Product Marketing Books

Energy drives brands and successful brands drive valuation. This is what John Gerzema and Ed Lebar demonstrate in `The Brand Bubble". This book is a great addition to a subject that has been written about a lot. As the chief marketing officer of FICO, the company that enabled equal-opportunity lending through analytics, I particularly welcome the quantitative approach that they use to make their point, as well as, their thorough analysis of how the forces of social media affect brands. This is a great read for executive teams in search of a brand boost!

Laurent Pacalin
Chief Marketing Officer at FICO

Gerzema and Lebar did an outstanding job in explaining what the brand bubble is, what caused it, and how to avoid it. The Brand Bubble was very well written and easy to read. They also provided a great guide on how to build a rock solid brand that consumers will find irresistible. I would recommend this book to anyone in the business world because as Gerzema and Lebar pointed out, the brand bubble is not just a marketing problem; it is a company-wide problem that will take cooperation from people in every aspect of the company. I would also recommend this book to any fellow marketing students because it taught me more about brand building than any textbook that I have read. As a current business student, the concepts that I learned The Brand Bubble will give me an edge in job interviews and will help me build my personal brand and the brand of whatever company I work for in the future.

John Gerzema and Ed Lebar have written an exceptionally clear, pertinent book about the declining value of brands and why the world's largest brand names are in flux. Using proprietary data, the authors vividly explain how brand clutter has created a marketing bubble. Since brands are such an important part of any corporation's value, the authors contend, the total valuation of this brand bubble will dwarf the mortgage bubble. The authors identify and analyze the branding problem, and then make recommendations about how to solve it. The book's one drawback is that it becomes repetitive, especially in the later sections. Still, the authors' timely, compelling argument should resonate with branding professionals. getAbstract recommends this book to marketers who want a better understanding of how lack of creativity makes brands deteriorate, and of how they might be able to resurrect the brands that are still salvageable.

Think what you could have done, or the losses you could have avoided, if you had predicted the collapse of the 2008 real estate bubble. The authors of The Brand Bubble provide insight into the next possible collapse of a uniquely, intangible bubble - namely corporate brands - that could have similar seismic effects within an asset class valued at more than $4 trillion in market capitalization. The fact is organizations spend billions each year building and maintaining their brands. However, The Brand Bubble methodically builds a case that the number of high-powered brands is shrinking, while their market values are inflating beyond solid business fundamentals. Using such out-of-sync examples and other data, the authors forewarn of a potentially massive implosion of brands. But according to the writers, appropriate action can be taken to avoid this meltdown, that's why Soundview recommends this provocative book. The Brand Bubble offers hope in the concept of "energized differentiation," which measures the dynamism, adaptability and velocity of a brand to help organizations know where to start. Additionally, it lays out a five-stage process that can reinvigorate and help sustain a tired brand as well as drive performance. Why take chances with your brand when you can take control - read this book!

(First of all, I do not want to give 3 stars for the sake of it but I try to be honest and hope you read my review with an open mind, thank you)

"There's another bubble hiding in our economy"

"The Brand Bubble" by John Gerzema and Ed Lebar is to remind and warn everyone that the current economy crisis might not be the last one in present days. Brands, around the world, have been inflated perceptually and financially. With the new era of technology, customers are surrounded with blogs, news, reviews, discussions, recommendations, and they are within an arm reach; this is the so-called ConsumerLand by the authors. Big brands are not invincible anymore. Brands that survive, thrive, and flourish need "energy". This book tells you the meaning and importance of "energy" and how can you foster it.

Contents

Part 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Tulipmania and Inflated Brands
The first chapter tells you the current state of brands and how they were inflated mainly by the hands of Wall Street. Brands are less trusted, less liked, less salient, and more often perceived as low quality but the value of the brands, or the intangible assets of the company measured by the stock market, is still on the way up.

Chapter 2: Can You Say "Irresistable"?
The authors state that the new dimension that drives the brand is "energy", and the new four pillars of brand are Energized Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, and Knowledge. There is an interesting grid of BrandAsset Valuator© or BAV which has Y-axis as Brand Strength and X-axis as Brand Stature. You can take a look at TheBrandBubble.com.

