Street Fighter Marketing Solutions: How One-on-One Marketing Will Help You Overcome the Challenges of Modern-Day Salesmanship

Despite the title's implicit promise to deliver down-and-dirty marketing tactics, the advice is tame. Drawing upon the practices of his Ohio-based consultancy, Slutsky assures readers they can maintain their company's current public exposure on half the budget, but the solution turns out to be a commonsense understanding of media demographics and cost-effective purchasing. Occasionally, there's a flash of insight—like using business cards from prize drawings to collect geographic data on customers—but most of Slutsky's methods are obviously conventional. Let's face it: a business owner who has to be reminded to include a phone number on all advertising material probably needs more help than one guide can offer. The handful of “edgy” suggestions may even border on the offensive—would you want to order something from a company that tricked you into opening its direct mailing ad by disguising it as a wedding invitation? And the “let's put on a show” mentality of the final chapter on special promotional events is likely to fall beyond the resources of most small businesses. Though none of these tips are actually harmful, they don't distinguish Slutsky from the rest of the marketing pack. (Sept. 18)