED printErS, inC.

phillips, Michael, 1938-
Marketing without advertising / by Michael phillips & Salli rasberry ; edited by
Catherine Caputo. -- 6th ed.
p. cm.
includes index.
iSbn-13: 978-1-4133-0632-3 (pbk.)
iSbn-10: 1-4133-0632-2 (pbk.)
1. Marketing 2. Small business--Management. i. rasberry, Salli. ii. Caputo,
Catherine. iii. title.
hF5415.p484 2008
658.8--dc22
2007051620

Copyright © 1986, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2008 by Michael phillips and Salli rasberry.
all rightS rESErvED. printED in thE u.S.a.
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission.
reproduction prohibitions do not apply to the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use.
For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact the Special Sales Department. For
academic sales or textbook adoptions, ask for academic Sales. Call 800-955-4775 or write to nolo at 950 parker
Street, berkeley, Ca 94710.
Acknowledgments
with special thanks to Soni richardson and Michael Eschenbach.
Full Disclosure Note
all the businesses and business owners mentioned in the book are real.
The great majority operate under their own names in the cities indicated.
however, because some of our examples are less than flattering, and
for other reasons, including privacy, we have changed the names
and locations of businesses in a few cases.
in some cases, the businesses used as examples in the book do
advertise—their marketing ideas are so good we included them anyway.
in most cases, if a business used as an example does advertise, it is a small
part of their marketing mix.
Table of Contents
Your Marketing Companion ....................................................................................1
1 Advertising: The Last Choice in Marketing ...............................................3
The Myth of Advertising’s Effectiveness .........................................................................5
Why Customers Lured by Ads Are Often Not Loyal ............................................13
Why Dependence on Advertising Is Harmful ..........................................................14
Advertisers: Poor Company to Keep .............................................................................16
Honest Ads ..................................................................................................................................21
Branding .......................................................................................................................................23
Listings: “Advertising” That Works .................................................................................24
2 Personal Recommendations:
The First Choice in Marketing .............................................................................31
Cost-Effectiveness ....................................................................................................................33
Overcoming Established Buying Habits ......................................................................38
Basing Your Marketing Plan on Personal Recommendations .........................39
When Not to Rely on Word of Mouth for Marketing .........................................42
3 The Physical Appearance of Your Business ............................................47
Conform to Industry Norms ............................................................................................49
Your Business’s Appearance ............................................................................................52
Fantasy: A Growing Part of Retail Marketing ...........................................................60
The Test of Time .......................................................................................................................64
4 Pricing .........................................................................................................................................67
Easy-to-Understand Prices .................................................................................................68
Complete Prices .......................................................................................................................70
Giving Customers Choice About Price ........................................................................74
Internet Pricing .........................................................................................................................77
5 How You Treat the People Around You .....................................................81
Tracking Reputations via the Grapevine .....................................................................82
How Employees Spread the Word .................................................................................84
Common Employee Complaints ....................................................................................88
Handling Employee Complaints .....................................................................................91
Finding Out What Employees Are Thinking.............................................................93
Suppliers .......................................................................................................................................97
Business Friends and Acquaintances ..........................................................................102
Individuals Who Spread Negative Word of Mouth
About Your Business .......................................................................................................106
Your Behavior in Public ......................................................................................................108
6 Openness: The Basis of Trust ..............................................................................111
Financial Openness ...............................................................................................................113
Physical Openness .................................................................................................................117
Openness in Management ...............................................................................................119
Openness With Information ...........................................................................................120
Openness With Ideas ..........................................................................................................123
7 Deciding How to Educate Potential Customers ..............................127
What Does Your Business Do? .......................................................................................128
Defining the Domains in Which Your Business Operates ...............................136
Providing Information on Businesses in Established Fields ............................139
Businesses in New or Obscure Fields ..........................................................................143
Whom to Educate .................................................................................................................152
8 How to Let Customers Know Your Business Is Excellent ........163
Tell Them Yourself .................................................................................................................165
Help Customers Judge for Themselves ......................................................................171
