Book Review: speak human by Eric Karjaluoto

After I quoted "speak human"last week you are probably not surprised when I say: I love this book! SmashLab Founder Eric Karjaluoto explains in depth why classic marketing is useless for small and mid-size companies and what works instead: "Outmarket the Big Guys by Getting Personal" (as the subtitles states). But it is not a book for everyone...

keep the fire burning

I am currently reading a few books about social media and the actions companies should take. I will share my thoughts on those in some reviews on this blog soonish, stay tuned. So long, there was one chapter in the book speak human by Eric Karjaluoto I would like to share with you. The sub-chapter is called "Staring a fire" and it says:

The part you probably don't want to hear is that little of this [Success with Social Media] comes for free. Some combat this by cutting corners, piece mealing efforts, or employing unproven partners whose sole benefit is price. I assure you someone can always offer a lower price; most times you get what you pay for.
This piecemeal approach to marketing can obstruct a company's efforts. Many are eager to create a one-off with hopes that it will prove a catalyst for change. This is hardly ever the case, and often results in frustration as sporadic efforts tend to bear little fruit. With this in mind, I ask you to instead look at such efforts as ongoing.
The analogy I liken this to is one of lighting a fire. Most small organizations put countless hours and resources into collecting dry kindling, finding matches, and getting it started, only to walk away once a small flame takes hold. A week, month, or year later they return to find that their fire has burnt out, and needs to be restarted. So they begin again, hoping for something different, only to repeat the process ad infinitum.
Fires need perpetual attention to grow. Once you have it going, the hardest part is over; from there you need to stoke it from time to time and add some dry wood when necessary. It's not hard, bit does require consistent attention. By keeping at it like this, you can build a roaring fire. If you're lucky, it might even turn into a wildfire, bigger than you ever anticipated. The trick is to keep going.

"Speak Human", Page 259, Chapter 23