Thousands of small, retail stores open every year, but 70 to 80 percent of them close within five years. Many are done in by the "big box" and Internet retailers who crush competition with low prices and convenience. But smaller retail stores and service providers have distinct competitive advantages: They are local. They can connect on a personal level with customers in a way the big guys can't. And they can add immense value to the customer experience. To capitalize on these advantages, marketing experts Steve O'Leary and Kim Sheehan offer dozens of inexpensive "Word of Mouth" marketing methods small businesses can use right away. Done well, these efforts will help smaller merchants do more than survive—they'll prosper. Building Buzz to Beat the Big Boys Word of Mouth Marketing for Small Businesses by Steve O'Leary and Kim Sheehan (ISBN 978-0-313-34598-2, Praeger Publishers, 200 pages, hardcover, $39.95)