Drilling for Gold Drilling for Gold How Corporations Can Successfully Market to Small Businesses JOHN WARRILLOW Copyright © 2002 by John Warrillow. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, E-Mail:
[email protected] This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional or advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. This title is also available in print as ISBN 0-471-12890-2. Some content that appears in the print version of this book may not be available in this electronic edition. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.Wiley.com To my team at Warrillow & Co.: Master your craft Deliver what you promise Know the small business market And do unto others as you’d have done unto you Contents Introduction 1 1 Step #1: Forget about the Small Business Market 2 Step #2: Find an Aggregator 3 Step #3: Speak their Language 4 Step #4: Find a Simulator 5 Conclusion: Your Four-Step Action Plan 5 81 105 129 149 Appendix A Partnership 2.0: The Next Generation of Partnership Strategies for Reaching the Small Business Market Successfully 151 Appendix B Small Business Marketing Campaigns That Resonate 173 Index 223 vii Introduction he small business market is the most important on earth. The majority of our family and friends depend on small businesses for their paychecks. Most of America’s economic output is generated by small business. The world’s great inventions—from the light bulb to the automobile—are gifts from the mind of an entrepreneur. More college graduates would rather start a business than be the president of the United States.1 And for marketers