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STOP RANDOM ACTS OF MARKETING

Name: STOP RANDOM ACTS OF MARKETING
Author: Karen Hayward
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0255-7

DELIBERATE & PRACTICAL GROWTH STRATEGIES FOR MID-MARKET CEOS

by Karen Hayward ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2019

A well-written discussion of sales and marketing as contributors to corporate success.

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A veteran of business-to-business sales and marketing advises companies on process improvements.

In this debut business book, Hayward draws on decades of work in sales and marketing for large companies (and her current work as chief marketing officer “for hire”) to advise CEOs of midsized companies on the most productive use of their sales and marketing budgets. The book lays out methods for determining customer needs, responding accordingly, and evaluating results in order to develop a coherent and effective strategy for attracting and retaining customers rather than a disjointed series of inefficient sales and marketing initiatives. Hayward guides readers through the fundamentals of marketing strategy, with a particular emphasis on surveying customers and prospects to make decisions based on facts instead of assumptions (“Sales could never have identified this remedy because they could never have identified the core concern of customers,” Hayward writes about one surprising customer revelation). The book also devotes many pages to distinguishing between the two disciplines (“It's surprising to see how few CEOs truly understand the difference between sales and marketing”), ensuring that readers understand how the fields interact and complement each other. Hayward's writing is clear and straightforward, and the relatively short book contains a substantial amount of information. Anecdotes from Hayward's employers and clients serve as illustrations for the concepts presented, giving readers concrete examples that make the theoretical explanations even more effective. Veterans of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis may not feel they need a refresher in the tool, but the book's description of the process offers useful new insights through an exercise Hayward presents in workshops. The book's audience is not primarily the sales representatives and marketers who interact with market segmentation, product demonstrations, and conversion rates on a regular basis, but the executives who oversee them without fully understanding their impact on the business, and for those readers, Hayward has created an effective and informative overview of the key elements of strategy and implementation that have the potential to drive revenue and improve outcomes.

A well-written discussion of sales and marketing as contributors to corporate success.

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5445-0255-7

Page Count: 180

Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing

Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2020

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.