47 days and counting ... what have we learned?
Tuned In will hit the bookstores on June 27. It's been doing very well in pre-orders, hitting the top ten lists of Amazon and Barnes and Noble a couple of times in the 30 days since our first preview in The Pragmatic Marketer. Craig, David and I are just starting to hit the road with a full event calendar of keynotes, briefings and online interviews. You can keep up with all of the progress at www.tunedinbook.com and maybe connect in with some associates.
One of the activities we like to do during any launch of a new product is to be careful not to go completely in to 'tell' mode but reserve some time for listening. As most of you know by now, a major key to success for tuned in businesses was the time they spent observing the market and discovering unresolved problems. We've got some early indicators of a trend I wanted to share with you this week and get your feedback.
Tuned In seems to be developing an affinity with small business owners as a philosophy for managing their business through the current recessionary climate.
We're taking a step back and wondering what to make of this. We wrote the book to be a foundation for any business in any industry and in any situation. We found companies following the process and succeeding in horrifically down markets -- like the current real estate market -- and in hot, competitive markets -- like wireless technologies. Following the process enabled their businesses to grow faster, become more profitable and develop strong customer loyalty. The question we're asking now is whether or not this is particularly true if you're small and the economy is weak.
Kristin Zhivago has been writing a multi-part analysis of how to transform your company ("recession proofing") in her RevenueJournal blog. It seems to me that the things she is writing about (and in reality what we putting forth in Tuned In) is that the foundation had best be solid when times get tough. I've always said about the people I've worked with that "you never know what you have and who they are until you get into a crisis situation with them". It is only when times are tough that their true colors show through. People (and businesses) seem to always return quickly to their core under pressure.
So, perhaps our timing is perfect with the launch of Tuned In as the market might be more receptive to a focus on building a solid foundation that will enable them to survive this downturn. Certainly, many of the stories in the book are about businesses that created a dominant position out of situation where the market was less than receptive. We're convinced that you can as well.
What do you think? Does Tuned In resonate best with small businesses in tough times?






