Book Description

Incorporating the latest industry thinking and developments, this exploration of brands, brand equity, and strategic brand management combines a comprehensive theoretical foundation with numerous techniques and practical insights for making better day-to-day and long-term brand decisions—and thus improving the long-term profitability of specific brand strategies. Finely focused on "how-to" and "why" throughout, it provides specific tactical guidelines for planning, building, measuring, and managing brand equity. It includes numerous examples on virtually every topic and over 75 Branding Briefs that identify successful and unsuccessful brands and explain why they have been so. Case studies will familiarize readers with the real-life stories of Levi's Dockers, Intel Corporation, Nivea, Nike, and Starbucks. For industry professionals from brand managers to chief marketing officers. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The best book on branding!
I think that Keller's Strategic Brand Management is the best book on branding available. Instead of simply listing success stories or compiling lists of do's and don'ts, this book offers a comprehensive framework for understanding why brands matter, how to measure their equity and how to build strong brands.

What I especially liked about this book is that it is structured around a powerful framework called customer-based brand equity which basically says that brand equity lies in the mind of the consumer and that brands are powerful only to the extent that they serve some function for the consumer (like signalling product quality or simplifying choice). There are then great examples of how marketers can build brand awareness and favorable associations to create brand equity.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anybody working in marketing or simply interested in brands.

Excellent. The bible of branding.
This book is the best compilation of strategic thinking regarding brand management. I have attented many lectures on the topic and this book says it all. This is very detailed, very intense but yet very exciting for any marketers involved with brand management.

The One Source
If you only buy one Branding book this is the bible. Wow, the price on the second edition has gone way up.

Well Updated with Lot of Cases and Interesting Stuff

This book is great! I read the 1st edition, but that was a bit too academic. This time academic too, but less technical.

Cases on a number of world-class brands are already worth the dollars. That include Amazon.com, Nike, Virgin, Microsoft, IBM, and plenty of them.

This book is even more comprehensive than Branding Gurus David Aaker's Branding books. But I must admit that this book touches upon too little on e-branding, and its impact on online "brand consumption". Besides, Keller's branding paradigm needs to be updated. He got to invent his own new theory rather than drawing too much upon others' branding theories which makes this book both the Branding Bible (like Kotler's Marketing textbook for MBAs), and a thick book report.

On the whole, this book is great, it won't waste your hard-earned dollars, and Keller's diligent researcher attitude must be honoured and respected, by all means.

Great work, Keller, keep it up!

Brand building is important
The author gives out three main ways to build brand equity, and describes a new way of thinking about integrated marketing. Also, we can know whether than brand building is good or not. The branding strategy should be adjusted with change in place. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Strategic Marketing Problems... Not Solutions
I was disappointed. The book does contain some interesting thoughts, but 90% of the content is a description of companies facing marketing problems (case studies with a lot of facts). The author doesn't offer the solutions and best practises that would help solve these problems. While reading this book, i felt i was eating a burger without meat. Something is missing...

This is a good book for teachers who want case studies for their students to work on. It's a classroom book. It's not a good book if you want want to read marketing theory and best practises (if you're already in the management world).

Great and comprehensive
I am a MBA Candidate with a finance focus who had the pleasure to use this book. Never before had I imagined that marketing could have the amount of numerical focus that this book shows. There's a case for every type of industry and many world-famous companies in this book. What else is missing from an introduction to marketing text?!

A good book...
I'm a MBA student in marketing. This book is good, but just that... good. I'm absolutely certain that somewhere has to be a book about strategic marketing that has a little more information (that's the problem, little theory and plenty of numbers) and not so expensive. Teresa M. Rodríguez ... Read more

Book Description

Would you like to increase your own selling results, or the performance of your entire sales team? The concept of Secrets of Question-Based Selling is founded on the idea that an effective salesperson knows what his or her prospect needs, then offers solutions--and the only way to find out what someone needs is to ask!

With more than 17 years of experience in sales and management, Thomas A. Freese has taken the approach that consistently empowered him to exceed, at times even double, his selling results, and has packaged it into the sales methodology he calls Question-Based Selling. This book serves as an explanation of this technique, as well as a reference guide that can be used over time by both salespeople and sales managers to exponentially increase their productivity. You will learn to:
• Penetrate more accounts
• Establish greater credibility
• Generate more return calls
• Prevent and handle objections
• Motivate prospective customers
• Close more sales faster
• And much, much more! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

WOW, what a breath of fresh air!
In this day and age where everyone is too busy to even talk to themselves, let alone a salesperson, this book takes a refreshing new approach to selling. Thomas leverages the simple concept of getting people to want to have a conversation with you by earning the right to ask more questions. Most sales books and training teach that you need to ask questions, Thomas goes to the next step by developing questions that narrow your focus so that customers will want to engage with you.

This is a MUST read for any salesperson with all levels of experience. Good selling....

Totally fresh ideas on successful selling relationships.
I've read many of the popular sales books throughout the last 15 years and frankly, there's nothing new out there. This book takes a totally fresh approach to selling which anyone can use starting tomorrow, and packages it into "Secrets" that help anyone understand the fundamentals of successful selling and personal relationships. If you're tired of rehashed "Sales 101...", this is a must-read!

Nothing could be better
I am glad to see this book at the top of the sales chart. When I bought the book, it was ranked at the lower end of the top 50 best sellers in sales. When I was half way through the book, I thought this should rank at the top and deserve a classic status. Everything is fresh and the book teaches you how to approach a sales from any industries. I am testing the concepts in my work and immediate see result from my adoption. Most sales books out there are more geared towards big corporate sales which is not relevant in my financial industry. I find this book to be exceptionally easy to borrow its ideas for my financial industry. Anyone who is serious in sales should not miss this gem. I can guarantee you that you will learn a lot from it.

