Required Reading: The Complete Marketer

Back when three networks dominated broadcast TV and the Internet was something only computer geeks had heard of, reaching consumers was easy. Today, cable TV, the Internet, and other forces have changed the game and have broken audiences down into ever-smaller groups interested in niche topics. Rather than advertise to everyone, today's marketers have become savvier, targeting smaller groups with special interests. In Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here, authors David Verklin and Bernice Kanner draw the curtain back to expose why favorite shows get cancelled, why Oprah gives away Pontiacs, and why those who control what we watch, click, and see every day make the decisions they do. CRM's Colin Beasty spoke with David Verklin about the book. CRM magazine: What influences has online advertising had on traditional media? Verklin: It's shown us the importance of putting ads in front of people that will be interested. Take, for example, IAMS, which makes dog and cat food, and is one of our biggest clients. Recent statistics say that 40 percent of Americans own a dog; if you're the brand manager at IAMS, you don't want to put ads in front of the 60 percent of people who don't. The online medium has taught us a lot about that, and it started with Google and the idea of click-through advertising. Now we're learning about opt-in marketing and behavioral targeting by using cookies to see where you've been and what you've been doing. CRM magazine: Is technology multimedia marketing leading to a resurgence in outdoor advertising? Verklin: This is the second year in a row that the outdoor advertising market will experience record growth. In the age of TiVO and the Internet, an ad on a pole next to the highway is looking smarter and better than ever, because outdoor advertising now has more sophistication as to when and where it's served. Technologically, you're seeing the development of billboards that will use liquid crystal displays, allowing a company to run different ads throughout the course of the day, and billboards that leverage Bluetooth so when you walk by it will ping your cell phone about a sale on shorts at the Gap around the corner. CRM magazine: What will readers find most interesting about the book? Verklin: The marketing program of the future is about running campaigns and messages across multiple media. It will look like the tiles of your bathroom floor, with lots of elements, and lots of pieces that fit together as a whole. To reach the consumer in the future, marketers are going to put a lot of chips on the table with targeted, multimedia campaigns, and that will lead to a renaissance in television advertising. Other Page Turners:

Filled with case studies and anecdotes, How to Talk to Customers demystifies the most critical aspect of customer service: conversations employees have every day with customers. Authors Diane Berenbaum and Tom Larkin outline a proven system based on their M.A.G.I.C. (make a great impression on the customer) service training program. M.A.G.I.C. can help any employee become a better customer communicator.

It's been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, while expecting different results. Yet many sales professionals continue to tap into tactics that have been used for years. According to Bill Concevitch, chief talent and learning officer for Witness Systems and author of Counter-Intuitive Selling: Mastering the Art of the Unexpected, success can be attained by changing the way you think about selling. Concevitch reveals the secret to sales success in today's competitive world--doing the opposite of what your competitors and customers expect.

Executive coaching is soaring in popularity recently and savvy executives recognize its value. Unfortunately, one result of this explosion is that executives and human resource managers must choose among many "techniques" delivered by coaches with widely varying experience and training. To help combat this growing problem, Joan Kofodimos has written Your Executive Coaching Solution: Getting Maximum Benefit from the Coaching Experience, a guide for the coaching client.