Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

It's unfortunate that the author, founder of Minneapolis's Beckwith Advertising and Marketing, and his editor didn't spend more time on this book, intended to help service businesses sell their products. They could have eliminated the endless repetition; for example, we are told four times that clients aren't buying a service provider's expertise but are buying a relationship. A tightly focused, engaging book would have offered more useful advice. Beckwith underscores the concept that a brilliant marketing plan is virtually useless if your service is less than first-rate. He talks about the importance of pricing the service to correctly reflect the value of what is offered and why small firms should not be afraid to trumpet that they are small. But by the time we have heard again that McDonald's is really selling not food but entertainment, we aren't as receptive to Beckwith's message as we might be. BOMC alternate; Time Warner audio. (Mar.)