Who Else Wants All the Appointments They Can Handle?
If sales books were music, most would be useless light pop like the Backstreet Boys. QBS is like the Dave Matthews Band- something for the more advanced salesperson. Music that is so masterful, sophisticated, enticing and interesting that it pulls you in. That's the way this book comes across to me. I had left 100 voicemails and got ZERO returned calls, and therefore ZERO appointments. Then I bought this QBS book. Since then, I have seen my callback rate skyrocket to 40-60%. The author shows you how he gets a 95% call back rate (see p. 95). He also explains the 5 techniques that helped him. I then use the 5 QBS techniques to turn these callbacks into appointments: questions, curiosity, reverse the positive, credibility, and momentum. Nowhere to resist me. WOW!! This stuff works. I am literally setting all the appointments I want to, with any company, regardless of their size. If you have suffered with call reluctance, let me ask you a question: Could you make those calls if you knew that 40%-60% of your calls would all be returned same day? What if you knew how to get appointments with any size company you wanted to- would that change your perspective? If you want to be happy, GET THIS BOOK!

This is a "7" on a 1 to 5 scale: important material
This is a truly great book. There's so much important material that it could be broken down into 2 or 3 books. The book is not that long, and it is very easy to read. But each page is packed with lots of new and interesting insights to the sales process.

I highly recommend it to anyone in sales. That includes high school guys getting ready to ask girls out on their first date. Freese addresses this sales dilemma.

His analogies, like the one to the Hunt for Red October for these high schoolers, were excellent.

Can't say enough about this book. I have underlined this book quite heavily.

John Dunbar ... Read more

Book Description

This book contains all the tactics you need to get appointments with impossible-to-reach top decision-makers. They in fact are the Very Important Top Officers (VITOs), the people with the ultimate veto power who hold the key to bigger commission checks, every sales award you could possibly win, and VITO to VITO referrals that you can take to the bank!

You'll quickly learn how to:
Get into new accounts at the top
Keep out of time-consuming log-jams-and into VITO's office
Promote loyalty at the top with existing customers and capture add-on business
Increase the size of every sale

Selling To VITO offers innovative new ideas and street-smart tactics for reaching the very top person in any organization. It's based on the seminars that have helped thousands of sales professionals from top corporations like Canon, 3M, Hewlett-Packard, and MCI bust quotas and increase commissions. It can help you, too, by getting you to the right person so you can do what you do best: SELL!

Anthony Parinello is without question the country's foremost expert on getting appointments with, and selling to, top decision makers. This book is the product of his twenty-three years of award-winning sales performance. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

One of the Most Important Books to be Written on Selling
I picked up Tony's book 6 years ago ... it's made me a TON of money. To be sure, it delivers on its promise to help you get in front of VITOs ... but I've adapted his approaches to be used as a silver bullet throughout organizations ... and throughout sales cycles.

It's NOT for the squeamish. And the earlier reviewer is absolutely correct in that you need to (as best you can) determine what kind of ROI your past customers have gotten from your solution.

However, I can tell you from experience, that a quantified ROI figure is NOT always necessary to get VITO's attention. My company produces company meetings -- such services have a more QUALITATIVE ROI. However, when I call up a VITO and tell him/her, "I just produced a national sales meeting for your biggest competitor -- and we had the entire place cheering and high fiving -- their CEO told me it was the most exciting meeting in the history of their company", THAT accomplishes the same thing.

Good selling, all ...

Outstanding approach tor low-volume, targeted marketing.
Selling To VITO is definately a must read for anyone who sells high-dollar products or services in low volume. It would be terribly hard, however, to make a good living using Parinello's process if you are required to close large numbers of sales to hit quota. (Because the work that goes into pulling this off is immense.)

The success of Parinello's process is rooted in four key features:

1. Social Proof: If other, well-known companies used you, then you must be great.
 
2. Authority: One of VITO's peers will supply testimonials of success on your behalf.
 
3. Process: Develop a linear process to ensure objectives are preplanned and met.
 
4. Consistency: Keep a consistent message that focuses on results and makes you stand out as unique among the many salespeople attempting to get in.

(For information on social proof and authority, see INFLUENCE, Science And Practice, by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.)

I must admit that I was unable -- perhaps unwilling is more accurate -- to make the follow-up phone call and voice-mail processes work, because, while I'm passionate about what I sell, faking perkiness simply doesn't work for me. (And I'll bet that being over-the-top perky is a key part of pulling this off.)

Bottom line, if you do any type of cold-letter writing, you should read this book.

Highly Recommended!
Are your sales in a slump? Chances are you're selling to the wrong people. In this A-to-Z primer, Anthony Parinello explains how to get your foot in the executive suite. To be successful in sales, he says, go right to the top. Although well organized, the content at times reads like a stream-of-consciousness speech. Many of the "secrets" Parinello reveals are plain common sense - it's hard to believe that anybody in sales wouldn't know them. His advice about using the Web for research is dated (when was the last time anybody used the term "information superhighway"?), but the principles he outlines are timeless and make this a great read which we recommend to performance-oriented sales people and sales managers. Overall, this inspirational, motivational account should fire up sales people and help them see the forest, not just the trees.

How To Access the Executive Suite and SELL!
Selling To VITO (Very Important Top Officer) is a book dedicated to the science of getting past the proverbial gatekeeper and reaching the executive prospect.

The book discusses in detail everything from attitude to the format of letters one should mail to the content of the voice mail one must leave. In that respect, the book is complete and combined with the personal experience the authors bring manages to offer an above average methodology into an important aspect of most sales cycles.

Having said that, does the book's advice actually work? Well, the answer is some yes and a lot of no. Having put the methodology to work first hand - letters, labels and all - it is fair to say that VITO helps, but is hardly a silver bullet. In fact, while the book facilitated some headway the final end-goal was never in sight.
The failed experiment might be the result of bad luck or a small and non-representative sample, but the bottom-line remains that the book's effectiveness must be questioned. Furthermore, the book's content is slightly dated as shown by some of the verbiage which might be translating into the same for the content.

A must read for anyone in sales
I first read Selling to Vito more than 5 years ago as a sales manager and sales trainer in telecommunications and found it incredibly valuable. The owner today of a sales training company myself, I recently revisited the book as a brushup. It's amazing how many of the skills Tony taught me way back wehn I still use.

