Excellent Concept
Jack Trout is an owner of Trout & Partners, a consulting firm. He is one of the founders and pioneers of positioning theory, and also marketing warfare theory.
Positioning is creating an image or identity in the minds of the target market for the product, brand, or organization. It is the 'relative competitive comparison' the product occupies in a given market as perceived by the target market.
Marketing warfare strategies are a type of strategies, used in business and marketing, that try to draw parallels between business and warfare, and then apply the principles of military strategy to business situations, with competing firms considered as analogous to sides in a military conflict, and market share considered as analogous to the territory which is being fought over.
This book covers all basic aspects of marketing in a very friendly manner, with simple, easy to understand real-life examples. The author hates the meaningless buzzwords used by marketers.
The author has used a surprising concept of the Genie as a marketing advisor to a CEO of a big public company in a way that the marketing is taught using simple conversations, questions and answers, between the Genie and the CEO. The questions are: What Is the Essence or Marketing? What's Branding All About? What Should Be My Product Strategy? How Do I Get My Pricing Right? Are There Limits to Growth? What is Good Research? How Do I Evaluate Advertising? How Do 1 Pick the Right Medium? How important Are Logos? What Mistakes Are Made Most Often?
This concept of using Gene as a mentor is amazing, exciting and amusing. There is a lot of humor, liveliness and variety, as well as caustic satire in the case study analysis. The Genie teaches the marketing via the examples well known to the CEO, i.e. examples involving Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, and the other known persons.
I also recommend Peter Drucker's "Innovation and Entrepreneurship" in addition to this book. Although the Drucker's writing is on management, not marketing, but it would be a valuable addition to this book.
simple actionable marketing advice
The book has 10 chapters - in each chapter, Trout answers a marketing question. There is quite a bit of overlap in content with Trout's earlier books.
The questions (and summarized answers) are:
1. What is the essence of marketing?
Explaining simply why a product is different and why it should be bought instead of other competing products.
2. What's branding all about?
Establishing the product name and its differentiating idea in the mind of the prospective customer.
3. What should be my product strategy?
Be either #1 or #2 in a category; otherwise create a new category,
4. How do I get my pricing right?
Competitive price + delta for perceived differentiated value
5. Are there limits to growth?
Yes, do not stray from core competence and the differentiated idea established in cstomers' mind. Set realistic growth goals.
6. What is good research?
Avoid research / survey reports because what people say and what they do is often different. Useful to ask customers to rate competitors along various differentiated vectors on a range of 1-10. This tells which company owns which product feature.
7. How do I evaluate advertising?
Does the ad effectively communicate the differentiating idea to encourage a customer to buy?
8. How do I pick the right medium?
Words are more effective than pictures; spoken is more effective than printed.
9. How important are logos?
The brand's power lies in the name, not the symbol / visual.
10. What mistakes are made most often?
Underestimating competition
It's not about a better product, it's about a better perception
Ignoring reality, wishful thinking
Losing focus, brand extension
You will cut thru the marketing BS, and paradoxically, have a deeper appreciation for marketing.
Crash Course on Marketing - Commonsensical Approach!
While working on my Masters in B-School, I remember the enriching lessons from a Marketing Director of a Fortune 10 company. As I steer through the real world of business as a marketer and strategist, find it true to words.
His message was crisp (an MBA from Kellogg); that after learning a lot of theories and analytical tools, at the end of the day, marketing is all about SPTC (Segmentation, Positioning, Targeting and Commonsense) coupled with clear and effective communication. This book will deliver you these simple basics of marketing based on common sense. As one proceeds through the book, the basic factors of marketing will unveil from a layman's perspective. USP of this book is that you can refresh / understand the basics of marketing while flying from Philadelphia to Chicago (2.5hours).
However, this book won't put folks like us (Marketers/Strategists/Consultants) out of business. Rather, it would be a good idea to gift this book to your CEO/Director/Client to emphasize the need of a clear and simple marketing strategy which must be transmitted across the organization to achieve common goals.
Folks who want to make the next move in understanding the basics of marketing after reading this book might consider getting a hand on "Preface to Marketing Management" by Peter & Donnelly (9th edition). Another simple book but would call for a return flight between JFK and Heathrow.
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