21st Century Marketing: What it is, Why it Matters and How to Do it: How to Generate Word of Mouth in the Digital Age

"21st Century Marketing: What it is, why it matters and how to do it" is a comprehensive full colour guide to the 21st Century Marketing System. It takes you through the entire process step-by-step and show you precisely how to create your own 21st Century Marketing Blueprint specifically tailored to your exact business needs. It's been over two years in development and is based on solving a real problem experienced by real entrepreneurs and small business owners on a daily basis. During my research a common complaint was best articulated by one business owner in Jersey who said: "It's a real jungle out there and it's all so complex - what with digital marketing, social media and everything else. Plus there are so many self-proclaimed experts talking about so many different things it's impossible to know who to trust and where to start. Marketing generally is just so confusing these days it's a real nightmare for people like me." The 21st Century Marketing System offers a simple solution to a complex problem. This book is your map of the modern marketing jungle, drawn by an expert who's fought their way through the highs and lows of the modern marketing landscape and cut a path for you to follow. A well experience and highly qualified professional you can trust - and someone who actually 'walks their talk'. This is the first book in the 21st Century Marketing series, its purpose is to give you a solid foundation in modern marketing - and a fighting chance! It covers a number of key business and marketing concepts and you'll come away with a good understanding of the modern marketing landscape. You'll also discover exactly what you need to do to increase your sales, attract your ideal customers, and generate that all important words-of-mouth to get ahead of the game and put your business firmly on the map!

About the Author :
Experience I started my first business in my early 20's but within a few years I'd screwed up, gone bust and buried myself under a mountain of debt. By the age of 26 I'd 'lost my shirt', become start-up failure statistic and was on first name terms with a local bankruptcy solicitor. And I guess that's where the story starts... The Biggest Lesson Having a great product was only a small part of the equation. I learned the hard way that marketing is far more important - and a skill I needed to develop before I had another go. I read every marketing book I could get my hands on, attended every seminar my credit card could bear, and burned the candle at both ends to hone my marketing skills. I loved it. It became my passion. It consumed me! Over the last 25 years I've started several businesses and helped friends take that great leap into the unknown. Some were successful, others less so! When I focused on my customers and applied what I learnt, things usually turned out well. At least until the Internet came along and started to turn the marketing world on its head. Expensive Frustration I spent several years grappling with the swarm of new developments and trying to understand how the whole thing pieced together. Not to mention burning a hole in my credit cards attending weekend seminars run by the self-proclaimed experts of the day peddling the latest Internet fad. The digital snake oil salesman left me frustrated, confused, deep in debt and with literally hundreds of hours of DVDs to wade through to find a single nugget of wisdom I could use in my next venture. The stress of life in the fast lane eventually took its toll and I was diagnosed with a pretty serious heart condition. That stopped me dead in my tracks and my doctors insisted I quit work and take things easy! Back to School But I had to do something, so I went back to college and started to formalise my marketing and management experience, which was a really useful exercise - and actually kind of fun. I began to understand the theory around what I'd been doing all those years, but the big digital picture still eluded me. That was until I enrolled for a Master's Degree in Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2012. The fog gradually lifted and all became clear during my final year. My research dissertation focussed on the impact of the digital marketing skills gap on small business owners - and boy - was that an eye opener! I'd finally solved the puzzle and it all made perfect sense. The Next Chapter Graduating in 2015 set me up for my next career move - to help fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners get to grips with the modern marketing landscape rather than drown in a sea of social media and digital information overload. Every entrepreneur I interviewed during my research told me that if they only knew how modern marketing actually worked before they started their business, their lives would have been so much easier! That inspired me to continue my journey and the concept of the 21st Century Marketing System was born shortly before I started my part-time PhD. A New Mission In August 2017 I published my first book based on my research entitled "21st Century Marketing: What it is, why it matters and how to do it". My goal now is to help every willing entrepreneur and small business owner build a solid foundation in modern marketing before they repeat the mistakes I made when I first started. You have to put marketing at the very heart of your businesses if you want to break through the noise and get your voice heard in our 24/7 connected world dominated by technology, social media and 'digital everything'. And that's not easy! This book has been specifically written to show every entrepreneur and small business owner exactly what they need to do to harness the power of the internet, why it's important to their business, and precisely how to do it.

Review :
"I started my business 3 years ago and had some great ideas - but lacked the knowledge to apply them and make them work. When I read Chris' book '21st Century Marketing' - I instinctively knew this could be the key to unlocking the missing pieces I'd been struggling to find - and all in one place! It contains so much great material and I like the fact it's direct and to the point! It's also very easy to read and absorb and I'm sure I'll be referring to it regularly as I continue to build my business. Chris is so passionate and not only talks the talk, but also walks the walk. Everything he explains in great detail in the book, he applies to himself and his own business. What more of an advocate could you ask for? Now I'm ready to take my business to the next level and I'm confident it will be a success as I apply the learning Chris shares in his book." Sam Sloan * Director * 123 People Development "Having been in business for over 10 years, I was keen to read this book. There is a multitude of great, current content and many learning opportunities. Chris has captured a blend between tried and tested marketing alongside the most modern digital marketing strategies. All this targeted to startups and new businesses makes it a must buy book." Tania Jones * Director * Solofusion.co.uk "I needed something to help me in my job as a newly qualified solicitor in a small legal practice, as I am now also responsible for marketing. My first impression was that the author has put a huge amount of work into this book and the quality of the material is extremely high. I liked the way the topics are clearly split and straight to the point and not full of waffle. The diagrams and supporting visuals are very useful and make it easy to understand and digest the information. The section on social media is very interesting, and in particular I found the section on blogging really helpful as this is something I now need to do every day. This book is a great resource to learn from and keep on your desk to refer back to. I would certainly recommend it to anybody who does not know a lot about marketing and needs to get up to speed quickly." Leah Sizova * Solicitor * Kinley Legal