Duct Tape Marketing John Jantsch Review

Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch

Book Review - 4.5 Stars

John Jantsch is the author of the Duct Tape Marketing blog, widely regarded as one of the best small business blogs on the Internet and in 2006 published his book "Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide" which is excellent.

Duct Tape Marketing - Not The Book I Expected

When I read that John Jantsch had been a certified E-Myth consultant I was expecting a book that showed definite links back to the E Myth marketing concepts and especially to the psychographic profiling I found so interesting in Michael Gerber's book "E Myth Mastery" and which also features in the E Myth Mastery program.

I was to be disappointed by the fact that psychographics was mentioned in passing but I wasn't disappointed by the "Duct Tape Marketing" book in general. 

I think it is a terrific marketing book for small business owners.

Is It Me? I Don't Get The Duct Tape Analogy

I'm not the most practical guy and duct tape must be a more common phrase in America but the Duct Tape name and associations pass me by and don't convey the intended meaning.

It's not that I won't try to fix things, it's just that I tend to make DIY jobs worse rather than better so Margaret's normal response is "We'll get a man in."

The message John Jantsch is intending to put across is that, just like duct tape, the Duct Tape Marketing system is easy to use, simple, convenient and immensely practical. 

The Battle For Small Business Marketing - Guerrilla Marketing versus Duct Tape Marketing

Duct Tape Marketing is marketing aimed at smaller business so that  pitches it straight  up against Jay Conrad Levinson and Guerrilla Marketing.

As a certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach,  I am a little biased so you might want to allow for that in my comments.

I've tried not to let it show and my view is that you are far better off reading six great books about marketing than just the one. I also believe that you should read the books regularly.

If Jay Abraham can read Claude Hopkins "Scientific Advertising" book every year and pick up new perspectives, I'm certain that I will learn new things from re-reading my favourite books including Duct Tape Marketing.

What Is Marketing?

There is an excellent definition of marketing in the Duct Tape book.

Marketing is "getting people who have a specific need or problem to know, like, trust and do business with and refer you to others who have this same need or problem."

I'd just slip in "want" after the specific need or problem and "regularly" after do business with and then I think you'd have the perfect definition to keep you on target.

I like the Guerrilla Marketing definition "everything you do from the time you conceive your business to when you have customers buying regularly" but the Duct Tape Marketing definition is more focused.

What Is In Duct Tape Marketing

A quick run through of chapter titles as they are descriptive and show you what's covered and what's not in the Duct Tape Marketing book.

1. Identify your ideal client - so important when you have a small marketing budget so that you can target your expenditure.
    
   
2. Discover your core marketing message - just how are you going to stand out in a crowd and define your particular niche positioning.
    
   
3. Wake up the senses with an image to match your message - as a trained Guerrilla I know that "image" is fake and what John really means is Identity and to be fair he does use identity throughout the chapter.
   
   Most people are too sophisticated these days to be fooled by a fake image but you do have to make sure that you present your true identity is a favourable way and stop doing things that damage the message.
    
   
4. Create products and services for every stage of client development - this takes you through the sales funnel and a great concept called the marketing hourglass which I believe John Jantsch should have made more of.
   
   What's a marketing hourglass? It's the sales funnel balanced out by the development of the back end where you make the money and a great reminder that marketing must not stop at the first order.
    
   
5. Produce marketing materials that educate - I first learnt this message from Jay Abraham but the simple truth is that people love to learn and there is no better way to show that you know the answers your prospective clients want.
    
   My Business Coaching blog is built on this very principle as it is packed with advice and links to even more advice. You probably think it makes sense in the business advice world, but it also makes sense for many other products and services.
    
   
6. A website that works day and night - practical tips on website design and rudimentary search engine optimisation tips. Not particularly advanced but very practical and it may be all you need to get to the top of Google for local searches.
    
   
7. Get your entire team involved in marketing - I completely agree with this chapter. First of all every employee represents the business so their actions reflect back on the business and it is important to understand the consequences. Second, it is alleged that the whole world is connected within six relationships. Your employees know potential customers or know the family and friends of potential  customers.
    
   
8. Run advertising that gets results - this starts with the truth that "most advertising doesn't work" but a fortune is wasted in this area.
   
   Jay Conrad Levinson goes further to make the point by saying that advertising doesn't work on its own and, because of cost, should probably be the last element of marketing you spend your money on because it only works in combinations with your other marketing weapons.
    
