Business

Brief Summary Marketing for Growth is a guide to how the marketing function within a business can and should become its most important driver of growth. Marketers play a crucial role in generating revenue and they can play an equally important role in how revenues translate into profit. Growth is also about becoming a better business by being smarter or more efficient, and growing in a sustainable way. This involves developing and improving products, processes and standard of service. Marketers have their ear to the ground and therefore are often the first to pick up on changing customer needs and behaviour and the forces at play in markets. This increases the impact marketing should have on all those aspects of a business. The book is in three parts: the first part explores who are the most valuable customers, the second the most effective ways to drive revenue growth and the third the best ways to improve profitability. It combines insight and practical guidance, and is supported by a wealth of hard data and anecdotal evidence based on the experiences of a wide range of business in Britain, America, Europe and Asia. Among the firms featured are Amazon, China Mobile, Dove, Goldman Sachs, Haier, ING Direct, Lenovo, Mini, Procter & Gamble, Red Bull, Target, Twitter, Virgin and Zara. ISBN:9781846689055 Author:Iain Ellwood

Brief Summary The definitive history of America s greatest incubator of innovation, the birthplace of some of the 20th century s most influential technologies, including the integrated circuit, the communications satellite and the cell phone. From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs officially, the research and development wing of AT&T was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, it’s hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn’t been touched by Bell Labs. Why did so many transformative ideas come from Bell Labs? In "The Idea Factory," Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century s most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Their job was to research and develop the future of communications. Small-town boys, childhood hobbyists, oddballs: they give the lie to the idea that Bell Labs was a grim cathedral of top-down command and control. Gertner brings to life the powerful alchemy of the forces at work behind Bell Labs inventions, teasing out the intersections between science, business, and society. He distills the lessons that abide: how to recruit and nurture young talent; how to organize and lead fractious employees; how to find solutions to the most stubbornly vexing problems; how to transform a scientific discovery into a marketable product, then make it even better, cheaper, or both. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born. "The Idea Factory" is the story of the origins of modern communications and the beginnings of the information age a deeply human story of extraordinary men who were given extraordinary means time, space, funds, and access to one another and edged the world into a new dimension." ISBN:9781594203282 Author:Jon Gertner

Brief Summary Many of us dream of running our own business, but lack of experience and entrepreneurial skills often prevent people from making that first step. For those with the nous, confidence and, crucially, vision it should be easy - but a great idea doesn't mean investors will be queuing up at your door. In the BBC TV series Dragons' Den, entrepreneurs were put on the spot in front of a panel of potential investors. Given only minutes to pitch their idea, the pressure was on - some simply frazzled in the fiery breath of the dragons, others sweated it out, made it through and saw the money on the other side. Using case studies from the series, updates on the progress of the successes and failures - here's one of the successes, but who got the best deal? Tracie Herrtage wanted GBP 54,000 for her suspendable Le Beanock - think the bean bag meets the hammock suspended from high ceilings and lofts to replace your sofa at a price of around GBP 900! The male dominion of Dragons mocked the idea and thought the prices swung too high, the concept ungrounded and it wasn't an interesting proposition for their equity. Rachel Elnaugh wasn't put off and agreed that Tracie's vision hit a niche market. the tightest deal yet, buying 49 per cent of Tracie's company as sole investor. The done deal: 49 per cent company shares for GBP 54,000 investment. With essential insider advice and tips from the dragons themselves, this handbook will guide you through the hazardous process of finding your product, identifying your market, developing and maximising your business acumen, honing your presentation skills and finding the right partner. And most importantly, how to close the deal when you do find it. ISBN:9780091909154 Author:Evan Davis