Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM APRIL 2014 14 B O O K R E V I E W S mall business owners are exceptional at delivering on their product or service. Many, however, don't know where to start when it comes to online marketing. The Small Business Online Marketing Handbook will show you how to effectively leverage email, social, online, and network marketing to get new customers and keep existing customers coming back. Author Annie Tsai shows you how to refocus just a small percentage of an offline marketing budget and create exponential return for your business. The technology takeover is here. As a small business owner, you know you can't fight it anymore. Whether you're excited, apprehensive, or both, you've decided that the best thing for your business is to get tapped into the opportunities available to you online. But where do you even start? From building your own website to setting up social media profiles, joining directories, advertising, and more, your digital checklist is more than a little overwhelming. "One of the main challenges small businesses face in terms of influencing—or even joining—the online social conversation is that there is simply so much information out there," acknowledges Tsai, "It's difficult to know where to start, where to focus, and where to invest the marketing dollars and time you have. And as you may suspect, the stakes are fairly high: If you don't connect with consumers in the right ways and invest in the right social channels, your efforts could very well have no impact—or worse, a detrimental effect—on your business." In her book, Tsai offers a comprehensive explanation of how small businesses can carve out a space within the online scene, connect with consumers, and market to them in order to grow. "Building a plan for your online reputation before you dive in will save you countless hours down the line, so take the time to do things right up-front and to cultivate a solid understanding of the work ahead of you," Tsai concludes. "Again, these are skills you already have as a small business owner, so don't allow yourself to become so intimidated that you throw in the digital towel before you've begun." "And don't feel that you have to do everything yourself, either," she adds. "You may find that one of your employees has the skills and interest to take on these kinds of projects, which is an ideal situation for the business since you can keep things in-house and support career development for someone on your team. In the end, don't be afraid to ask for help, especially if you're under time constraints. Whatever the outcome here, the first step is to understand what you need to do and be thoughtful about how you take on this very important piece of your business." With the proliferation of social media and the consumer voice on the web, small business owners need to take a deliberate approach to leveraging this new marketing channel to effectively convert online conversations into offline sales. The Small Business Online Marketing Handbook shows you how. THE SMALL BUSINESS ONLINE MARKETING HANDBOOK Converting Online Conversations to Offline Sales Author: Annie Tsai is a popular blogger and Chief Customer Officer for Demand- force, an automated Internet marketing and communication company specializing in small- to medium-sized businesses, recently acquired by Intuit. www.demandforce.com. Publisher: Wiley RO

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