123 eGuides

123 eGuides. 3 Proven Steps, Just 3 Bucks.

123 eGuides are authoritative guides published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost. Every 123 eGuide is just 3 bucks or less ($2.99 to be exact).

123 eGuides are designed for today’s reader who wants information in a quick, convenient, easily readable format. Each 123 eGuide is intended to provide a functional overview rather than a detailed roadmap. Every 123 eGuide always includes additional resources if the reader wants to learn more.

Check the "Available 123 eGuides" link above to see what's available. 123 eGuides are available wherever eBooks are sold, including the Amazon Kindle store and in any eBook format at Smashwords.com.

1 Minute Advice: How to Predict Your Best Customers

Using information collected during a customer’s first purchase, a new marketing tool that leverages machine learning technology can provide firms with valuable predictions about the customer’s future behavior, says Eva Ascarza, a marketing researcher and associate professor at Harvard Business School.

By incorporating data most companies discard, Ascarza and her co-researcher devised an algorithm capable of quickly analyzing more than 40 variables to create a “first impression” of the customer after the initial transaction. The algorithm then predicts which customers will become repeat buyers and which will be most responsive to email campaigns, information that firms can use to improve marketing strategy and return on investment.

“Companies are leaving money on the table,” says Ascarza, because they don’t know how to use most of the customer data they collect, especially when trying to manage newly acquired customers, for whom there is no historical data—something known in computer science as “the cold-start problem.”

Read Ascarza's research study here.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here. Note: This eGuide and all 123 eGuides are on sale at half-price through July 31 only at Smashwords.com

1 Minute Advice: Are You Catering to the Eco-Conscious Consumer?

In a recent survey conducted by PwC, half of all global consumers indicated they've become more "eco-friendly," according to Strategy + Business. The publication reported that another survey conducted by Visual GPS in conjunction with YouGov revealed 81 percent of respondents expect companies to be environmentally conscious in their advertising and communications. Also in that survey, 69 percent of respondents said they were doing everything possible to minimize their own carbon footprint. Amy Emmert, senior editor of Stratey + Business, observes, "Neither consumers nor companies seem inclined to backtrack on their environmental commitments, especially in light of worsening climate change. And as the emphasis on sustainability continues to intensify, companies will want to continue to focus on innovations that please consumers and are good for business while doing as little harm to the planet as possible."

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

July Half-Price Sale on eGuides

During the month of July, you can purchase any 123 eGuide at half price. This special promotion is only available at Smashwords.com, where you can select your choice of eBook format, including Kindle (mobi), EPUB and PDF.

To take advantage of this half-price sale, click on the eGuide titles below that interest you. When you check out, simply use the code SSW50 to get the eGuide of your choice at half price -- regularly $2.99, just $1.49 each. Offer good through July 31.

Branding 123
Building a Breakthrough Brand in 3 Proven Steps
Third Edition

Low Cost / No Cost Marketing 123
3 Steps to Effective Marketing with Little or No Money

B2B Marketing 123
A 3 Step Approach for Marketing to Businesses

Product Launch 123
Launch a Product or Service in 3 Proven Steps

Sales Leads 123
Generating, Qualifying, and Converting Sales Leads in 3 Proven Steps

On Your Own 123
Launch a 1-Person Business in 3 Proven Steps

1 Minute Advice: Which Companies Have the Best Reputation?

Corporate reputation is based on a number of factors. According to Axios and Harris Poll, seven factors combine to create a company's "Reputation Quotient": Trust, vision, growth, products and services, culture, ethics and citizenship.  An April 2021 survey of nearly 43,000 Americans found that these ten companies were considered "most visible" and had the best reputations, ranked in order from 1 to 10:

1. Patagonia
2. Honda
3. Moderna
4. Chik-fil-A
5. SpaceX
6. Chewy
7. Pfizer
8. Tesla Motors
9. Costco
10. Amazon.com

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: How Your Ads Affect Consumers

Instead of making assumptions about their advertising, marketers need to know what consumers expect from ads -- and what they don't like about ads. That was the dual focus of a recent survey of 2000 U.S. internet users, age 16 to 74, by GlobalWebIndex. Not surprisingly, nearly half (49.7 percent) of respondents wanted ads to give them product information, and 39.9 percent wanted ads to provide discounts or special offers. In addition, 38.6 percent said they wanted ads to be entertaining, and one-third (33.3 percent) wanted ads to teach them something new.