Giving Customers Authority for Your Claims ........................................................184
9 Helping Customers Find You ..............................................................................189
Finding Your Business..........................................................................................................191
Convenience of Access .......................................................................................................194
Signs ..............................................................................................................................................198
Telephone Accessibility ......................................................................................................198
Listing Your Services Creatively and Widely ...........................................................207
Getting Referrals From People in Related Fields ...................................................210
Trade Shows and Conferences ........................................................................................213
10 Customer Recourse ......................................................................................................219
Elements of a Good Recourse Policy ..........................................................................221
Designing a Good Recourse Policy ..............................................................................224
Telling Customers About Your Recourse Policy ...................................................228
Putting Your Recourse Policy in Writing ..................................................................231
11 Marketing on the Internet ....................................................................................235
Business Uses of the Internet: Demystified .............................................................237
The Geographic Reach of the Internet ......................................................................240
What to Put on Your Site ..................................................................................................243
Designing an Internet Site ................................................................................................249
Interactivity and Customer Screening .......................................................................254
How to Help People Find You Online ........................................................................257
International Marketing .....................................................................................................263
12 Dynamic Interactive Marketing ......................................................................271
Beginning Architecture ......................................................................................................272
Attracting Customers..........................................................................................................273
The Look and Feel of Your Site .......................................................................................274
Pricing ..........................................................................................................................................276
eBay and Supplemental Outlet Sites ..........................................................................280
Customer Education ............................................................................................................280
Customer Comments ..........................................................................................................282
Security .......................................................................................................................................282
Podcasting .................................................................................................................................286
Video Clips ................................................................................................................................286
13 Designing and Implementing Your Marketing Plan ....................289
Your Marketing List: The “Who” of Your Marketing Plan ...............................290
How to Evaluate Your List .................................................................................................292
Marketing Actions and Events: The “What” of Your Marketing Plan .......294
Direct Marketing Actions .................................................................................................297
Parallel Marketing Actions ...............................................................................................310
Peer-Based Marketing Actions .......................................................................................317
14 Creating a Calendar of Events ...........................................................................325
Marketing Calendar for an Interior Design Firm ..................................................327
Marketing Calendar for Jerry and Jess’s New Chiropractic Clinic ...............329
Marketing Calendar for Lolly & Criggles—an eBay Children’s
Boutique Clothing Website .........................................................................................336
A Appendix ................................................................................................................................341
I Index ...........................................................................................................................................389
Your Marketing Companion
T
ake a look around your community and make a list of truly
superior small businesses—ones you trust so thoroughly you would
recommend them to your friends, your boss, and even your in-laws.
whether your mind turns to restaurants, plumbers, plant nurseries, or
veterinarians, chances are good your list is fairly short.
now think about all the ads for local businesses that fill your newspaper,
clutter your doorstep, spew out of your radio, cover the back of your grocery
receipts, or reach you in dozens of other ways. how many of these businesses
are on your list? More than likely, not many. in fact, i’ll bet the most heavily
advertised local businesses are among the businesses you never plan to
patronize—or patronize again—no matter how many 50%-off specials you
are offered.
if, like me, you have learned the hard way that many businesses that loudly
trumpet their virtues are barely average, how do you find a top-quality
business when you need something? almost surely, whether you need a roof
for your house, an accountant for your business, a math tutor for your child,
or a restaurant for a Saturday night out, you ask for a recommendation from
someone you consider knowledgeable and trustworthy.
once you grasp the simple fact that what counts is not what a business
says about itself, but rather what others say about it, you should quickly
understand and embrace the message of this brilliant book. Simply put: The
best way to succeed in business is to run such a wonderful operation that
your loyal and satisfied customers will brag about your goods and services far
and wide. instead of spending a small fortune on advertising, it’s far better to
spend the same money improving your business and caring for customers.