The Business of Getting Business: The Digital Marketing Guide for Small Businesses
Joe Manausa
LID Publishing (May 2020)

Presumably Joe Manausa agrees with Drucker. Business success requires having a sufficient number of [begin italics] profitable [end italics] customers with whom to do business. Getting them is one objective; keeping them is quite another. There is also a third objective to keep in mind: nourishing relationships with customers so that they become “evangelists” and a lead referral sources of greatest importance.

In this volume, Manausa provides an abundance of valuable information, insights, and counsel that almost anyone can use to achieve the aforementioned objectives. More specifically, he examines therse basdics of getting business:

o Local business marketing
o What digital marketing is…and isn’t
o The infrastructure needed to support digital marketing
o Elements of an effective digital marketing plan
o How social media can help get business

Today, the business of getting and keeping business is more difficult than ever before. Hence the importance of digital marketing to create or increase demand for the given offering. The “good news” is that most companies get more business with digital marketing than with any of the alternatives; the “bad news” is that digital marketing has been up and sprinting for quite some time. Prospective customers are much better prepared to consider their purchase options, including not making a purchase.

In Chapter 9, “How to Take Your Company Digital,” Manausa focuses on what must be done by the digital marketer. (It may be necessary at some point to retain outside assistance.) He explains HOW TO formulate a prospect list of those with whom the company intends to interact online. Also, HOW TO establish a budget, obtain funds needed, create a strategy, and (when ready) launch the given enterprise. He also shares his thoughts about CRM, email marketing applications, and the company website itself,

In some respects, digital marketing today is conducted within an “attention economy.” Given that, I presume to share a insight I had years ago when helping several clients (large and small) to increase their “attention share” among prospective customers.

There are three basic marketing questions to answer. The first two are easy: “Who are you?” and “What do you do?” (i.e. what you offer, the problems you solve, etc.) The answer to the third question determines success or failure: “Why should I care?” Today, most people have an attention of a Strobe Light blink. Have you ever attempted to capture the attention of a four year old?

Here in a single volume is about all a digital marketer needs to know about how to create or increase demand online. Yes, Joe Manusa wrote this book primarily for small businesses but most of the material (with only minor modifications) could be of great value to almost any other organization, whatever its size and nature may be.

Well-done!

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