From VITO to understanding the power of the "Seymours," those who recommend, his strategies and tips from verbage to letter writing produce dollars in any salesperson's pocket. 5 Stars all the way! ... Read more

Book Description

Positioning, a concept developed by the authors, has changed the way people advertise. The reason? It's the first concept to deal with the problems of communicating in an overcommunicated society. With this approach, a company creates a 'position' in the prospect's mind, one that reflects the company's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. Witty and fast-paced, this book spells out how to position a leader so that it gets into the mind and stays there, position a follower in a way that finds a 'hole' not occupied by the leader, and avoid the pitfalls of letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one. Revised to reflect significant developments in the five years since its original publication, Positioning reveals the fascinating case histories and anecdotes behind the campaigns of many stunning successes and failures in the world of advertising. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

The most important marketing book you can read
I discovered this book in 1994 and it changed my business life. It opened my eyes to a facet of marketing that is too often overlooked, and it's the most important facet. Positioning is more than branding, it's the key to success. Luckily, most companies don't do proper positioning, which is why there's always room for new companies to start up, get it right, and be very successful.

If you don't read this book, you're chances at success are like everyone elses: 1 in 10. Read and learn positioning, and the odds are with you. Simple as that.

Simple and powerful, essential reading for any marketer.
Technology changes constantly; people, and the way the mind works remain pretty much the same. This book is every bit as valuable in the "New Economy" hoopla, as it was before the net exploded onto the scene, maybe more so. As the amount of advertising explodes in every media outlet, (s)he without a positioning strategy is increasingly lost in the crowd.

Positioning is simply cutting through the immense amount of "noise" in the advertising and marketing world with a clear, concise, SIMPLE, message that occupies a place in the mind of the consumer. Positioning requires a focus; the brand, company or person who tries to stand for, and cover everything ends up representing nothing.

Examples abound in "Positioning" of companies that have utilized positioning to attain and maintain leadership and business success, as well as multimillion-dollar write-offs caused by brand dilution.

Within the book, you'll find chapters on choosing (brand) names, the decision to extend a brand or to not, repositioning other products to carve out your own niche, and how this applies to your company, its' products and even your career.

You can't afford not to buy this book!

A Classic, A Milestone and a Must Read
The twentieth anniversary edition of "Positioning" is uniquely updated without disrupting the original edition. Ries and Trout provide commentary in the margins, rather than rewriting passages in the book.

And in those margins, they can sometimes be brutally honest, as they occasionally admit to being wrong on some of their theories. But what you will note as you read this book is that the theories they advanced 20 years ago have largely proved out in the interim. This is a seminal work, a book that should be read by anyone involved in any form of marketing.

The current hot trend in marketing-- "branding"-- is in many ways an outgrowth of the theories put forth on "Positioning." Essentially you distinguish your product or service from the competition. The ideal means of doing this is to be first to the market with your product or service, although that is no guarantee of continuous success. This may also mean finding an untapped niche, particularly in crowded categories.

Particularly interesting I their discussion of line extension, and how it dilutes, rather than strengthens, a company's position in the marketplace. And it is interesting to read how some companies at one time literally owned a particular product category, only to lose it when they tinkered with their concept too much.

Education, entertaining, and enlightening, this book is an important addition to anyone interested in marketing library.

Much More Than Marketing
Positioning is the idea that shook Madison Avenue to its core in the 1970s. Ries and Trout published what the high priests of Madison Avenue deemed as heresy. These two upstarts dared to take the voodoo out of marketing - and marketing has not been the same since.

Over the years I have given away countless dozens of Positioning. I have found two types of recipients: (1) Those who view it as a book on marketing, and (2) those who truly "get it."

Positioning is not actually about marketing, though that is its platform. It is about how the human mind works. The principals taught in this book apply across all of our lives - from how we are viewed by our friends to why we affiliate with a particular political party or other social cause. Learning how Positioning works is learning about life.

Positioing Needs Updating
Jack Trout is a very good writer and has important insights about the importance of differentiation. I especially liked this book as the cases are very relevant.
But many ideas are getting a bit dated. That being said, if you haven't read anything by Jack Trout or Al Ries then this book, or one of the aforementioned books, is essential reading for marketing and brand managers. An updated book would be High Intensity Marketing by Idris Mootee, an ex-Mckinsey guy. I also like George Day, the Wharton professor who wrote a few good books in postioning. ... Read more

Book Description

A five-step strategy for turning a commodity into a necessity

When products and services become interchangeable, price becomes the ultimate determinant for consumers. Indispensable shows businesses how to break out of that cycle by using The Five Drivers-a strategy that takes companies to the next level of performance. Renowned business consultant Joe Calloway looks at how real companies have made their product or service "mission critical," and satisfied customers in the process.

Indispensable goes straight to the heart of the issue and reveals how successful companies-of any size, in virtually any manufacturing, selling, or service endeavor-achieve market leadership through The Five Drivers of fierce customer loyalty. Indispensable shows readers how to:
* Create and sustain momentum: overcome organizational inertia and keep moving forward
* Develop habitual dependability: make consistency of performance a defining characteristic
* Connect continuously
* See the Big Picture Outcome: create compelling customer experiences
* Engage, Enchant, Enthrall: make magic in the marketplace

With interviews, detailed case studies, and dozens of real-world, effective customer service ideas and initiatives, Indispensable is just what today's forward-thinking businesses need. ... Read more

Book Description

This marketing classic has been expanded to include new commentary, new illustrations, and a bonus book: The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding

Smart and accessible, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the definitive text on branding, pairing anecdotes about some of the best brands in the world, like Rolex, Volvo, and Heineken, with the signature savvy of marketing gurus Al and Laura Ries. Combining The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, this book proclaims that the only way to stand out in today's marketplace is to build your product or service into a brand -- and provides the step-by-step instructions you need to do so.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding also tackles one of the most challenging marketing problems today: branding on the Web. The Rieses divulge the controversial and counterintuitive strategies and secrets that both small and large companies have used to establish internet brands. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the essential primer on building a category-dominating, world-class brand.

Reviews (46)

To focus and place a word in the prospect mind!
I have read a few books written by Ries and there are two ideas that are emphasized again and again, that is, to focus and to place a word in the prospect mind. This book is no exception. The laws of branding built in this book are based on these two concepts.

"Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect". I totally agree. People are exposed to an over-communicated environment, to place a word in the prospect mind can surely lead your company to success. In fact, in customers' mind, there is no difference between your products and your competitors'. Only by building a brand can you differentiate your company from its competitors.

