Publisher's Synopsis
Beginning your marketing journey? Learn about marketing from a successful entrepreneur through my first-hand business experiences connecting with great communicators like President Reagan, Ben & Jerry's, Macho Man Randy Savage and Joe Frazier. Over the last 30 years, my life has revolved around stories about family, food and marketing. I love unraveling the threads of these tales to bring personal experiences to life and to teach clear and simple lessons about important moments in my life. I wondered if I could help the community of marketing novices who are hungry to unravel some of the mysteries of marketing by telling a few stories from my marketing career. In this book, I share many special lessons learned with their own eureka moment that highlighted important aspects about successful marketing and brand-building ideas. These lessons didn't occur in a classroom. They happened in the real and at times, surreal world through interactions with a wide range of both famous and not-so-famous people. I learned from a President of the United States named Reagan, a professional wrestler named Macho Man Randy Savage and the exotically strange and wonderful Frank Zappa. During my marketing journey, I came to understand how much you can learn about business and marketing by being in the moment. Looking back, I realize that my marketing adventures were meant to teach, to inspire and eventually be shared with others interested in understanding marketing. Each story is wrapped with a single key marketing lesson, concept or insight that has helped me learn an important brand building strategies or a practical tactic. When you combine these stories together, they are like preparing a meal where each ingredient is blended together to create a sweet and delicious marketing cuisine. There are plenty of textbooks and how-to-books available where you can also learn some of these principles. THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT. My book is written by an experienced entrepreneur who did exactly what you want to do - successfully use marketing to grow a brand and to create an emotional bond between your product and your customers. Each example in this marketing memoir is filled with personal anecdotes embedded with crisp, clear information that you can use to improve your own communications efforts. My sincere hope is that this book will spark your creativity and assist as you successfully build your brand and grow your business. Within each individual story I have extracted a key word or phrase as a marketing lesson. In simple and straightforward language, these 21 key words can help guide you in your entrepreneurial venture or small to mid-sized business. The book will answer marketing questions such as... Why you must differentiate your brand from the category to be noticed and to have the market share your story. Why asking questions is one of most powerful way to market and sell a product or service. Fearlessness is a critical requirement to help you get to the next level of success. Optimism plays a surprising role in all marketing activities. Learn why. Storytelling is a key marketing tactics to attract the right type of customers. Being on auto pilot can be deadlier for a brand than a wrong decision. Never stay on cruise control. Why is it vital to your brand's health that you are highly focused? The extraordinary lesson that something as simple as superb fried chicken can teach you about the power of marketing through word of mouth. Those who have studied marketing in business school may not find my approach of great value although I hope they will be amused by some of my life stories. Some might be critical that I have over simplified marketing. I accept that at face value and this book may not be for you. My book is for someone beginning their marketing journey that needs a marketing coach. The goal in writing this book is modest. I only want my marketing memoir to help one person: You.
