Start using it strategically. Identify specific, actionable goals. Apply business discipline and proven best practices. Stop fearing risks. Start mitigating them. Measure performance. Get results. You can. This book shows you how. Jason Falls and Erik Deckers serve up practical social media techniques and metrics for building brands, strengthening awareness, improving service, optimizing R&D, driving better leads--and closing more sales. "Conversations" and "communities" are wonderful, but they're not enough. Get this book and get what you really want from social media: profits. Think social media's a passing fad? Too risky? Just a toy? Too soft and fuzzy? Not for your business? Wake up! It's where your customers are. And it ain't going away. Does that suck? No. It doesn't. Do social media right, and all those great business buzzwords come true. Actionable. Measurable. And...wait for it...here comes the big one. Profitable. Damn profitable. Want to know how to do it right? We'll show you. And, yeah, we know how because we've done it. This is the bullshit-free, lie-free, fluff-free, blessedly non-New-Age real deal. You're going to learn how to use social media to deliver absolutely killer customer service. How to R&D stuff people actually want. Develop scads of seriously qualified leads. You'll figure out what you want. You know, the little things like profits, market share, loyalty, and brand power. You'll figure out how to measure it. And then you'll go get it. One more thing. We know what scares you about social media. Screwing up (a.k.a., your mug on the front page of The Wall Street Journal). So we'll tell you what to do so that won't happen. Ever. No B.S. in this book. Just facts. Metrics. Best practices. Stuff to warm the hearts of your CFO, CEO, all your C-whatevers. And, yeah, you. So get your head out from under the pillow. Get your butt in gear. Let's go make some money.

    Thank you, Scott, for a wonderful book that has changed my life!" --Scott Alexander"Compelling...startling...I recommend it for everyone!" --Scott Alexander

    Features chapters on finance, marketing, accounting, strategy, quantitative analysis, operations, economics, organisational behaviour, and ethics, all revised to reflect the contemporary corporate culture and economic climate.

    ZAG follows the ultra-clear "whiteboard overview" style of the author's first book, THE BRAND GAP, but drills deeper into the question of how brands can harness the power of differentiation. The author argues that in an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough--today companies need "radical differentiation" to create lasting value for their shareholders and customers. In an entertaining 3-hour read you'll learn:- why me-too brands are doomed to fail- how to "read" customer feedback on new products and messages- the 17 steps for designing "difference" into your brand- how to turn your brand's "onliness" into a "trueline" to drive synergy- the secrets of naming products, services, and companies- the four deadly dangers faced by brand portfolios- how to "stretch" your brand without breaking it- how to succeed at all three stages of the competition cycleFrom the back cover: In an age of me-too products and instant communications, keeping up with the competition is no longer a winning strategy. Today you have to out-position, out-maneuver, and out-design the competition. The new rule? When everybody zigs, zag. In his first book, THE BRAND GAP, Neumeier showed companies how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design. In ZAG, he illustrates the number-one strategy of high-performance brands--radical differentiation.ZAG is an AIGA Design Press book, published under Peachpit's New Riders imprint in partnership with AIGA. For a quick peek inside ZAG, go to www.zagbook.com.

    It is an invaluable tool for experienced and novice bloggers alike, explaining not only what it takes to create an authentic, successful, and profitable blog, but how to get there.Change the Way You Blog:Empower yourself to stop comparing your blog to othersUnderstand what makes awesome content and how to create itDiscover the critical importance of compelling presentationIncrease your blog traffic through proven techniquesDevelop a solid Pinterest strategy for capturing viral growthBoost your revenue through diversified income streamsLearn how to work smarter not harder

    Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment.According to W. Edwards Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1982, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.Previously published by MIT-CAES

    (Put another way, teaming is to innovation what assembly lines are to car production.) This book brings together key insights on teaming, as they pertain to innovation. How do you build a culture of innovation? What does that culture look like? How does it evolve and grow? How are teams most effectively created and then nurtured in this context? What is a leader's role in this culture? This little book is a roadmap for teaming to innovate. We describe five necessary steps along that road: Aim High, Team Up, Fail Well, Learn Fast, and Repeat. This path is not smooth. To illustrate each critical step, we look at real-life scenarios that show how teaming to innovate provides the spark that can fertilize creativity, clarify goals, and redefine the meaning of leadership.

    Recognized by "Brandweek" as "the dean of the brand-equity movement," Aaker now prepares managers for the next level of the brand revolution -- brand leadership.For the first time, Aaker and coauthor Erich Joachimsthaler describe how the emerging paradigm of strategic brand leadership is replacing the classic, tactically oriented brand management system pioneered by Procter & Gamble. This fundamental shift involves nothing less than a revolution in organizational structure, systems, and culture -- as the authors demonstrate with hundreds of case studies from companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Virgin Airlines, Adidas, GE, Marriott, IBM, McDonald's, Maggi, and Swatch. This immensely readable book provides the brand management team with the capability to:Create and elaborate brand identities (what should the brand stand for)Use the brand relationship spectrum, a powerful tool to harness subbrands and endorsed brands to form brand architectures that create clarity, synergy and leveraged assetsIdentify the customer "sweet spot" and the driving idea that will move brand-building efforts beyond advertising to break out of the clutterUse the Internet and sponsorship to make brands resources work more effectivelyAddress the four imperatives of global brand managementLike David Aaker's two previous bestselling books, "Brand Leadership" will be essential reading for line executives and brand managers in market-driven firms worldwide.