I also agree that brand building is not just for marketing department but for the entire company, as a brand is not only composed of its name but also of its product, service, environment, communication and behavior of the company. Everything a company does is related to brand building. Therefore, apart from the name that includes the logotypes and the color, this book also provides us with a lot of ways to do with the brand. For examples, to focus in its scope, to achieve it with publicity and maintain it with advertising, to promote the category rather than the brand, to distinguish it from the company, to avoid using subbranding etc.

This book is clear in the format and the content, illustrated by plenty of examples of what not to do and lessons on how to brand in the customer's mind! I can get a lot of insights from it.

This book is worth reading! I highly recommend you to read it!

Then 1 Immutable Law of Al Ries
Focus. Don't do a line extension to save your life.

OK, this book is great and should be read by anyone involved in marketing (I mean come on, who doesn't have the 3 hours it takes to read this book). Unfortunately one serious drawback is that he uses plenty of examples to support his claims. Huh? Why is that a negative? Here's why: because it gets the reader to think of plenty of counter-examples that contradict his points. As another reviewer suggested the claim of "immutable" laws of marketing is a bit bold, but what the book does provide is food for thought in a highly readable context.

You gotta give the guy credit though. He takes a stand. And there's a lot to be said for taking a viewpoint and standing by it in today's middle of the road world.

If you don't feel up to reading "Focus," "Positioning," or some of the other texts by Al Ries, this one provides a lot of the insights in bite size pieces.

Despite the knocks against it listed above there are a few points worth acknowledging: 1. Al Ries is a legend in marketing. 2. It's a good, fun read with many useful examples worth keeping in mind when developing marketing strategies. 3. By reading it for yourself you can develop examples to refute a lot fo the laws and move along the path towards critically evaluating branding strategies.

Give credit where credit is due
Nearly everything in this book is copied verbatim from the marketing classic "Positioning, the battle for you mind" by Jack Trout; Give credit where it's actually due.

"Yeah, right," I said
I do a little consulting in marketing & branding. I've got five other books on branding sitting on the shelf, & I've plowed through four.

I wouldn't say those other books were a waste of time, but I'm confident that this one has more immediately useful information than all of them taken together. And I'm stunned that it as easy read, not only informative but *fun*.

This edition is the one you want, as it combines the 22 laws with the other 11 that pertain very specifically to the Internet. By the time you get through the first few, you will find yourself looking at every brand -- on television, in the stores, on your own shelves -- in a whole new light. One of the prime models, coincidentally enough, is Amazon.com itself. The authors' comments on this very site will probably open your eyes to how remarkable the Bezos legacy has been.

I've barely finished, yet this book has already helped steer me better as to some website questions I had been studying. It's already paid for itself ten times over, & I am certain that the benefits have only begun. The simple, clear differentiation between a company name & a brand name has, by itself, been a unique lesson, & I've taken to heart the stern warnings (& wonderfully absurd object lessons) against line extensions & brand dilution.

Don't let the somewhat bizarre cover put you off (as it did me). This is one of the few books that I intend to re-read on a regular basis, & I will read more Reis titles in the near future.

YOU'LL BE "INVOLVED" WITH THIS LITTLE RIES CAMEO
I write reviews on Amazon rather avidly. When I started reading this particular book, I knew it would be a good number to review. So I started marking everything in the book that I disagreed with or that I felt was worth commenting on.

That the Ries duo relies on sweeping statements (e.g., "Quality of a product doesn't matter. It's all about brands.") hardly made my intentions any easier. Needless to say, my copy of 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is riddled with lots of ink and copious sidenotes. There is a lot I said "Really?" to while reading.

But maybe that's the thing I adore about Ries Inc. Their books are anything but boring manuals on a topical issue so relevant to almost anyone in business. I was "involved" with this book like I have seldom been with a work of non-fiction. I adored and went all retrospective with the "Law of the Name" and the "Law of Globalism". The writing is trippy, semi-provocative and hence absolutely delectable in a piece of work such as this!

Do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. A wonderfully satisfying read. Just keep your discerning senses about you and think twice before wrapping your (brand management) career around all the advice this book proffers.

Noteworthy: The whole book is also available in a PDF version, if you are not particularly averse to on-screen reading. ... Read more

Book Description

In this revised edition of her best-seller, noted sales consultant Linda Richardson offers salespeople the tools they need to successfully use customer-focused, dialogue selling. Featuring real-world dialogue samples, helpful dos and don’ts, self-tests, checklists, and other useful tools, this guide offers insight on every aspect of face-to-face selling, from the initial introduction through the needs identification and the negotiation of terms and price to the successful close, with prime emphasis on the six critical skills necessary to the dialogue-driven sales call: presence, rapport building, questioning, listening, product positioning, and checking. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great advice (if you can assimilate it)
The problem with any "how to sell" book like this is, until you can integrate the advice given here so that it comes naturally to you, you will sound as mechanical and forced as some of the "tellers" Richardson criticizes. I used to sell big-tiicket business-to-business, and I can say the advice here is timeless: engage your customer, identify what your customer's needs are and position your product so that the customer realizes that your product meets their needs. Of course, if the customer doesn't need your product, then maybe you need to learn some of those "hard-ball sales" techniques (or find a better product!). No amount of customer empathy, listening, or product positioning will help you overcome a customer-product mismatch. Which brings me to a point: although Richardson argues against this, I think playing hardball has a place in negotiations; remember, the party you are negotiating with doesn't always have to feel warm and cozy inside in the process. A true persuader will know when to be soft and fluffy and when to apply the pressure.

Also, the whole paradigm-replacement languuage ("we are moving into a new age of selling...") is corny. The advice Richardson is giving is not new or revolutionary, as she claims. But she has succeeded in organizing a lot of really good sales principles in a clear and coherent way which can easily be appreciated by readers.

