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

Marketing is civilized warfare. And as high-tech products become increasingly standardized -- practically identical, from the customer's point of view -- it is marketing that spells life or death for new devices or entire firms. In a book that is as fascinating as it is pragmatic, William H. Davidow, a legend in Silicon Valley, where he was described as "the driving force behind the micro processor explosion," tells how to fight the marketing battle in the intensely competitive world of high-tech companies -- and win.

Blunt, pithy, and knowledgeable, Davidow draws on his successful marketing experience at Intel Corporation to create a complete program for marketing victory. He drives home the basics, such as how to go head-on against the competition; how to "plan products, not devices"; how to give products a "soul"; and how to engineer promotions, market internationally, motivate salespeople, and rally distributors. Above all, he demonstrates the critical importance of servicing and supporting customers. Total customer satisfaction, Davidow makes clear, must be every high-tech marketer's ultimate goal.

The only comprehensive marketing strategy book by an insider, Marketing High Technology looks behind the scenes at industry-shaking clashes involving Apple and IBM, Visicorp and Lotus, Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor. He recounts his own involvement in Crush, Intel's innovative marketing offensive against Motorola, to demonstrate, step-by-step, how it became an industry prototype for a winning high-tech campaign.

Davidow clearly spells out 16 principles which increase the effectiveness of marketing programs. From examples as diverse as a Rolling Stones concert and a microprocessor chip, he defines a true "product." He analyzes and explains in new ways the strategic importance of distribution as it relates to market sector, pricing, and the pitfalls it entails. He challenges some traditional marketing theory and provides unique and important insights developed from over 20 years in the high-tech field. From an all-encompassing philosophy that great marketing is a crusade requiring total commitment, to a careful study of the cost of attacking a competitor, this book is an essential tool for survival in today's high-risk, fast- changing, and very lucrative high-tech arena. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Double E!?
I was greatly impressed by the book. I really can't believe that what I have seen in the book is wriiten by a PhD in electronic engineering! William has no marketing expertise or experience before he join the company HP. Nevertheless, by his extremely strong observation and analytical mind, he had develop a excellent strategy to successfully market high technology. In addition, at the end of the book, he also added 16 factors to evaluate the high-tech marketing plan. As a marketing student, I must confess that, it is much more worthwhile to read this book attending hundreds of hours of lecture! Although one may thought that the book was written in 90s such that the thoeries should be outdated. However, I believe that truth remains true no matter how old it is. So, I will not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone (especially for marketing students)!

The Definitive High-Tech Marketing Guide
When this book was written, it broke new ground about the importance of crafting, marketing and selling "whole solutions." In an industry of constant technology innovations (and discontinuities, to steal a phrase from a follow-on editor), that is the only way to survive. This book is a must read, and really sets the stage for Geoffrey Moore's first book "Crossing the Chasm," another required reading for the student of high-technology marketing.

Lacks Substance
William Davidow has great organization in this book, but beyond the big picture, it lacks real substance. I could have taken this book, created an outline from just the chapter and section headings, and got as much out of it as I did reading the whole thing.

I recommend this book to the beginner in technology and marketing, but not to anyone with any real experience in either.

Don't Read Another
By far, one of the best (high tech) marketing books out. I couldn't put it down once I opened it.

An Intelligent & Insightful Book
An excellent manual on marketing of ANY product/service, & not just high tech ones. The idea of the complete 'product' that caters to a targeted niche market or group is truly insightful but which also makes perfect sense. 'Devices' are abound in all markets but 'Products' that hit the proverbial market spot are more rare.

An good accompaniment to Drucker's 'Innovation & Entrepreneurship', published just a year before this one. ... Read more

Book Description

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Reviews (49)

This book is going to upset a lot of people
Trying to build your brand with advertising?
Then don't!
Attempting to convince your target audience of your brand's claims through paid space or time lacks a key incredient vital to success - credibility.
What do you believe - what's reported on the evening television news, or the advertising which precedes and punctuates it?
As customers we're cynical, suspicious, and cautious. We see the majority of advertising as biased, self-serving, and company rather than consumer-oriented. So we turn to independent, authoritative, third-party sources for recommendations and advice - friends, relatives, neighbours, and the media.
When we've made up our minds, advertising serves as a reminder.
Some business people say they rely on "word of mouth" marketing, leaving that process to its own devices. Others feel the outcome for their bottom line is too important to leave to chance.
Advertising doesn't build brands. Public relations does. You should use advertising to defend your brand against competitors once it's been built - and its credibility established - through PR. That's this book's main conclusion.
Al Ries is going to upset a lot of people. As they say, "some of my best friends" are advertising people, but sorry guys, what Ries has to say needs to be said. Things like:
- "Advertising has no legitimate role to play in brand building. Advertising's role is defensive in nature. Advertising can only protect a brand once it's established." This is Ries' central thesis which he illustrates with copious case studies.
- Ad agencies often sell advertising to clients on the basis of their own creativity. "Creativity wins awards, but does it also win sales?" asks Ries. He has chapters of evidence to the contrary.
- "Advertising agencies do almost no advertising themselves. Instead, they rely heavily on PR techniques to build their own brands." True again.
- People tend to judge the value of a discipline by its numbers and ad schedules are invariably bigger than PR budgets. But more money doesn't necessarily mean more effective.

