Eric Karjaluoto does a great job of turning the old models and power structures on their head in Speak Human. He practices what he preaches, writes conversationally and from the heart about maintaining customer relationships and marketing when your small to outmaneuver the big.
This really is a book of our age and a must-read for any business that wants to better communicate and engage their audience and turn them into loyal fans. Speak Human is written for the small guys in business, but a lot can be learned from this by larger corporations as they attempt to leverage social media and connect more personally and directly with their customers.

Most important excerpt from [...]

[...]
While most Social Media books focus on big companies and how to adapt their classic marketing strategies to this "new" social media thing Eric Karjaluoto heads into the opposite direction. Based on his 10 years marketing experience in a changing market his book focusses on real communication. It all boils down to one basic rule: "Get Personal". He calls this way of communication "speaking human" in contrary to the top-bottom communication most big companies normally do.
[...]
His writing style is clear and structured. He knows when he is repeating things and makes clear why he is doing so. It is easily readable even if you are not a native speaker.

Karjaluoto breaks with a lot of common dreams and rules in business. And it is necessary to do it. So i f you are still dreaming about "growth" for your company this book is worth every penny. It will shutter this dream but you won't be disappointed: shattering this dream is crucial for real success and Karjaluoto will explain you why. This takes up most of the time: the first three parts are focussed about breaking the classic rules of business and going to a different direction. Only the fourth chapter is looking on how to transfer what you learnt into Social Media.
[...]

You can read the full review and a comment by the author at [...]

Speak Human teaches you to embrace being small. The concept isn't groundbreaking. In fact, it's quite similar to 37signal's Rework and many of Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin's lessons. But what sets it apart is the way in which Eric Karj delivers it. His style is refreshingly personal, engaging and clear.

Speak Human is densely filled with inspirational tips and stories to help you leverage what you already have in order to connect with customers on a deeper level. If you're engaged in any kind of business - or if you just want a more fulfilling life - you need to read this book! It's simply brilliant.

I must say straight up that Speak Human is by far one of the best books on marketing and operating a business that I have read.

Generally when I go to read any type of marketing or business book, I really don't expect anything that will excite me. But Speak Human is different. It's brutally honest, fun, and entertaining. Eric focuses specifically small businesses and the great things which small business can do really well such as being personal with their customers. While many books will focus on how you can grow and become some large multi-national corporations, Eric's pure honesty forces him to deliver the brutally honest truth that it won't happen to everyone but that not turning into a large companies can be a really good thing.

He starts out by explaining the story of Starbucks and how they started off as a small coffee shop with a specific focus on espresso but grew into a company that has struggled to keep its culture because of its sheer size. The book is riddled with many similar case-studies of companies that have gotten it wrong but also those which get it right. Not only is the content great but the writing style throughout makes the book feel like you are sitting down and having a conversation with someone who is incredibly passionate about people and who knows from experience. This kind of passion stems from how Eric operates his own business and he uses much of this experience throughout the book as example.

Speak Human really celebrates what is great about owning a small business and every person who owns a small business could do well by reading it. CEO's or larger companies could also learn a lot by reading the book and applying some of the practices to their businesses. Maybe then I would be be able to call up for support with my internet and actually speak to a real person who cares.

This a great book that really speaks to the small business owner who knows they want to do more to promote their business, but didn't know where to start or is intimidated by the prospect of adding social media and web marketing to their already full plate. Eric provides many useful real world scenarios and examples that you can relate to - many of these examples should provide a spark for your own ideas. There are a lot of common sense initiatives and topics presented in the book that can have a tremendous impact on the way we are perceived by our customers. We're just not always aware of them because we are too busy, or because we simply assume that they are out of our reach.