Energize Growth Now. The marketing guide to a wealthy company. Lisa Nirell.2009. ISBN 9780470413920. From the foreward by Guy Kawasaki to the appendix pages full of sample plans and templates, this book give full value. Written in an easy style, it is very useful to those of you who may be starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and tired of the multi- year struggle that building a successful company entails. Yes you wiull start with an overview of the impact that marketing can make , but the author also goes into things that are very relevant today , for instance where social media marketing can help but what you have to decide first before you launch in.  She gives you road maps, relevant examples and the pitfalls along the way.  Pragmatic and a very useful book. Eg. In trying to identify the economic buyer:

• Who has the most to gain from this project
• Who has the most to lose if it is canceled or fails
• Which exec will sponsor this
• Who will report your results and succcess back to the board
• Who budget will support this project
• Which dept or div will be most supportive
• Who in the org tried to solve this in the past and with what results
• Whose bonus and performance will be most affected by the success of this project?

Check out more at http://blog.energizegrowth.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Getting the maximum out of Social media marketing (va4growth.com)
• New targeting on Pages gives Facebook leg up over Twitter for marketers (venturebeat.com)

Just read an interview with Samantha Hartley (Enlightened Marketing) who spent several years working for Coca-Cola helping build the brand.

She feels that there are six big benefits from having a clear, authentic and compelling brand:

1. A shorter sales cycle
2. A lower cost of customer acquisition
3. You attract perfect clients
4. Your brand can carry a premium price
5. Brand Loyalty creates repeat business
6. Referrals flow more easily

I agree, even without the compelling examples she details.

You can read more in Lisa Nirell’s new book, Energize Growth Now.(Review to follow)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Coca-Cola to change half of juice packaging (sfgate.com)
• World’s 2 Most Valuable Brands: Coca-Cola, IBM (abcnews.go.com)
• How To Build Brands In A Recession (slideshare.net)
• Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi branding (kottke.org)
• Coca Cola Sends Bloggers Around The World (viralblog.com)