From the Publisher:
In the 1960s the Grateful Dead pioneered many social media and inbound marketing concepts that businesses across all industries use today. They made a series of difficult and often unpopular decisions in order to differentiate themselves from their competition by providing the highest quality "service" to their fans, not just a product. They pioneered a "freemium" business model, allowing concert attendees to film and distribute footage, which helped build a powerful word-of-mouth fan network powered by free music. Instead of obsessing over recording, the Dead became the most popular touring band of their era, selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tickets, creating a highly profitable corporation in the process. Without any hit records, the Grateful Dead achieved elite success, becoming one of the most iconic rock bands of its era and inventing a brand that democratically included their consumers (and literally co-created a lifestyle for Deadheads).

Fast forward to today. Successful marketers continuously develop strategies based on those successfully used by the Dead, shifting focus away from products to customers in order to create demand. Written by Deadhead marketing gurus David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan, "Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead" will show you how to think and market like the band, which is to think and market differently. Each chapter presents and analyzes a marketing concept practiced by the Dead and a real-world example of that concept in action today. Specific topics include: Get found by customers by being remarkable and making it easier for them to spread your message Watch your competition but don't follow them Freemium content as a customer magnet Create a community and let it tell your story Disintermediation of the middle man Teamwork Embrace Technology

Tagged: Business, Economics, Finance