On the negative side, over half (51.9 percent) of consumers said they're turned off to a brand for which they see too many ads. Over one-third (36.6 percent) said their view of a brand would be negatively impact if they saw ads that were not relevant to them.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Primary Challenges for B2B Marketers

Research conducted by global business-to-business market research agency B2B International indicates that over half (55 percent) of B2B enterprise marketers say building/strengthening customer relationships in a digital world is the most widespread challenge. Delivering an excellent customer experience throughout the entire customer lifecycle is the challenge most cited by these marketers. Only 22 percent say they excel at the customer experience. A top priority for B2B enterprise marketers is demand generation, ranked first of high-priority marketing strategies. Ranked second was building the brand position.

For more insights from this study, visit: https://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2021/44973/b2b-marketer-pain-points-performance-and-priorities-for-the-year-ahead-b2b-marketing-monitor (Free subscription required).

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Pursuing Customer-centric Marketing in the Privacy Era

According to McKinsey, privacy is a hot button issue for marketers, and government regulators "have already begun to place limits on the use of customer data."

"This shift is expected to have profound implications for digital marketers, who may no longer be able to rely on cookies to boost the efficacy of customer outreach. Those marketers and companies that do not figure out a strategy to maintain—and even grow—their access to first-party data may have to spend 10 to 20 percent more on marketing and sales to generate the same returns."

McKinsey sees the solution as a new approach they call "Data Relationship Management (DRM): data invitation, a data security center, data dialogue, and a data value proposition. Companies that can get this new data relationship right—and that have the people, processes, and technology to implement it effectively—may be able to develop a significant, long-term source of competitive advantage." Read the in-depth article about DRM here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-customer-centric-approach-to-marketing-in-a-privacy-first-world?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Does Your Brand Engender Trust?

When more than 15,000 global consumers were asked about the most important elements of brand trust, the top response (74 percent) was "Respects and protects customers' data, privacy and security." Close behind (73 percent each) were "Protects my personal data" and "Is a good value for the price." These three elements came in at 72 percent each: "Is high quality/makes high quality products," "treats customers well, even in tough times" and "Has good customer service/is responsive to problems." Tied at 71 percent were "Consistently delivers on what they promise" and "Products/services are effective/work as advertised." The survey was conducted by Morning Consult as reported by Marketing Charts.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Social Media Usage Mixed Among Businesses

A recent survey by Sprout Social, as reported by Marketing Charts, indicates mixed usage of social media across a broad range of objectives. The survey queried 250 business executives at U.S. companies that use social media as an external communications channel. These executives are involved in decision-making about social media strategy. Close to three-quarters of respondents (72 percent) said their companies currently use social media for customer engagement, with 68 percent using it for sales, 67 percent for brand awareness, 65 percent for market insights, 61 percent for lead generation and 60 percent for customer service. When asked if their companies anticipate using social media for these purposes to a greater degree over the next three years, brand awareness and customer service were the only two areas in which executives anticipated an increase in the use of social media.

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Social Justice Matters to Consumers

Leading social marketing firm Porter Novelli has issued its 2021 Business & Social Justice Study. Key findings include:

• Silence has consequences: Six-in-10 (59%) Americans say it is no longer acceptable for companies to be silent on social justice issues and a further 49% say they assume companies that remain quiet on social justice issues don’t care.
• Speaking out is welcome, but it comes with accountability: Two-thirds (66%) say they appreciate when companies they haven’t heard from before join the dialogue, but 60 percent will hold a company accountable when it makes a statement of support around specific social justice issues.
• Corporate communications can normalize topics and drive change: Six-in-10 (60%) are optimistic that as companies begin to address social justice issues, we will see real change – and 62% believe companies can help normalize social justice conversations through their marketing and communications.
• Employees expect more from employers: More than half (58%) of employees today say they hold their employer to a higher standard than other companies when it comes to addressing social justice issues and 43% say they are reconsidering their current job because their company is not doing enough to address social justice issues externally.

Download the complete report here: https://www.porternovelli.com/findings/2021-porter-novelli-business-social-justice-study/

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.