Chapter 3: Wall Street, Meet Main Street
The point of the chapter is that consumers are more sophisticated and act more like investors that they seek future benefits, want to maximise returns, accumulate information and knowledge, watch for movement, and demand transparency and accountability.

Chapter 4: The Postmodern Craving for Creativity
Creativity is a must, full stop.

Chapter 5: Welcome to ConsumerLand
The Internet and more specifically social media changes the way consumers behave

Part 2: Application
In this part, each chapter is the stage of brand development. In each chapter, the authors will explain the contents and end the chapters with 1.) Obstacle to beat back 2.) The law of energy, 3.) The new rule of brand management and 4.) Case study. I will write brief explanations without going into too much detail.

Chapter 6: Stage One-Exploration: Performing an Energy Audit
The chapter starts with and anatomy of BAV and, into details, "Energized Differentiation". The author stressed the word "Energized" by defining it as Vision, Invention, and Dynamism (VID) and how sample brands are ranked on the sprectrum.

Chapter 7: Stage Two-Distillation: Identifying the Energy Core
Gerzema and Lebar's "Energy Core" is equivalent to Jim Collins' "Core Ideology" with a slight tweak. If you have not read Jim Collins, it is the heart of an organisation, it's how to company is, have been, and will be built.

Chapter 8: Stage Three-Ignition: Creating an Energized Value Chain
"In ignition, the enterprise takes the fuel from its Energy Core and uses it to drive the brand forward." And every function can contribute to the ignition of the brand.

Chapter 9: Stage Four-Fusion: Becoming an Energy-Driven Enterprise
Fusion is when the new practices are becoming the culture of an organisation or "brand as culture". The examples of Energy-driven enterprises are Google, Whole Foods, and Nordstrom.
Chapter 10: Stage Five-Renewal: Active Listening and Constant Refreshing of Brand Meaning

The authors tell you that brands need to evolve and keep changing over the time. "Tactics are strategy, strategy is tactics"

...

In the next part, I'll compare this book to the ideal book, a book that is easy to understand, distinct, practical, credible, insightful, and provides great reading experience.

Ease of Understanding: 5/10: This book is on an abstract subject, branding, and the authors did not make it clearer. The first part, introduction, is explained nicely; and that's where the 5/10 are from. However, the author fails to elaborate the second part, application. The contents (of the second part) are not linked together beautifully. You might wonder why this "Obstacle to beat back", "The law of energy", "The new rule of management", or case study is in this chapter. And what does it really mean? What it has to do with the chapter? Why isn't it there, instead?

Distinction: 6/10: Like I mentioned earlier, the first part is written with interesting data and BAV is fascinating. There are analysis, valuation, speculation and it is a blend of marketing, management, economics, finance, etc (Ed Lebar is the former professor of economics). The second part is pretty much like other mainstream business books. The essence of the Energy Core is already defined numerous times under different names by different authors. However, the case studies are not bland; Lego, Virgin, Xerox, Mumbai Tiffin Box, and Uniqlo.

Practicality: 4/10: I had high hope in the second part, application but it did not turn out to be very practical. There is no solid step, those five stages are mere guidelines and example of successful organisations.

I'll give an example of Stage Three-Ignition, the authors tell us that Energy Core can be from any part of the organisation; Leadership, Finance, R&D, Business Model, Sales, Manufacturing, Operations, Distribution, IT and CRM, and HR. Each of these has different examples which is great. Now, the obstacle to beat back is "Management's focus is primarily on today's profitability" and the author suggested that we must look for the long-term because most of marketing (in typical companies) is just selling. Then, the chapter moves on to The Third Law of Energy: "A brand is not a place, it's a direction"; they state that brands must be verbs and positioning can no longer be static. And the new rule of brand management is "Drive the brand back through the organization"; there came Xerox case study.

The application is more like "that's the way it is".