I read this book together with Richardson's "Selling by Phone" and frankly, one is just a rehash of the other. Richardson copied entire paragraphs from one in writing the other. So save your money and buy just one of the two. But if you are an accidental salesperson, or even if by trade you are not a salesperson but you are occasionally called upon to negotiate (maybe you are a lawyer or a manager) Richardson's books will be a refreshing introduction to the discipline of negotiation and persuasion.

excellent, customer oriented common sense
After reading plenty of those "say what I say, exactly as I say it" sales books, none of which I found truly helpful out in the field, this book was like a breath of fresh air. Easy to read and easy to adapt to personal styles it is a treasure trove of good advise. If you actually care about your customers and want them to return to you on a regular basis, this is the book for you.

should be a textbook for sales classes
From my many varied experiences, I realize that I just don't like selling, but when I was trying to bone up on my sales skills, I found this book to be the most useful. It is heads and shoulders above other books on the subject and it was so intersting that I probably read it cover to cover in a day or two. The advice is extremely practical and you are learning great principles of selling. You are not learning a bunch of closing dialogues that only work for the person who invented them. Easily digested, the principles allow you to adjust your approach in mid-sale because you are asking questions whose answers will tell you what you need to do or say next (positioning.) Tons of great info here. It should really be a textbook for sales classes.

Eye-opener and Instant Results Obtained
I manage a distributor sales force throughout the U.S. and Canada. After reading this book (actually WHILE reading this book) I applied the information and witnessed immediate success, as did my sales reps. The information is direct, common sense, well presented, easy reading and entertaining. It is not full of 'theory', but actual 'meat' that can be applied each day after reading even a chapter or two the night before. I am buying books for each of my reps and feel it is one of the best gifts I could ever give them. Well done! ... Read more

Book Description

A master of customer service reveals his secrets for developing long-lasting business relationships and customer loyalty. "We shower our customers with attention. There's no doubt in my mind that our philosophy can be applied to selling just about anything -- from aircraft engines to beanbags." (Jack Mitchell) The only way to stay in business is with customers, and Jack Mitchell knows how to attract them, and how to keep them.

He has a deceptively simple but winning relationship approach to customer service -- that a relationship is at the heart of every transaction. Jack's business philosophy is based on "hugs" -- personal touches that impress and satisfy the customer, such as: -- Remembering the name of your customer's dog
-- Calling a customer to make sure he's satisfied after a purchase
-- Having a "kids' corner" with TV, books, and treats
-- Knowing your customers golf handicap
-- Introducing customers to business contacts
-- Letting your customer use your office to make a personal phone call This is a proven theory -- hugging works! Mitchells/Richards achieves among the highest margins in its industry, as well as amazing customer loyalty. Complete with anecdotes that exemplify outstanding customer service, Hug Your Customers shows how any business can adapt this hugging philosophy to attract great staff, lower marketing costs, and maintain higher gross margins and long-term revenues. At a time when customer service has become the difference between success and failure, Hug Your Customers shows how Jack's one-of-a-kind philosophy brings the results you're looking for. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

One of the best business books I've read in a long time
HUG YOUR CUSTOMERS by Jack Mitchell is one of the best business books I have read in
a long time . . . it describes how he transformed a little store
started by his parents into two of the most successful clothing
establishments in the business.

I know that I was really into it by the copious notes I was
taking on just about every topic . . . in addition, I kept thinking
to myself that next time I'm anywhere near one of his
stores in Connecticut, I want to stop by and see for myself

how Mitchell has managed to succeed when so many
others fail in the industry.

As he notes, "We shower our customers with attention.
There's no doubt in my mind that our philosophy can be applied
to selling just about anything--from aircraft engines to beanbags."

He does this by showering his customers with "hugs"--personal touches
that impress and satisfy the customer . . . these include such
things as:
Remembering the name of your customer's dog;
Calling a customer to make sure he's satisfied after a purchase;
Having a kids' corner with TV, books and treats;
Knowing your customer's golf handicap; and
Letting your customer use your office to make a personal phone call.

The book was chock-full of other ideas that could be applied
to just about any situation; among them:

When I'm bored at home, rather than reading a book, I often
punch the button on my computer and put in parameters to
pull up our top one hundred or top one thousand customers,

men and women, and I study them like I was studying vocabulary
words for the SAT's. The names go into one of the attic rooms
of my brain and lodge there. As I once knew all stats on Joe
DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, I now try to know all the stats
on my top thousand customers. Because that's the game:
knowing the customer.

A hug can be a thoughtful remedy for an annoyance. When the
Postal Service raised the price of a stamp to 37 cents from 34 cents,
my first thought was, "Oh, great, now I've got to stand in line to get
3-cent stamps so I can use that mound of 34-cent stamps I bought
so I wouldn't have to wait in line for a long time." I hate waiting
in lines, especially at a government agency. But who doesn't? So
I sent out a personal note to five hundred of our good customers,
thinking they might be in the same boat, and included some 3-cent
stamps. "You know you are the focus of our business," I wrote.
"In an effort to make your life less hectic, I have enclosed a
handful of 3-cent stamps." It was a hug out of nowhere, and they
loved it.

Consistency means that if you're going to do anything for the customer,
you have to do it for everyone, including someone you've never seen
before. That means that a customer is more important than a
mannequin. One Saturday years ago, Mitchells was really mobbed,
and this couple came in who had never been there before. The wife
asked if we had a certain tie in a green coloration. I flipped

through the tie racks and couldn't find it. The woman nodded at
a mannequin and said, "There it is." So I got up and removed it and
took if downstairs to be steamed. Meanwhile, the couple browsed
around and wound up buying several suits, a couple of sport jackets,
and twenty-three custom shirts. As they were checking out, the woman
said, "We were in a store in Stamford before we came here, and there
was a tie on the mannequin that I liked and I asked the manager if he
could take it off, and he said, 'Absolutely not, the visual department
is coming out from New York today and the visuals have to be
perfect.' "

Hooray For Customer Service!
In an era of cookie cutter department stores, and speciality shops that require sales staff to complete "Attitude 101", it is incredibly refreshing to learn the story of Jack Mitchell, and his vastly successful enterprise Mitchells/Richards, which is the subject of "Hug Your Customers".
Mitchell, the second generation to run the family clothier, stresses time and time again in this history/marketing/advice tome that the key to retailing success is going the extra mile to please a customer, thereby developing loyalty (as well as increased sales).
Mitchell is not only a shrewd business, but also a great storyteller, and has mastered the art of remembering his customers - the stories he tells in this book about exceeding customer expectations through fairly simple means (creating customer profiles, involving family in business...) are lessons that anyone in business has heard ten times over, and has probably discarded for the latest marketing trend. Mitchell's simple storytelling style works great when discussing the importance of old fashioned customer service principles (selling merchandise displayed on mannequins, charting birthdays, phone calls to customers to remind them of special events...) - his buisness philosophy makes great (common) sense.
Mitchell's ideas of service translate extremely well into any sales environment, and this book is a great resource (and reminder) for anyone in sales, marketing, or public relations work. He is great at capturing the larger picture of the value of relationships in the sales enviroment - as well as valuing the sales staff.
In an era where quality customer service seems to be a forgotten skill, its great to read of someone who has had great success because he practices the very simple rules of successful sales - know your customer - greet them and treat them with respect - go tohe extra mile to satisfy their needs. Unfortunately, we have come to expect less of salespeople these days because such simple courtesies are rarely extended in today's retailing marketplace. I found a number of strategies laid out by Mitchell to be great starting points for customer interaction in my own work, and that is the best reccomendation a reader can give a book of this type.

