Marketing Book Reviews - September 2009

Trump University Marketing 101:
How to Use the Most Powerful Ideas in Marketing to Get More Customers
By Don Sexton

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-471-91690-1
Hardcover; 336 pages


For entrepreneurs, business leaders, and managers who don't have an MBA, Trump University Marketing 101: How to Use the Most Powerful Ideas in Marketing to Get More Customers provides an up-to-date explanation of the best ideas and most effective tactics in marketing. Combining the biggest name in business with lessons from a top marketing professor, Don Sexton, this practical guide covers all the basics of a marketing MBA - without the commitment of so much time and money.

Each short chapter focuses on one key marketing idea and explores it in a straightforward, non-academic way with exercises and examples that show the idea in action. Professor Sexton also includes practical guidelines for making key marketing decisions - using the same formulas major corporations pay top-dollar to have him teach their employees.

With step-by-step instructions and handy worksheets, this guide offers practical marketing help for anyone who wants to increase their sales, profits, cash flow, or ROI. Readers will discover which tactics work and which don't, with real-world guidance from Sexton so that they are able to implement the right tactics in their own business.

Trump University Marketing 101 provides all the information and strategy you need to successfully market your products and services. No matter what you sell or how you sell it - whether you're running a small business or a major corporation - this comprehensive guide explains everything you need to know about modern marketing.


Sticks and Stones:
How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click

By Larry Weber

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-470-45738-2
Hardcover; 240 pages

In today's wired world, business reputations are built and destroyed online. Blogs, citizen journalism, and instant information have made the consequences of a bad reputation more devastating than ever. Though it may be intangible, a good reputation online is your company's most valuable corporate asset. It builds customer loyalty, helps attract talent, and earns shareholder confidence - and that leads to better bottom lines and bigger profits.

Until now, there's been no straightforward guidebook on building your online reputation and keeping your brand message intact. In Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click, PR guru Larry Weber gives you the rules and tools you need to build and safeguard your company's online presence.

Weber explains the important concept of online equity - the sum total of the positive impressions that your company or product makes on customers, communities, and stakeholders. The bigger your supply of online equity, the easier it will be for you to overcome negative impressions - whether they come from news sources, bloggers, or anyone else online. Sticks and Stones shows you how to build reputation equity through online publicity, organizational moral purpose, and strong business relationships.

This book gives you an effective framework for managing your online reputation by discovering who your key stakeholders are and what issues they care most about - and how to keep them happy.