Credibility: 7/10: The book has lots of solid and sound examples and case studies. They look very sensible and credible. However, the only drawback is BrandAsset Valuator© (BAV) because the book relies significantly on this model. Although we know the concept and basic anatomy of BAV such as VID (Vision, Invention, and Dynamism), we do not know how they are ranked and the math behind it.

Insight: 9/10: I will state again that the book has lots of examples, data, researches. Most issues are explained sufficiently (albiet not always clearly). And the greatest value of this book is cases, examples, and how they are analysed.

Reading Experience: 5/10: In the very first chapters, the book looks extremely promising but the excitement fades away due to the abstractness of the latter chapters. I do not like to compare with other books but at times, you will feel that this book is much like Jim Collins' "Good to Great" and "Built to Last". The good point of this book is that it is newer and sounds more fun (branding vs corporate management) but the drawback is that chapters are not tied together like those two books mentioned.

Overall: 6.0/10: I desperately want to like this book because it has what it takes to be great; great examples and case studies, very insightful researches, and interesting analysis. However, this book fails to synchronise the contents and stories. And it does not offer good-enough practical guidelines to readers. I will be looking forward to the next book by Gerzema and Lebar. I would say buy this book but do not have your expectation too high.

A must read book in these challenging times; Rupert continues to demonstrate his ability to explain in plain English a righteous path to move forward.

With "Recession Storming", it really is a readers "how to" survival guide, it will help to instruct on how to benefit from a recession. Thoroughly informative and yet entertaining on a complex subject

Couldn't help feel more optimistic after skim reading this book. Have done the same with many other recession books that left me a bit cold and wondering what next.

Hart's book is well organized (into 5 sensible sections) and full of sensible suggestions too. I'm systematically working my way through it and applying some of the insights to my business and with some of my consulting clients.

Quite simply a must buy for businesses wanting to bust their way out of the recession obsession!

A lot of managers only know internal driven insights to fight a recession. That means downsizing, cost-cutting or just wait till the storm weathers over. I found it revealing to discover how many applicable outward-looking insights are listed in this book. Recessions become just another situation to handle, not the one single situation nobody knows how to handle appropriately.

This is a great business book and immensely timely. I recommend it highly.
Here's what I really like about Recession Storming:
It's full of actionable ideas that marketing and business development people, as well as business owners, can use today. I opened the book at random pages and immediately saw ideas I could use in my business.
The largest chapter in the book is Pricing, and it's very valuable. As Chairman of a large consulting company, we are often under price pressure in a recession. It's the first thing our business development folks reduce but it has tremendous impact on our margins. This Pricing chapter provides them with useful ammunition and ways of resisting this margin pressure. I particularly liked the way Rupert starts with ways to utilize better positioning as a way to resist price pushback, moving onto using game-changing pricing (like leasing, pay as you go, paying for results) which take the pressure off price, investigating ways of raising prices on certain products to claw back margin, managing price reductions in ways that do not destroy your price structure, and using marginal pricing a secret weapon against competitors who do not manage their costs well.
Since my business is developing new products and service for companies, I saw a lot of relevance in the New Products chapters. Rupert's clear thinking points out the enormous importance of Recurring Revenue strategies (i.e. getting a steady stream of revenue in a downturn) and how to configure your products and services for it. I liked the way he reminded us that products and services can be equivalent, which can help you end-run your old-timer competitors. And his emphasis throughout the book of doing the things you can do today and, only then, doing the things you can do tomorrow, together with the strategies to do just that, was powerful. For example, it's easy enough to find some ancillary services to add to your product-offering. You can do that quickly. That takes precedence over refreshing the product by changing the casing, say, and before embarking on a new product redesign. There are also some good ideas on speeding up development through outsourcing, collaboration, joint ventures and, of course (!) by using consultants.
It is a very readable book. Every right-hand page has a wonderful graphic at the top which makes it easy to see where you are in the book as you work your way through the 6 main sections. The pages themselves have small paragraphs which are easy to digest with relevant titles. The examples are numerous and well-considered. After a reminder of the classic examples (e.g. Gillette razor, People Express) Rupert moves on to some very up-to-date companies such as VMWare and Digikey, and other examples from 2008, even. We can learn from companies throughout the past, and in different countries. His reading was clearly comprehensive.
Recession Storming deserves a wide readership. Frankly, I would be amazed if you could not find a dozen new ideas for your business you couldn't start on today. Even one idea would be well worth the price of this book. Good work!