    Product placement and other innovations have introduced more subtle advertising to movies and television. Drawing on her own survey research and unprecedented access to the advertising industry, Juliet B. Schor, New York Times bestselling author of The Overworked American, examines how marketing efforts of vast size, scope, and effectiveness have created "commercialized children." Ads and their messages about sex, drugs, and food affect not just what children want to buy, but who they think they are. In this groundbreaking and crucial book, Schor looks at the consequences of the commercialization of childhood and provides guidelines for parents and teachers. What is at stake is the emotional and social well-being of our children. Like Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Mary Pipher's Reviving Ophelia, and Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, Born to Buy is a major contribution to our understanding of a contemporary trend and its effects on the culture.

    

    

    You don’t need any experience or any prior knowledge. Anik Singal takes you through the entire step-by-step process that he has perfected over the last 10 years! The process of turning your passion into $1 Million is broken down into 2 phases. The goal of this book is to have you turning profits as soon as possible. Many students of this book have reported seeing profits within the first week! The Circle of Profit is a cutting-edge approach that has simplified the process of launching your own digital publishing business. Using this system, you can turn your passion, hobby or professional expertise into a lifetime of profits! Your entire business will be centered around delivering content using specific tools available on the Internet. Phase 1: Building Your Audience & Creating Profit You will learn how to build an Email list of subscribers who quickly view you as a true expert in your chose topic. From there, you will learn how to write perfect Emails that help you build a strong relationship with your reader (even if you almost failed English in school). Last but not least, Anik Singal shows you exactly how to use your new subscribers to start generating fast profits right from your computer! Phase 2: Using Digital Products To Create $1 Million In this phase, Anik Singal guides you on the exact steps to take to create your own digital content product. You will then get a model to follow to market this product online. The entire model will show you how to automatically scale this business to generating your first $1 Million online! If you’re ready to really live the life of your dreams, this book is the perfect vehicle to get you there. The Circle of Profit has taken over a decade to come together, it’s already changed thousands of lives around the world!

    In this book, Patrick Bet-David “helps entrepreneurs understand exactly what they need to do next” (Brian Tracy, author of Eat That Frog!) by translating this skill into a valuable methodology. Whether you feel like you’ve hit a wall, lost your fire, or are looking for innovative strategies to take your business to the next level, Your Next Five Moves has the answers. You will gain: CLARITY on what you want and who you want to be. STRATEGY to help you reason in the war room and the board room. GROWTH TACTICS for good times and bad. SKILLS for building the right team based on strong values. INSIGHT on power plays and the art of applying leverage. Combining these principles and revelations drawn from Patrick’s own rise to successful CEO, Your Next Five Moves is a must-read for any serious executive, strategist, or entrepreneur.

    For many routine choices, from shopping to investing, we can make good decisions simply by avoiding common errors, such as searching only for confirming information or avoiding the hindsight bias. But as Phil Rosenzweig shows, for many of the most important, more complex situations we face--in business, sports, politics, and more--a different way of thinking is required. Leaders must possess the ability to shape opinions, inspire followers, manage risk, and outmaneuver and outperform rivals. Making winning decisions calls for a combination of skills: clear analysis and calculation--left brain--as well as the willingness to push boundaries and take bold action--right stuff. Of course leaders need to understand the dynamics of competition, to anticipate rival moves, to draw on the power of statistical analysis, and to be aware of common decision errors--all features of left brain thinking. But to achieve the unprecedented in real-world situations, much more is needed. Leaders also need the right stuff. In business, they have to devise plans and inspire followers for successful execution; in politics, they must mobilize popular support for a chosen program; in the military, commanders need to commit to a battle strategy and lead their troops; and in start-ups, entrepreneurs must manage risk when success is uncertain. In every case, success calls for action as well as analysis, and for courage as well as calculation. Always entertaining, often surprising, and immensely practical, Left Brain, Right Stuff draws on a wealth of examples in order to propose a new paradigm for decision making in synch with the way we have to operate in the real world. Rosenzweig's smart and perceptive analysis of research provides fresh, and often surprising, insights on topics such as confidence and overconfidence, the uses and limits of decision models, the illusion of control, expert performance and deliberate practice, competitive bidding and new venture management, and the true nature of leadership.

    The Book of Business Awesome is designed as two shortbooks put together--one read from the front and the other readfrom the back when flipped over. Covering key business conceptsrelated to marketing, branding, human resources, public relations, social media, and customer service, The Book of BusinessAwesome includes case studies of successful businesses thatgained exposure through being awesome and effective. This bookprovides actionable tools enabling readers to apply the conceptsimmediately to their own businesses. The flip side of the book, The Book of Business UnAwesome, shares the train-wreckstories of unsuccessful businesses and showcases what not todo.Key concepts include the power of peripheral referrals and howto create content for your "third circle"Explains how to re-recruiting your employees and re-court yourcustomersEnsure that your business remains awesome, instead of unawesome, and apply these awesomely effective strategies to your businesstoday.