Creating a Magical Experience for Customers
A business owner who'll do anything for his customers--even fly across the world to deliver a suit! He turns clothing shopping from commodity to magical experience--and he is very well-compensated. I read this all the way through in about two sittings.

Packed With Knowledge!
This terrific book wastes no words and no time, but delivers the goods. Jack Mitchell, CEO of two high-end clothing stores in Connecticut, offers solid (if not all new) principles of customer service and relationship management in a personal, lively, entertaining way. The book is immediately applicable to retail and small businesses, and sheds much-needed light on managing a family business. The book draws a straight line from customer service to business success. The author, whose warmth and candor is totally endearing, may be faulted for denying that location matters. After all, his stores sit in one of the most affluent regions in the U.S., so he would probably enjoy some measure of success even with mediocre customer service. And, his customer service is great, intense to the point of being instructive. If he is overenthusiastic about his formula, that's to be expected of a salesman. We find a lot of useful material here for anyone in a customer-contact business and, as a bonus, this familial saga is really fun to read. Highly recommended.

Mitchell Deserves A Hug
Everyone that deals with people should read this book. I would love to give it to the geeks that invented the computerized customer service reps.. those shameful beings. Hugs become extra important for someone who basically deals with clients through a computer.. like me :) The one thing I would change about this book is that certain sections tend to get really vague. ... Read more

Book Description

Offering a sound theoretical base supported by relevant and current examples, this practical, detailed, and well-documented guide takes readers through all phases of developing and conducting international marketing research - from analyzing the nature and scope of the research, to the preliminary stages, gathering data, designing the questionnaires, sampling, analyzing the data, and more - plus includes numerous country-specific examples and provides valuable training in using the Internet for research purposes.Presents broad and comprehensive coverage of the most current information on research methodologies available. Contains examples and references from ongoing international marketing research projects, and offers country-specific information to aid researchers in conducting studies in an international market. Shows how to use the internet as an effective resource. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Decent overview of international marketing research
I used this book in a class I took on International Marketing Research. It offered a decent overview of international marketing research concepts, but also was fairly dry in parts. ... Read more

Book Description

``Solution Selling is the most comprehensive sales and sales management process available today. Mike Bosworth has the best understanding of sales process in corporate America.''Jeffrey M. Fisher, Vice President, Symix Computer Systems. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

This book is Your Advantage over other sales executives.
I have been in sales for over 15 years. This book explains in detail what goes on during a sale and offers profound insight to the art of selling complex products. It is true that selling is just a simple name for the complex mental wars that happens between the buyer and the seller. This book helps one strategize his selling and predict customer behaviors. It also helps any sales person to be less emotional because he or she knows what stage is the customer in and can anticipate customer reactions. Great book, must read!

Better Sales Practices
Bosworth sells us all on solution selling. He teaches us how to sell everything from shoes to software. IBM recommends this book as the definitive guide to their sales strategy. Bosworth provides numerous examples, case studies, and most importantly he explains and analyzes each of them. But perhaps the best example of solution selling is the book itself -- it solution-sells the concept of solution selling, from catching our attention, demonstrating that a problem exists, asking us questions, and finally prescribing a solution: solution selling. A must read for anyone in sales or business in general

Good book
I liked SPIN SELLING better as they both covered the same ground with similar approach, but SPIN SELLING seemed better researched and had 4 steps where this had 9. Spin Selling was a better read too.

However, it is entirely possible that had I read this before reading Spin Selling, I would have gained more from this, and hence liked it more.

bit disappointed
I gave this book one star only to indicate that it was not for me, it may well be for people in other fields of selling. I actually work in the timeshare-business and since timeshare is also a "big ticket"-item I thought this could be the right book for me. First of all, let me state that I have read many books on sales and this is by far the most boring one that I have read so far. "Scripts", descriptions of specific sales-calls and so on, I personally don't like that AT ALL. If you find yourself in pretty much the same situation on every call you may find this book could be too versatile for you, it just covers too many different scenarios in order for me to find how it could benefit me. If you wanna find out about how to do a proper intent-statement on the phone etc. or sell stuff to companies, then maybe you should go for it, but a tough, not very inspiring read. And every book on sales should be inspiring. Selling is a creative process, this book is only technical. I really wanted to like it. I just couldn't.

The book to read and the book to keep!
Once you have read it, you would want to share it with others. This is how good Michael Bosworth's book "Solution Selling" is. From clarifying the difference between Features, Advantages and Benefits (which a lot of sales people still mixed up), to complex solution selling process, the book has given losts of good illustration with practical examples. Especially in "3 levels of buyers needs", "10 faces of buyer pain", "Price Negotiation" etc.

The book uses the buyers' prespective to help readers to understand what the buyers think at each stage in their decision process which is a good way to demonstrate his theory behind.

Solution selling is a long and complex process, with the approach and process Bosworth described, it helps a lot in defining the actions and precautions we need to take in day to day solution selling process.

If I can only pick one of the chapters in the book, I must recommend you to read, at least, how Bosworth uses the "9-block vision processing model" to see solution selling in the buyer's viewpoint, steps by steps showing what a solution sales/consultant should react in response to different level of the buyer's pain.