As a Harvard MBA with several start-ups under my belt in good times and bad, I found this book quite refreshing. While most business books take 200 pages to present what should be an article, this one contains kernels of wisdom in nearly each paragraph, and packs a wallop in a short, tight read. It is like a refresher course in strategic marketing, from the macro-economic terrain to tactical maneuvers.

I highly recommend this book to those in large and small corporations who seek more effective ways to weather the current storm.

I had borrowed a copy of this book from the library, but decided to purchase it so I could have a copy handy for my own reference. I use this book to understand pricing and strategic pricing concepts--and it is invaluable. It is clearly written, well-organized and highly informative. I strongly recommend it to anyone who needs to understand the fundamentals, methods and theories of how industrial pricing works.

If you are an enterpreneur and you want to know how to price your product, don't look any further this is the book you are looking for. The chapter about costs has an MBA level and it will give you a lot of good ideas of how to improve your busines operation.

This book is one of the best in pricing. It is used as a textbook in business schools and highly recommended by consultants.
Unfortunately, it took 10 days to arrive using standard shipping.

Very hard to read - boring and not very concise. I had to purchase this for my class. Would not recommend this to anyone

I updated from the 2nd edition I bought years ago. I'm glad to see the focus on value-based pricing. I was a little disappointed that it gets a bit repetitive on calculating price changes and it would be useful to see more examples on calculating the initial price when you really don't have much data to go on.

This book is your entry point into getting your invention from idea to market.It is aimed for the busy person who wants to develop ideas into products and make good money selling them. Dont be put off by the Mom title if your not a mom. Moms with grown kids, men and the childless can all benefit from this book. I read it intently, and intend to reread it cover to cover in a few months. It was that good.

This book is a must have for all inventors! Very valuable information that could save you from making mistakes, spending more than you need or worse yet losing your idea to the wrong person.

The Mom Inventor's Handbook is a fantastic resource for those of us who have product ideas and want to develop them. Combine it with the book,To Market To Market: Where to Sell or License Your Ideas, Products, and Inventions and you have a winning duo. One tells you how, the other tells you where.

This is a great book. She makes it so easy to understand the process and gives great tips on how to get it done. If you have an invention this is the book to read! Get ready for my product to hit the market soon! Selmaproductsonline.com.

[...]

I could have gone forward with a lot more knowledge without learning things the hard way. I probably could have saved months of development time if I had taken a weekend to read this book. The book actually has very little to do with being a woman/mom aside from a few comments here and there and focuses on the nuts and bolts of bringing a product to market.

This book really helped me understand how social media is completely changing the way companies communicate with their customers, partners, vendors and employees. No longer a one way street, where companies blast information at everyone, companies can and need to truely communicate with their existing customers as well as their potential new customers.

I'm a filmmaker and building an audience for a film used to cost a fortune and there was no way to really target niche audiences or develop a dialogue with potential fans. While Facebook is currently providing the most innovative social networking tools for people and businesses, it's important to understand how different social media platforms interact and enhance the overall ability of people to find, discuss and recommend products and businesses to their friends, families and associates. Clara's book really helped me see how all the pieces fit together and how social media can be used in all areas of my business, not just marketing.

This year, I've totally reversed our marketing strategies and while we use many different social media tools that include Twitter, MySpace, a blog and a website, the hub of our activity is on Facebook. We now actively promote our Facebook Film Pages, rather than our website, because it is free, feature rich and so easy to use. It allows us to communicate everything about what we are doing during the filmmaking process and share all the behind-the-scenes activities with a growing fan base. Recently, we auditioned and cast several roles in our new film, DELIVERED. We were able to do it efficiently and with none of the normal costs involved. By the time we shoot our next film and it's ready to market, we're confident that we will have a core audience that has a vested interest in the film, because they have participated in its creation.

