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There is a new book available that every entrepreneur and SoHo (Small office home office) owner should read.    It is called Marketing Right Now.

You should not confuse it with the book featured on the right.  That book may never be on the shelves of your local bookstore, although there is an undoubted need for such a book.  What we are talking about here is an e-book.

The correct title does not include that last For Winners phrase, but be assured that what is included can make your business a winner.  The e-book is available as a free download. 

Although it naturally deals with how to do business on the Internet, the most interesting sections deal with the important steps you should take before you get close to creating a Web page.  If you are to succeed, then you must have a clear strategy.

Some people treat the concept of strategy in a somewhat cavalier fashion. Perhaps without realizing it, you are one of these people.  You can easily check whether you have a clear strategy by answering the following three questions:

1. What marketing niche will my product or service target?  (What does a typical prospect of look like?)
2. Who are the strongest competitors going after these same prospects?
3. How will my product or service offer a superior experience to my target prospects?

Do not feel bad if any of these three questions stump you.  There are a significant number of businesses owners who would be similarly stumped.

As you may note, the concepts discussed here seem to be getting attention from some very important commentators.  Strategy is challenging because it defines what you will put efforts and resources into and what you will not allow yourself to be diverted by.  This single-minded focus is not easy to achieve and many people almost goof-off in doing whatever comes to mind as they try to grow their business.

This e-book puts the emphasis on this first step of strategy.  That starts with the potential customers you feel your business might serve.  You must be capable of creating a product or service that they will find superior to what the competition is offering.

You can of course sometimes make a reasonable living by having a me-too product or service.  However the Internet is a real threat to such merely adequate suppliers.  Buyers can explore what is available and they will undoubtedly go for the best they can find.

Two important operational details are also emphasized.  If you put Time as Job One, then this can give you an almost instant competitive advantage.  You must also have good communications with your prospects and clients on a continuing basis.  That implies an effective blog.  Without it your business will be hard pressed to grow as it should.

Since the e-book is a free download, it is almost a no-brainer to check it out for yourself.  The e-book itself is a one megabyte PDF file so please be patient when you get to that step.

We welcome feedback on the e-book since this would allow a revision of the contents at some time in the future.  Please add your comments here.  They will be most welcome.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Competitive advantage, Entrepreneur, job one, marketing, Small business, Time