If I have knew/bought this book earlier, I might not need to spend my last few years going through the hard way. It is definitely a book to read and the book to keep ... ... Read more

Book Description

The sixth edition of Terence Shimp's market-leading Advertising, Promotion, and Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications fully integrates all aspects of marketing communication. While continuing to focus on the time honored, IMC methods, the text has undergone a significant revision to reflect new academic literature and practitioner developments in the field.Comprehensive treatment on the fundamentals of advertising and promotion combine with the Internet's impact on IMC.A major focus of this revision, Internet issues have been seamlessly integrated throughout the text to highlight the dynamic relationship between basic marketing communication concepts and the power of the Internet. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

i love this book
Cheung Yin Fan, Octo from City University of Hong Kong, Department of Marketing

Advertising is what my favorite study in University. Indeed, advertising plays a critical role on promote the products and brands, therefore, a well integrated marketing communication plan can help organizations to promote the product and service in the market effectively.

This book, which is written by Terence A. Shimp, provides a basic knowledge and information on design the well integrated marketing communication plan. And the book is divided into six parts as follows.

Part one
It is a introduction of the IMC program in the market and its role in brand equity enhancement.

Part two
It will consider the IMC in the customer¡¦s perspective. Since the main role of IMC plan is communicating the message to customers and persuade the customer to make a purchase decision. It is necessary to understand how the customers think, therefore, auditor introduce the consumer processing model and hedonic experiential model.

The book mentions that a well IMC plan should identify the brand image first, and then understand the target customer needs and wants. It can help the marketers to know what the target customers concerns to make a purchase decision; therefore the marketers can design promotion strategy, which match the customers¡¦ preference, provide some information and satisfy the customers¡¦ requirement.

Part three
The auditor introduces the adoption and diffusion process with the broader issue of how an innovation is communicated and used to promote the new brands in the market.

Also it considers some factors that would affect to promote the new brands. They are opinion leadership, word of mouth, brands name, logos, packages, and point of purchase materials.

Part four
This part concerns about how to implement and manage an IMC plan. It consists of introducing the creative advertising strategy, endorsers and message appeals, the promotional channel, media planning and its analysis.

This part would be the main focus of the books since each task above would be the critical success factors on how the messages deliver in the market and persuade the customers.

Part five
This part consider on the sales promotion management, marketing oriented, public relations and sponsorships. The auditor introduces the promotional devices such as coupon and premiums which would help to implement the IMC plan. In the sponsorship marketing, the auditor introduces how to select the sponsorship events and its benefit on promotion.

Part six
Some external factors would also affect the effectiveness of IMC plan such as regulatory, ethical and ¡¥Green¡¦ issues. To have further understood on those external factors, the auditor describes the factors deeply by providing with examples MarCom.

Due to the study scheme, I just concern about a several part from part one to three in order to prepare the report and tests. Indeed, I love to read its book very much since it has a lot of pictures and examples to explain the comprehensive theory that can attract you to keep on reading. Moreover, the book contains broaden contents to help the reader to plan the IMC program.

And I would also like to recommend the auditors to add more globalize company as an example. Since there are all American companies as an examples in the book that it is not practical in Hong Kong. Moreover, I would suggest the auditor to do an overall summary with a chart or diagram so that the reader can get the focus of the book easily.

Moreover, I like the part of ¡¥creating advertising strategy¡¦ more even it does not have enough colorful pictures. Personally, I love to create advertising; therefore, I like to learn how to make a creative advertising. The auditor just introduces some styles of creating advertising strategies in general; however, it can stimulate me to think out of the box to create an advertisement.

Advertising and promotional tools are very important
Teresa Tsang from City University of Hong Kong, Marketing Department

Nowadays, companies need to differentiate them from other competitors in this competitive environment. Advertising is one of the important tools to communicate with customers that your company is different from other companies in terms of brand personality, product quality, service quality and other benefits, etc. Moreover, other promotional tools such as coupon, point of display, premium, etc. also can help to attract customers to buy the products. But advertising is the main communication tool to communicate with customers about the company¡¦s offers and promotional campaign. Therefore, learning how to apply different advertising techniques and other promotional tools is a must in this competitive market.

Actually, my university uses this book as a textbook for the subject of ¡§Integrated Marketing Communications¡¨. I found that this book gives us very useful information about advertising and promotion strategy. This book divides the content into six parts. Each part explains different concepts for readers. Part one is about the overview of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and its role in the brand-equity enhancement. It explains what IMC is and how IMC helps to enhance the brand equity.

Part two talks about positioning and targeting for marketing communications efforts and the communication process between the sender (marketer) and the receiver (customer). Moreover, Shimp explains the differences between consumer processing model and hedonic experiential model since marketers need to understand these models in order to use different advertising and promotional tools to appeal customers.

Part three is bout the marketing communications¡¦ role in facilitating new product adoption since different marketing communications methods are used in different stages of product adoption. Moreover, Shimp also explains the roles of brand names, logos, packages, and point-of-purchases in promoting companies¡¦ products and assisting sales.

Part four involves advertising management. It includes creative advertising strategy, endorsers and message appeals in advertising, and media planning, etc. Since advertising is very important in this competitive marketplace, learning how to apply advertising really can help companies to have better communications with customers about companies¡¦ offers. Moreover, media plan can help marketers to plan which media is the most effective channels to deliver the persuasive messages to customers.

Part five explains trade-oriented and consumers-oriented sales promotion management, marketing public relations (MPR) and sponsorships marketing. Actually, public relation is also important to foster goodwill between the company and the public. Shimp has given different examples to explain proactive MPR and reactive MPR which help readers to understand the concepts easily.

Part six talks about the external pressures which include regulatory, ethical, and green issues on marketing communications. For example, there should not have misrepresentation, omission, or practice that is likely to mislead the customers acting reasonably in the circumstances. Therefore, there is a need for marketers to practice ethical advertising; otherwise, it will damage companies¡¦ reputation and lose customers.

We can see that this book can teach us much useful knowledge about advertising, promotion and other marketing communications approaches. I believe that better use of marketing communications can project better image and deliver clearer messages to customers. Moreover, successful advertising can project a good impression in customers¡¦ hearts for a long time. Therefore, this book can help readers to grasp the knowledge of integrated marketing communications and apply in real situation to build companies¡¦ reputation and gain more customers. I hope that all readers can also enjoy reading this book and find useful knowledge from this book.