So much more than a way to tell people what we're about, it's as much about listening. Where else can you get hundreds of thousands of hypertargeted advertising impressions for $5 and have people endorse your ads without you even having to ask? The Facebook Era is totally transforming business at a very rapid pace the the people who take the time to understand what it's about will be the first to reap the rewards. This book really got me excited and we're using the concepts in the book to find new ways to use social media tools every day. People are really impressed with what we're doing and if you want to understand what's happening, this book is just what you need.

If you are looking for one book to understand how Facebook and social networks affect your business, this is a great one!

I am a so-called Generation X'er, which means I am comfortable around computers but may not be as adept as subsequent generations. Like many others, I knew that the world of networking and communicating with others was rapidly changing, and that there must be a way to use the great technology out there (like LinkedIn, Facebook, [...]to advantage. The Facebook Era helps you understand that very question in a simple and understandable way. Shih is not only insightful in her lessons but a great writer as well. She allows readers to understand the power of today's technology and how to use that power to one's advantage, even if the reader is a Generation X'er like me.

The loose relationships that bind social network users are a one of the most valuable commodities of Facebook, according to Clara Shih, author of The Facebook Era.

As individuals, Shih contends that we have two sources of personal competitive advantage: human capital and social capital. The former is the natural talents, characteristics and abilities of an individual. The later is the ability to leverage relationships with others to get things done.

According to Shih, the weak social ties created by social networks build social capital and drive an informal, but powerful, quid-pro-quo social exchange. "Individuals with greater social capital close more deals, are better respected and get higher-ranking jobs," Shih said. "Online social networks offer access to social capital, empowering those who are well connected with private information, diverse skill sets, and others' energy and attention."

Online social networks make it EASIER TO ASK FOR FAVORS and HARDER TO DENY OTHERS' REQUESTS. As a result, according to Shih, weak ties carry the greatest amount of social capital. They are low maintainence and high value.

Read this entire review at: http://socialmeteor.com/2009/05/13/shihs-got-game-the-facebook-era/

Clara Shih has the background, writing skills, and intelligence to write a straightforward account of social media's role in business. Unlike many so-called experts, she deals with the business issues of Facebook (and related sites) every day in her job at Salesforce.

I first met Clara when attending a [...] event focused partially on the company's relationship with Facebook. Her perspective in person made real sense, so I conducted a podcast interview with her on my IT Failures blog at ZDNet.

If you want to understand the range of issues associated with Facebook in business, then buy the book. It really is that good.

This guidebook from Starbucks entrepreneur Arthur Rubinfeld, one of the world's most successful retailers, provides an excellent introduction to conceptualizing, realizing, expanding and reinventing retail brands. Rubinfeld and co-author Collins Hemingway organize the book clearly around four basic principles: Think big; be oriented toward growth; find the right location, and plan for the future. They explain each principle step by step in terms that are understandable to the general management reader. They illustrate their assertions with examples from Rubinfeld's experience and from the experiences of such prominent retailers as Wal-Mart's Sam Walton and McDonald's Ray Kroc. If you consider launching a new retail enterprise, getAbstract would advise reading this book first.

Learn from a guy who took a coffee retailer from 14 locations to over 3,500 in just a few years and created the momentum for the Starbuck's Brand. One who glamorized a cup of coffee and got America to culturally change and willing to pay over $4.00 for something they previous purchased for a under a $1.00. A huge shift in what is possible. This is a great read for those interested in leadership, strategic thinking and knowing your demographic. Good enough to pass on to a friend or colleague, but better kept as a resource for future projects.

Rubinfeld is one of the masters in the retail locationing process. I own about 50 books in English and German on retail management, but none has included the expert advice on the very specialized retail locationing process. At least not compared to Rubinfeld's understanding. Both from a very strategic point-of-view and down to the nitty-gritty details of the legal agreement.

