10 Acclaimed Books on Marketing For Small Businesses

CEOs and business owners often have a pretty good grasp on what it takes to market their business. On the other hand, marketing conditions and opportunities are forever changing, and it never hurts to acquire some additional knowledge. Here’s a brief look at 10 popular and acclaimed books on marketing for small businesses.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!

Best-selling authors Al Ries and Jack Trout offer more than twenty pioneering principles for success in the marketplace. Ries was recently included in the “Top 10 Business Gurus” by the Marketing Executive Networking group. Jack Trout is a renowned marketing strategist. Together, they provide insights on how to successfully market products and services.

Methods of Persuasion: How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior

Incorporating principles derived from cognitive psychology, Nick Kolenda has developed a unique way to influence people's thoughts. His "mind reading" stage show depicting that phenomenon has been seen by over a million people across the globe.

Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

In this expanded edition of a classic work on marketing, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne contend that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating “blue oceans”—untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

The legendary book by Malcolm Gladwell breaks down that “magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” The phenomenon outlined here has changed the way people think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter to You

This book by John Hall offers a unique approach on how to connect and engage with your audience. From there, you can build a strong relationship with your customers and make your brand the first thing that comes to their minds when they think about respective products or industries.

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

This bestselling book by Robert Cialdini is all about understanding what makes people tick, why they say "yes" instead of "no," and how to use that knowledge to your advantage.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

In Contagious, Jonah Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. He offers specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread — for designing messages, advertisements, and content that people will share.

The Marketing Blueprint

The Marketing Blueprint by Jules Marcoux, a Canadian entrepreneur and marketing consultant, offers a step-by-step guide covering all essential marketing strategies, as well as more than 30 lessons of practical content business owners can use right away.

The One-Minute Presentation

Authors Keith Schreiter and Tom “Big Al” Schreiter present a way to give your entire business presentation in less than one minute. This approach, the authors contend, gives you the flexibility to make your presentation anywhere, at any time, in any circumstances.

Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know

In this book, named Best Marketing Book of 2011 by the American Marketing Association, author Mark Jeffrey provides a clear guide to the use of a rigorous, data-driven strategic approach to deliver performance gains from your marketing strategy. It explores the use of data to optimize marketing efforts and come out on top every time.

Want to hear about other great books that can expand your knowledge and help build your business? Check out “Learn from the Greats: The 7 Best Business Books of All Time.”