A Comprehensive and Useful Book
To communicate effectively and efficiently with the customers, only advertising, the most common way people think of, is not enough. Supplemental tools have to be integrated with it to implement the most relevant form of persuasive communication program. How? The book "Advertising, Promotion and Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications" can help you a lot.

This book is very clear and comprehensive. Shimp first explains why IMC is very important in modern marketing and defines what IMC is. Then, he focuses on the perspective of customers and provides us with different useful tools including promotion, packaging and branding strategies, point-of-purchase communication, market-oriented public relations, event-and-cause oriented sponsorship and personal selling, to write an IMC plan in order to communicate with the target audience with the right message and the right methods, so that resources will not be wasted in the irrelevant areas.

This book is very rich in content. Examples and applications are widely used. A detailed example is given at the beginning in each chapter. And there are a lot of articles quoted in the parts of IMC FOCUS and GLOBAL FOCUS from different journal and research that can let us know more about the related topics.

It is easy to understand as well. Some theories are illustrated by charts and diagrams. And sometimes advertisements are shown to make the theories more concrete. The advertisements can also enhance the visual impact and arouse our interest to read the book.

Marketing communication is very important for the success of a company. Want to know more about it. Read the book!!!

Useful to a marketing student
I believe this book is worth reading for a marketing student. This book provides us with clear concept and many useful examples. It helps me to understand the theories much more easier. Actually, it is much easier to explain advertising by showing us different ads. For example, when talking about sign and symbol in advertising, it is great to show us that how sign and symbol used in different ads. Besides real life examples, this book can also make use of many flow charts or diagram to help exam the theories and the concept in IMC and advertising. These flow charts help me to under and remember the logic very easily. I have to say I learn a lot from this book.

Simply outstanding
This book is giving quantity of useful tools. This is not only on how designing efficient communication strategies but how to use it efficiently in Brand Management! ... Read more

Book Description

Not since McLuhan's THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE has a book compressed so many ideas into so few pages. Using the visual language of the boardroom, Neumeier presents the first unified theory of branding -- a set of five disciplines to help companies bridge the gap between brand strategy and brand execution. Those with a grasp of branding will be inspired by what they find here, and those who would like to understand it better will suddenly "get it." This deceptively simple book offers everyone in the company access to "the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet."

"Finally, a book that cuts to the heart of what brand is all about -- connecting the rational and the emotional, the theoretical and the practical, the logical and the magical to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Everyone in the company should read this book, not just the three people with 'brand' in their titles." --Susan Rockrise, Worldwide Creative Director, Intel

"A pleasure to read.THE BRAND GAP consistently provides deep, practical insights in a light, visual way. Discover the power of imagery and the role of research in building a heavy-duty brand -- without the heavy-duty reading." --David Aaker, Author of "Brand Leadership" and "Building Strong Brands"

"Neumeier stands out among brand-savvy professionals. His experience as a designer, writer, and strategist lends realism to his five disciplines of brand-building. Anyone who needs a deeper understanding of the creation, management, and evolution of brands should grab this book with both hands and start reading." --Patrick Fricke, Manager of Print and New Media Design, Kodak

"This is not just another book on brand. This is the only book you'll need to read in business, engineering, and design school." --Clement Mok, Design enterprenuer/President of AIGA

"THE BRAND GAP is an original. It describes the full range of creative interdependencies that need to be managed in concert, but in a language so plain, crisp, and simple that you suddenly 'see' the concept of brand--and can act boldly on it." --Peter Van Naarden, Director of Global Brand for Hewlett-Packard Co.

"THE BRAND GAP couldn't be more timely. Just when we're at our most skeptical about corporate motives, along comes a book that shows how to evaluate and develop a brand in a straightforward and honest manner." --David Stuart, Brand Designer and Co-Founder of The Partners, London

"This is an important work, with just the right level of accessibility. Despite our overexposure to brand theory these days, THE BRAND GAP is the first book that seems fresh and relevant." --Richard Grefe, Executive Director, The American Institute of Graphic Arts

"A well-managed brand is the lifeblood of any successful company--and Neumeier shows us exactly how to do it. Read this book before your competitors do!" --Tom Kelley, General Manager of Ideo/Author of "The Art of Innovation"

Reviews (21)

Brand Gap - A most readable short course
I am completely enamoured with the style and content of Neumeier's new book and am recommending it to all of my clients! Having worked in the flavor and fragrance industry for my entire career I find this to be the perfect vehicle to explain one of the most powerful aspects of flavor and fragrance application in consumer products, packaging, and advertising - multi-dimensional and multi-sensory brand building! Neumeier's treatise is just too short not be read and enjoyed and applied to modern consumer product development and management! Trout and Ries; and now Neumeier to add meaning to it all! YEE haw!

I'll join the club! Wonderful 5-star book!
I came upon The Brand Gap in a hurry through Atlanta Hartsfield on the way to catch a plane to Houston.

I read the entire book on that flight. Virtually every point and approach are applicable to my company (a leading publisher). Most of them will wind up in how we go about branding from now on.

Not since Theodore Levitt's Marketing Imagination turned my head completely around (1983) about what marketing is and does, have I encountered such a clear exposition of what is happening and what to do about it.

Killer book
A good book is one that not only provides an interesting read, but gets you off the dime to DO something. Our company is large (40,000 employees)and we had ahuge gap between business and brand. After reading this book, my team and I re-org'd our company around the "superteam" model of brand building. Now we have cross-deparmental collaboration, plus a stable of small, best of breed external firms to give us some creative horsepower. The left brain's finally connected to the right brain, to quote Neumeier's phrase. We use the book to introduce new hires to the brand concept, then follow up with training on our own brand. This is the book that got us going. I recommend it to anyone who wants to incite change in their organization.

Beyond Trout and Ries
The Brand Gap picks up where Trout and Ries leave off. It gets into areas that traditional marketing and positioning books fear to tread, namely the role of aesthetics in building brands. As a 30-year veteran of Madison Avenue, I've learned the hard way that it doesn't matter how great your strategy is---it's execution PLUS strategy that moves products. Neumeier is one of the first to recognize this simple but elusive truth. It's enough to give one hope for the future of the marketing business. For that matter, for the future of business. Period.

The Brand Gap
For anyone in the business of branding, marketing or advertising, don't waste your money on this one. The book is nothing more than fluff, with no substance or insight. A definite zero. ... Read more