PR is King
The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR by Al Ries & Laura Ries

I agree with the thesis of this book: PR can change perceptions but advertising can't. I've been preaching about the credibility of PR for years (it's more believable because the message is delivered by the supposedly unbiased media.) Advertising, on the other hand, isn't believable because everyone knows that it's a company's paid-for message. Ries & Ries further state that advertising has crossed over into the realm of "art" rather than remaining a form of communication. They point out that the yardstick by which ad agencies measure the success of their ad campaigns is the number of creative awards they win--not whether or not the ads actually sell products. On this, the authors are absolutely right. Ads (especially TV ads) don't sell anymore, they entertain. It's a waste of money for companies to advertise as much as they do. So, even though the authors overstate their case and repeat it incessantly, follow the advice of Ries & Ries and spend more money on PR!

Same old stuff
For some reason, Both Ries and Trout get away with recycling their old material and putting a new name on it.
More than that, you couldn't tell that their partnership fell apart years ago since the same ideas, and more importantly, the same examples are used extensively in each man's books.

For Example:
These guys must LOVE Papa Johns (or be shareholder's, as they both mention the compony time and time again (In multiple books as well) as some paragon of food and of great marketing. As far as I'm concerned, Papa John's is indistinguishable from Domino's. I wonder if either man has ever even tried it.
Anyway... back on track.

This book continually simplifies the reasons behind the success and/or failure of various companies and products to the poor use of publicity. No mention of poor management or rationalizing markets, or the fact that the product or service stunk in the first place.

The most appaling thing is this guy has the balls to tell the city of Cusco in Peru and the country of Guatamala, they should change names in order to attract visitors. (Ciudad de las Incas and Guatamaya, respectively). I don't know if this is marketing ignorance, or American disregard for foreign cultures, but I couldn't believe what I was reading.

He continues to show his ignorance of technology and pop culture with incorrect example after incorrect example.
For example, he points out that there was once a beer called Yuengling that failed because of it's name. Guess what, Al, Yuengling, is alive and doing pretty well.
Also chapters are repetitive. After reading about Red Bull 3 times, in as many chapters, it got a little boring

To sum it up: Advertising is bad, Brand extension is bad. Anyone who didn't listen to his advice is now out of business, Papa John's is great. There I saved you the agony of reading this (Or anyother of his books or the books by Jack Trout) and $15.

Save your money. A stinker of a book.

The Rise of "PR" Spin
Regardless of the fact that the Ries' recently opened their own PR firm, and are "marketing" it through the regular channels (including advertising venues), the book does offer a PR perspective, albeit an alternative view of what can be accomplished in brand introduction. However, the majority of Integrated Marketing Communication campaigns adequately do the same and even more. Securing space in newspapers (the standard PR vocation), and attempting to get something for "free" still drives the PR industry. The demise of advertising is highly premature ($249.2 billion in 2003). The business of America Mr. Ries is still business. The "spin" remains too thin and lacks legitimate credibility. IMC....That's where we're going.

The rise of PR
Most parts of this book impressed me, however some parts did not and it often seemed to point ou the obvious. They did a good job distinguishing the different between advertising and PR but using different examples to show how PR is more modern than advertising yet we view the advertising ass classic and somewhat essential. However, sometimes they drag on with exlaining the difference, and use too many example in a row that may throw people off. The thing I liked is that when distinguishing advertising and PR, they try not to show how they are different, but how it is impossible for them to be the same. This led into how nothing can be mass produced without PR. ... Read more

Book Description

"Good business-to-business direct marketing is no accident. The second edition of Bob Bly's book helps direct marketers of all experience levels eliminate guesswork. This book belongs on the bookshelf of every direct marketer. Unlike other books, you'll be going back to this one so often it will never gather dust. Cookbooks are helpful, but the real value of Business to Business Direct Marketing is the wealth of experience that Bob Bly brings to each page. From high-level strategy to copywriting hints and tips, this edition is packed with gold nuggets of advice." -- Marc Russman Manager, Direct Marketing Skills Development IBM"The most successful business-to-business direct marketers always had an important edge over their competitors; they knew all the tools and techniques better than their competitors--and they knew how to use them. Bob Bly's new book levels the playing field. He discloses all the insider's secrets so every business-to-business direct marketer will have the marketing savvy--including hundreds of promotional ideas--needed to win in any business-to-business market every time." -- John Finn President Finn Corporation"A valuable addition to any business-to-business marketer's bookshelf." -- Cheryl Friedman Marketing Communications Coordinator BOC Gases ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excellent Resource for B2B Salespeople too!
This book is well worth the cover price. It will make you think about every single word you put on your marketing material. I encourage sales professionals to read it too. Reason: So many of the Salespeople I consult with are responsible to write their own letters and are sending numerous emails to clients. The more you can understand the art of persuasion and word power, the better your sales!