Rubinfeld's experience from Starbuck's rapid expansion in the 90s is very helpful, but he also adds a lot of other interesting retail cases from his work as an independent consultant.

The book's website includes very interesting checklists, but is not as impressive as you would expect based on the references made in the book.

The title's focus on "Expanding your business ... across the globe" is misleading in my opinion. Rubinfeld's advice hardly crosses the Atlantic nor the Pacific Ocean. But if you are interested in his ideas and concepts, you'll soon see that it doesn't matter. The principles remain the same with some adjustments for local responsiveness...

Being a chairman of a small retail chain, I have already put the author's advice into practice in the negotiations for a new retail location. They are easy to follow.

I also highly recommend the book's excellent chapters on retail chain financials. It is one of the first books that clearly distinguish between retail chain earnings and store earnings. Rubinfeld's focus on having a robust proforma economic model is key - also in my experience. And this is irrespective of whether you own all the stores yourself or also include a franchise system.

Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business

Author Rubinfeld took Starbucks to its place in retail dominance by creating a brand identity, yet assuring that stores did not have a "cookie-cutter" feel to them. The author points out for retailers, the store is the experience, and this is key to estabilishing a foothold. The way Starbucks stores were put together allowed them to be located even in historical building and other places where a normal outlet might not be desired.

The book doesn't just cover marketing strategy. It also discussing hiring the right team, and how locations are chosen. This information is golden.

Chapters include
* Make No Little Plans--core values, first store, maximizing retail experienc

* Go Long: blueprint for execution

* Own Main & Main: location, hot spots, how to grow rapidly without stumbling

* Push the Envelope: Path to Growth

Can't think of another book that outlines how to get to mega-success in retailing as well as this one.

Rubinfeld has credibility, being the person who commanded the domestic and global expansion of Starbucks. Here, Art Rubinfeld gives very specific advice on not only the "what" but the "how." His well-rounded and varied background has has enabled him to perceive things the way he does and then implement his ideas. He worked as an architect and as a construction manager. Later as Brand Development Consultant for Adidas and Washington Mutual Bank, prior to joining
Starbucks. He took Starbucks From 100 stores to over 4,000
worldwide. The concept of Starbucks is, and has has been unique. Who thought, back in the early 1990s that this new coffee outlet would do what it has done? I didn't.

Rubinfeld presided over and directed the Starbucks corporation's
growth in the 1990s, but he's also served as an independent
consultant for many other companies, so this adds to a more
multi-dimensional level of knowledge and numerous experiences of which to draw from. He specifically sites successes - and failures - with specific and detailed examples. Because of his background he can apply theory and also apply actual practice: from upper-lever strategy to front-line consumer. ( E.g. the 80:20 rule.)

Another concept: location plus people. The emphasis is on the
concept of retail and retail expansion, and the author doesn't stray from this as the foundation. Even of course, down to the store design which (Starbucks contains elements of the natural Earth, and presents the entity of the coffee bean and it's progression to the cup of java you get in-store). The complete retail puzzle involves many pieces. Strongly integrated throughout this book on retail is the concept of brand.

This book is categorized into 4 categories, with each category having a couple, to seven chapters. The Chapters zero-in on such areas as creativity, and customer loyalty; finding the best locations for your brand, management, staff and organization, for the big or small operations; implementation (translation: doing it). How to adapt, and continue to being dynamic and change, to maintain your customers. One useful term is what Rubinfeld calls "ideation." This is the
creation of new ideas. In the changing market place, this is the corner stone separating those who stay, from those who fade. Lots of proven ideas and concepts in this book.

Morgan's book provides some pratical and thoughtful examples of how Challenger brands have been successful in penetrating the status quo of brand leaders. It is well written and engaging with examples spanning all sectors and geographies.

The original Eating The Big Fish was a seminal marketing text when it was first published in 2001. The new version is, surprisingly, even better. Years of practicing the challenger brand concept has allowed Adam Morgan to refine and sharpen his argument and in there's a whole host of new learning from new case studies.
If you haven't read it yet, I urge you to. If you read the original, it's well worth getting the new version to be re-invigorated about the transformational possibility of powerful ideas brilliantly executed.

