Thousands of small, retail stores open every year, but 70 to 80 percent of them close within five years. Many are done in by the "big box" and Internet retailers who crush competition with low prices and convenience. But smaller retail stores and service providers have distinct competitive advantages: They are local. They can connect on a personal level with customers in a way the big guys can't. And they can add immense value to the customer experience. To capitalize on these advantages, marketing experts Steve O'Leary and Kim Sheehan offer dozens of inexpensive "Word of Mouth" marketing methods small businesses can use right away. Done well, these efforts will help smaller merchants do more than survive--they'll prosper. For independent retailers to succeed, it is no longer enough to create a loyal customer base. Local store marketers need to put their loyal customers to work, encouraging them to talk about the store to their friends, family members, and others in their social networks. When they do, the result is Word of Mouth (or Buzz) marketing, a powerful tool that creates an army of advocates who become even more loyal and help attract new customers. Besides learning how to leverage the power of word of mouth marketing, readers will learn: -How to understand their customers better. -How to increase customer loyalty to their store. -How to communicate with customers to maintain loyalty. -How to encourage loyal customers to talk to others about their store. -How to create a customer community, both in the store and on line. -How to measure results. The book also includes numerous examples from current businesses, as well as thought-provoking ideas and templates to help readersgenerate their own successful buzz marketing plans. Most resources available today on buzz marketing focus on techniques for large companies and online retailers. This book offers something priceless for the little guy by showing ways to increase loyalty and gain new customers.

If you want to own or manage a breakout company, R. Neil Thiessen can make it happen-and he'll save you frustration, time, and money, to boot.

Proven in myriad industries, Thiessen's Diamond Solution is a powerful tool for gaining insight into your business and uncovering opportunities that you never knew existed. With this guide, you will learn to develop critical elements for business success, including clarity, focus, adaptability, flexibility, and efficiency, as well as how to:

Decide whether growth is the right option right now for your business Take stock of existing company assets and human resources Determine what's currently working and what is not Build a trustworthy staff that is engaged and involved and will deliver results Foster a culture of accountability and action Implement "Leaderment," an ideal combination of leadership and management Use Opportunity Assessment to prioritize your precious resources

With the expert tips and strategies, case studies and examples, and practical exercises in this motivating and empowering book, you will avoid pitfalls, minimize risks, and achieve extraordinary results as your business grows with limited resources and limitless imaginations.

For undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship and/or small business management. Discover how to successfully launch and manage a small business. Open your students' minds to the possibilities, challenges, and rewards of becoming a small business owner with Entrepreneurship and Effective Small Business Management. This text provides students with the tools they need in order to launch and manage a small business. This Eleventh Edition continues to provide students with a practical, hands-on approach to launch a business that has the greatest chance for success. This edition features ten new cases and the most recent statistics, studies, surveys, and research about entrepreneurship and small business management.

This book examines the capital structure dynamics in Indian MSMEs, offering empirical evidence to better understand the financial practices within entrepreneurial settings. Altaf and Shah in this book assess the financing pattern of Indian MSMEs, response of capital structure determinants to different macroeconomic states, links between working capital and capital structure, cash flow volatility and capital structure and also the impact of credit risk on capital structure and firm performance relationship. This book enthuses the audience looking to understand newer dynamics of capital structure and its interplay in the Indian MSMEs.