Marc Gordon started his journey into entrepreneurship in 1986 at the age of sixteen. Racing model cars, Marc began importing parts and accessories that were not available in locally. What started out as a weekend hobby eventually became a major source of income. Fast forward, Marc started Fourword Communications and is built on the belief that small to medium sized companies need the same innovative services as do large corporations, but have a harder time getting the attention of ad agencies, or are unable to afford them.

Marc has written articles on marketing and branding for Glass Canada, Canadian Franchise, Canadian Bodyshop, and Optical Prism magazines. He has also been featured in the Toronto Sun and many local community newspapers.

In 2007 Marc created marcgordon.ca, a web site that gives visitors an opportunity to learn more about marketing their business. Through the site and his email newsletters, Marc provides ideas, tips and case studies that demonstrate how innovative marketing concepts can allow any business to experience long term growth.

Hello everyone,

I have been busy yet still keeping up with my reading now that I am back from holidays. It is just not as easy to make the time to read when I am home. This week’s review is a book “Selling The Invisible - A Field Guide to Modern Marketing” by Harry Beckwith. Now the title sounds a little dour, but I have to say that this is a very quick read and very enjoyable. It was described in the book cover as: “a treasure of hundreds of quick, practical, and easy-to-read strategies – few more than one page long. Selling the Invisible will open your eyes to new ideas. It has dozens of proven yet overlooked ideas for research, presentations, publicity, advertising and client retention”.

The reasons I found this book on service businesses and how to manage service relationships really enjoyable were…

Ø The easy writing style and large type

Ø The fun real life case studies

Ø The short length of the many subjects that Harry was trying to explain and address

Ø The clarity with which Harry made his case on the subjects he was addressing

Ø The emphasis on the book being “don’t think better, think different”. Different ways of approaching marketing challenges are presented. It is now up to the reader to use the ideas and adapt them to his or her industry. There were numerous examples and all very relatable.

Ø The solution to servicing well, is really not that hard and not something you have to be trained to do. We have just forgotten to ask people what they want and give it to them the way they need. Sometimes it is as simple as a thank you note. Harry recommends you consider how many thank you notes you wrote last year and then this year you need to double the number. See where it gets you and your business.

Selling the Invisible will help anyone that markets a product, service or career. It is on the top of my list of recommended books to read.

Enjoy and have a prosperous week.

Tricia Ryan
Principal The Marketing Chefs

Karen Sencich is a Professional Organizer, speaker and writer and owner of Havoc to Harmony. Clients call her “The Universal Remote” to life as she has helped them click through life transitions since 1999. Dealing with a new job, a new home, a birth or death can be very stressful. Karen’s philosophy is that organizing is an essential life skill and it’s never too late to learn.

As an award winning, hands on organizing expert, Karen offers organizing sessions through Humber College and national teleclasses. Her work has been featured in Chatelaine, Today’s Parent, The Toronto Star, on Canada AM and Roger’s Daytime.

She is the author of several organizing related publications including the new “Tackle it Now” easy reference guides which feature easy-to-implement tips and techniques to juggle responsibilities at home, work and school.

www.havoctoharmony.com

Tricia Ryan goes over many of the essential online marketing strategies for people using the Internet for their businesses. Includes insights about making money with your website, and the various tools at your disposal to increase the likelihood of success on ThatRadio.com