This book did great things for my understanding of a challenger brands greatest strengths and strategies. Not to turn this into a forum, I have a few questions though: Does anyone know more about Adam Morgan? Did he work for TBWA? Any other agencies? What was his discipline? Any info would help.

This book is about breaking through into a world where you don't accept number two status but you focus every element of your business into being the best of your own category.

Don't accept that this book is just for marketing executives, it should be read by everyone in business to comprehend how crucial it is to change your way of thinking. The entire book is summed up on page 264, where there is a clear four stage process outlined visually. The book is full of stories to illuminate Morgan's theories and outlines 'think tank' processes in order for your business no matter how big or small to 'break with your immediate past' and forge a new way of doing things.

Brilliant book that changed the way I approached business and marketing. I'd not have the drive and success without it.

I own (oooooh) probably between 80 and 100 books on marketing, some are obligatory read for my masters in marketing, some are handpicked in stores and on amazon and I stand by the title of my review. What can you take out from this book: YOU CAN compete with big brands, there are attitudes and ways of running your business that can knock down the goliath in your industry, and this book explains how, giving numerous examples from various industries. Only negative, if I can call it that, is author's writing style, which was rather hard for me, but then again, I am croatian, so it could be my english, not mr Morgan's :). A MUST!! have.

This book begins with the premise that most businesses are subject to a "force of commoditization" which, over time tends to make any product or service a commodity where price is the only factor that matters. In fact, one of the authors is president of a firm that was dragged down by commoditization, but with the help of the co-author consultant, managed to chart a new course for his firm that successfully escaped the situation.

The book clearly illustrates 8 distinct steps to help turn a company into an innovative product or service leader. Enough examples are used to make the steps clear (and not just those from the firm of one of the authors).

The only shortcoming here is that the authors apparently weren't familiar with Treacy Page and Fred Wiersema's The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market. That book showed that there are three ways for a company to be successful

1. Operation Excellence - competing on the lowest total cost
2. Product Leadership - competing on the best product
3. Customer Intimacy - competing on best helping customers

This book assumes only Product Leadership is possible. That said, if one does choose that option, this book can be a very useful tool.

Marketing, business strategy, leadership, culture are usually found in different books. Authors Plantes & Finfrock have put together a magnificent road map to success for businesses. They start by explaining how price-driven competition or commoditization is inescapable. They say that a business can confront commoditization only by differentiation and the organizational and leadership practices that are the hallmarks of successful enterprises. The questions they pose are the exact right questions for any organization to be asking these days, Why do customers stick with us? What have our competitors tried to copy that has proven unsuccessful? The authors really push hard for businesses to move out of their traditional comfort zones and think about new services, new markets, new scope, new ways of delivery. The industry map and other templates are very useful for answering these questions. In addition to helping businesses create strategic business models, Plantes & Finfrock make it clear that the top leadership team must be up to snuff for any of it to matter. Top leadership must be aligned to new markets and strategies and must model the behaviors they hope to see throughout the organization such as openness and teamwork. The book is based on economic principles (Plantes is an economist) and is at the same time very clear and understandable.I will be using it with my clients.Staying Healthy in Sick Organizations: The Clover Practice(tm)

This is a thorough book, very innovative, highly structured, and in-depth on a particular strategic situation - a low-profit commodity product. Initially I was unsure about cracking it - thought it might be the usual conceptualizations, frameworks,and platitudes. But I was delighted to practical, lively, and even interesting!

I am a consulting-educator and, therefore, I buy and skim a lot of books. However, I found myself reading this book cover-to-cover because of two things:
First, it is very practical. I can see someone following the eight steps presented in the book.
Second, maybe more importantly, it covers a missing piece of the business literature; the middle ground between high-level strategy and day-to-day execution. Some big-name authors have been talking about business model innovation; this book actually helps you design and build your business model.

