There are lots of excellent marketing books out there, some are even must reads, like Claude Hopkins, “Scientific Advertising, or David Ogilvy’s, “Confessions of an Ad Man.” I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend Al Ries and Jack Trout’s game changing book, “Positioning,” and I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t recommend reading Dan Kennedy’s Books, specifically, “The Ultimate Marketing Plan,” and “The Ultimate Sales Letter.”
However, while there are probably hundreds of other books I would highly recommend, there is only ONE BIBLE that every marketer on the planet should read, and if they were really smart, they would read it at least once a year, if not more often. To be honest though, I haven’t read this book in over a decade, although I did read it about 5 times prior to the last ten years. I recently picked up the book, and I can assure you that not only is a refresher course a good idea, but I am discovering new insights from this book now that I have ten more years of experiences to filter the knowledge through. This is in fact the main reason I am such a strong advocate for reading as much as possible.
Books Expand Your Frame of Reference. They Let You Stand On The Shoulders of Giants and See Way Beyond The Horizons You Could See On Your Own. After all, the broader your frame of reference, the more educated your decisions will be, and we all know that life is just a series of decisions we make. Some better than others, but all influencing where we go tomorrow.
While you are probably familiar with this landmark book, I can assure you that there are nuggets of gold in this book, which make it the truest bible of human nature. Since marketing is all about relationships, a bible on human nature, can easily be a bible on marketing. The book of course, if you haven’t guessed it already is…
“How To Win Friends and Influence People,” By Dale Carnegie.
Just to remind you how good the book is, read this great story I pulled out of the book that is an excellent marketing strategy, Dale Carnegie Writes, ” For years, I made it a point to find out the birthdays of my friends. How? Although I haven’t the foggiest bit of faith in astrology, I began asking the other party whether he believed the date of one’s birth has anything to do with character and disposition. I then asked him or her to tell me the month and day of birth. If he or she said November 24th, I would repeat that date to myself until the person turned around for a moment, at which point I would write down their name and birthday, and later transfer it into a birthday book. Every time their birthday came around, I sent them a letter or telegram. What a Hit it made! I was frequently the only person on earth who remembered.”
What an excellent marketing strategy… This is from his chapter about being genuinely interested in others, and we all know how much we like talking about ourselves, imagine how much our clients, customers and prospects would enjoy us showing a GENUINE INTEREST in them.
In today’s day and age, we can easily find out birthdays of customers, friends clients, etc… Just check their facebook page. If you send them a short HANDWRITTEN note wishing them a happy birthday, I can assure you they will enjoy it. No need to include a discount, gift or coupon, the handwritten note will win their hearts and let you influence them in the future. As you see from many other stories in this chapter, many times being genuinely interested in others triggers the law of reciprocity and compels them to want to patronize your business, even when you don’t ask. (perhaps it works better when you don’t ask because it appears more genuine.
In fact if you ever wonder if a marketing strategy will work just follow the age old axiom, “Market to others, as you would want to be marketed to!”
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Good words as always
Thanks for the reminder, I haven’t read it in at least a decade either. It will probably read a lot differently now than when I last read it, given my current level of marketing experience compared to 10 years ago.
I worked in a bookshop for two years and I distinctly remember unpacking the orders for this book on more than one occasion, and also it’s spot on the shelf in the bookshop, close to the counter. I can’t say I’ve ever checked it out, but I’ll keep it in mind due to your plug, and I have to admit that little extract was great in itself. Being friendly and taking an interest in people, even if you’ve just met them and have a business relationship, always does wonders. It’s a face of life that people will always remember those who made an effort that those who didn’t, and that should be utilized, not just with a marketing strategy in mind but because some of the best opportunities come from genuine conversation and connections that you make by doing this.