   
9. Direct mail is an ideal target medium -  I am a fan of direct mail but a poor direct mail campaign can be expensive and I'm told that in general, response rates are reducing. 
   
   The keys to success are a good letter, a great list and  persistence. John Jantsch also recommends lumpy direct mail and I've only tried this once but I was unlucky. It was several years ago and the day my letters were posted, a story broke that terrorists were sending Anthrax in personalised letters. For some reason I didn't get a great response.
    
   
10. Earned media attention and expert status - this is PR and a great way to gain attention although you can't control exactly what is written.
     
    
11. Ramp up a systematic referral machine - a great chapter on generating referrals and I find it much more authoritative than Brad Sugars Instant Referrals book I reviewed recently.
     
    
12. Automate your marketing with technology tools - this chapter includes advice on autoresponders, rss feeds, email newsletters and are all good practical tips.
     
    
13. Turn prospects into clients and clients into partners with an advanced education system - which is basically focused on converting the lead.
    
    This is often an area of hidden expense. Yes it is good if your marketing improves and the number of leads generated increasingly but you are likely to spend a considerable amount of money and time converting that interest. Fine if you convert one in every two but not so good if you only manage one in ten or even worse.
     
    
14. Commit to your marketing with a plan, budget and calendar - I'm a Guerrilla Marketer so I'm not going to quibble with the principles here although particular methods differ. John Jantsch tells you to block time for your marketing in your daily schedule and I agree entirely.

General Thoughts On Duct Tape Marketing

I like "Duct Tape Marketing" very much although in my summary review I have attracted the attention of the Duct Tape Marketing Coaches with the comment that I believe that the book under-represents the marketing opportunities after a prospective customer starts to buy.

This is partly because it's the stronger area of my marketing knowledge and existing customers often represent a sizeable pool of hidden profits which can be unlocked quickly and comparatively easily.

It is also partly because the Marketing Hourglass is such an outstanding visual analogy of the marketing process within a business - attracting customers in through the lead generation process and then focusing on their needs by providing greater and greater benefits.

Duct Tape Marketing Rating - 4.5 Stars

The 4.5 stars given to Duct Tape Marketing is a strong buy recommendation.

I don't expect it to edge up to the five star rating over time but it has left me hungry and wanting to know more about John Jantsch and the Duct Tape Marketing ideas so to that extent it is a very strong lead generator.

You can buy the book from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

This is a very worthy addition to your library of small business marketing books which should also include:

Jay Abraham Getting Everything You Can

Jay Conrad Levinson Guerrilla Marketing

Michael Port Book Yourself Solid (especially for professional service providers)

Chet Holmes The Ultimate Sales Machine

The more you understand the nuances of marketing the more success you and your business will be. It may be that one concept resonates from one person whilst another concepts works best from someone else's perspective. 

I don't want you to become overwhelmed and there is a lot of generic rubbish out there but you won't go wrong with these five books including Duct Tape Marketing.

What Do You Think of Duct Tape Marketing?

I have nominated Duct Tape Marketing as one of the best marketing books but do you agree?

 

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Comments

[Paul Simister]

What do other people think about Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch?

Reviewers at Amazon make me feel stingy. At the moment there have been 37 reviews of Duct Tape Marketing

5 Stars - 32
4 Stars - 3
3 Stars -2

Here are the links to a few more reviews of Duct Tape Marketing

Freelance Switch

http://freelanceswitch.com/product-reviews/duct-tape-marketing-book-review/

Tim Peter

http://www.timpeter.com/blog/2009/07/30/duct-tape-marketing-by-john-jantsch-book-review-of-the-week-ish/comment-page-1/

SME Blog

http://www.sme-blog.com/comments/book-review-duct-tape-marketing-by-john-jantsch

[Paul]

Ever since I wrote that I don't get the Duct Tape analogy in Duct Tape Marketing, I have been noticing how often it appears in American films and TV shows.

[Richard Pelletier]

Thanks for a very useful and thoughtful analysis. Thinking about buying the workbooks and cd's package.

[Paul]

Richard

Thanks for your comment.

I haven't had a chance to review the Duct Tape Marketing workbooks and Cds.

Personally I would start with the book and if you like that, go on to invest more.

[Paul Simister]

John Jantsch has recently published his second book after the success of Duct tape marketing.

It's called The Referral Engine.

I expect it to be another cracker.