Bill Welter
lead author of The Prepared Mind of a Leader: Eight Skills Leaders Use to Innovate, Make Decisions, and Solve Problems

Beyond Price provides solid analysis for business owners/managers who are looking for transformational models in today's increasingly global market place. The book was written so anybody can understand the steps you need to analyze your situation and create a new paradigm for your business. A very timely book for our rocky times.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

I've been in sales for 15 years. I'm a learner and I've read many of the books and been to the popular seminars on sales (Strategic Selling, Selling Solutions etc.). I just got into the IT sales field last year and highly recommend this book. This book is a solid, no-hype approach to complex selling. It gives me a blueprint to follow, it's very accurate for today's technology challanges and I found it easy to read as well! I usually don't recommend stuff but this book is a real "secret" weapon.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview for a sale position with a much respected software company. A few days before the interview I had just finished reading I.T. Sales Boot Camp. The concept and fundamental ideals of selling in an I.T. arena that were taught and express in the book enabled me to land the job. I believe that the knowledge that I gain from I.T.Sales Boot Camp made the different in my interview.

As opposed to most "hot new" sales approaches which focus on changing your personal style, this book does a great job of providing a strategic step-by-step plan from A-Z. It's void of fluff and gets right to the point of outlining the nuts and bolts of the process including pre-sales planning, performance tracking, maintaining growth, and writing proposals. It's worth reading in general and especially for those migrating into tech sales.

This is the best book on marketing I have ever read. Since the first time I picked it up more than 9 years ago (it was published in 1997 but I found it on clearance at a Book Warehouse about a year after that), I have re-read it every year. I've also bought about a dozen copies, which I've lent out. Sadly, as I was looking at my bookshelf today, 10 of those have not come back. That's okay. I'll buy more. In fact, I'm giving away copy #11 tomorrow to the new athletic director at my alma mater. No matter WHAT you sell (but especially if you're in sports marketing), this book (and it's sequel, Marketing Outrageously!) are well worth your time and money.

Jon Spoelstra has come out with a marketing guide that will help every marketer become more successful. From his rubber chicken tactic to his ideas on hiring - this simple, yet effective course in marketing will take your business to the next level. Even though most of this book describes sports marketing - every business can benefit from Jon's strategies.

Spoelstra's sub-title, "How to Market a Product Nobody Wants," is a bit of a misnomer. For me, that conjers up the negative stereotype of the salesman/marketer tricking you into buying something you don't want. Inside the book, Spoelstra's concept clearly is the polar opposite of that. He should have called the book, "Making Your Product into Something People Really do Want: a Broader Definition of Marketing."

Once you're inside the book, Spoelstra presents a litiny of ideas that are obvious once presented to you, but often seem counter-inuitive without some assistance seeing them. As a marketer in a larger firm, I've run into a lot of the same resistance as Spoelstra and have found that if you can break down the resistance, his ideas really do work.

Overall this is a practical guide, not just for marketers, but for anyone who runs a business. Highly recommended.

It is an excellent book. If you are new to marketing technique, you'd have a very good lesson by reading this. If you have been working in marketing for years, still, READ IT coz the author not only shares his real-life experience with you, but also REMIND you with something you have missed and not thinked of.

Marketing, Employee mentoring, Management...you can find everything from this book...

I would recommend this book to ALL people. Because it is helpful if one day, you were the product that needs jump-start marketing technique. (I am applying them to my job profile now)

trust me...this book is a MUST for everyone.

Eskimos have all the ice they need and presumably don't perceive the need to get any more, let alone buy it. Joe Spoelestra illustrates how to take that ice and turn it into something desirable (a Slurpee) for example, or bundle it with something that makes it desirable - a sled and a lift to create an experience to sell.

Joe details his experiences, primarily in sports marketing. They are especially applicable to those in the entertainment and service industries but can be applied in virtually any industry. The book is full of new ideas, fresh insights, and ways to repackage that which nobody wants in such a way as to change the customers' perception of value and create a compelling value proposition.

The book is much better than this review. :-) Pick it up, read it, enjoy it and act on it. "Ice to the Eskimos" will give you fast easy ideas that can be used to jump start your business!