Strong in hands on advice, low in hype
One of the few business books I have not regreted buying. Will give it to my marketing communications manager, fair and events manager, etc to read the respective sections. The part about "lazy" copywriting is especially amusing.

Business-to-Business Direct Marketing
Get the jump on the competition! Guaranteed! This book is a proven way to boost the sales and increase the bottom line of any business! I have the track record to prove it.In the summer of 2000, it helped me close deals with three b-to-b clients. It also, after reading it five times in two months, enabled me to increase the sales and visibility of three other clients. And I did it all within the space of about five months.In no uncertain terms, the book helped me to increase the response rate to a number of direct marketing campaigns for myself and both service and produt oriented businesses.In this hefty volume, Bly explains the differences between consumer and b-to-b marketing. He shows the relation between "features" and "benefits" in copy as well as the effective use of technical info to sell various products in catalogs, ads, brochures and direct mail.Bly is the preeminent authority on b-to-b marketing who successfully writes for some of the largest businesses in the United States. His wealth of knowledge shines through.Besides showing you how to sell through direct marketing, he explains in detail how to measure and track your results. He gives tips on testing and explains what you should do before, during and after a campaign.His information on technical writing and selling technical products is especially useful, given the fact that he is an engineer.If you are serious about starting or improving a b-to-b direct marketing campaign, and you want details about the vital tools and mechanics of marketing, this is the book you should have.Be sure to get it before your competition does.

BtB Marketing covers more topics than expected
This book was a good buy. It covers all areas and medium where you can get in touch with potential customers (ads, mail, flyer, catalogs, sales brochures etc.). Mr. Bly always emphasizes the importance of including direct contact information. The book is full of useful hints, checklists, and examples of successful direct marketing measures.

This Book Will Get You Results!
Many business people setting up shop these days desire to market their products and services to a variety of prospective customers, whether broad-based or targeting a specific audience, according to the sales objectives they plan to accomplish. Often overlooked as potential customers are fellow business people who are very much like themselves.

Robert Bly has written Business To Business Direct Marketing to offer a serious look at targeting other businesses. Special attention is needed to target fellow business people. Business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing requires two very different approaches. Bly points out that businesses must buy a variety of merchandise to keep their businesses operating and producing, whereas consumers are not obliged to buy anything and everything that hits the marketplace shelves. This is a key point for us to remember!

A perfect example of business-to-business marketing can be seen in the promotional incentive item industry. Thousands of companies and individual distributors sell those rubbery squeezable tension toys that come in hundreds of shapes, sizes, and colors. There is a tension toy for any company that wants to promote itself and someone has to make and sell these items! Anyone who attends tradeshows and job fairs can count the number of companies handing out those colored balls, sharks, animals, bananas, trucks, cellphones, and computers with company contact information stamped on them. I've got many of them adorning my office to remind me of the companies I do business with (or would like to!).

Bly provides a wealth of workable solutions to effectively market businesses through traditional and hi-tech methods such direct mail advertising, polished correspondence, brochures, newsletters, press releases, speaking engagements, multimedia presentations, telemarketing, and the Internet. All of these require talent and commitment. Bly will help prepare you to face these challenges!

This is a heavy hitting book - definitely not for beginners. This book is recommended for companies and business consultants who have already established themselves in the marketplace who want to promote themselves as truly professional. This is top-notch advice from someone who knows his business. Do you know how to effectively market your business? This book will get you results! ... Read more

Book Description

Marketing today doesn't work. Or so says the "Aya Cola," Sergio Zyman, former marketing czar of Coca-Cola and quite possibly the most famous marketing gadfly in the world. Brilliant, irascible, unconventional, Zyman is best known for reinventing the Coca-Cola Company's marketing approach by spearheading the global launches of Diet Coke, New Coke, Classic Coke, Fruitopia, and Sprite. Now, in this brisk and revolutionary book, Zyman shows why old approaches to marketing have lost their fizz--and how to get a jump on the strateies that will work in the twenty-first century.

Zyman explores such topics as:

• Why feel-good marketing is pointless unless it results in sales
• Why marketing is a science not an art
• How a well-honed strategy is more important to success than what ads say
• And much more

Reviews (85)

Great info for all business people
When a colleague handed me a copy of The End of Marketing As We Know It by Sergio Zyman, former chief marketing officer of The Coca-Cola Company, I had two reactions.

One was enthusiasm. I'd learn some things from a real pro and become better at what I do. The second was a wary feeling. Because Zyman is a pro, I was afraid the book would be full of "expert jargon" - over my head, dry, and reading like a textbook.

After reading the book, I'm wholly enthusiastic about it. The End of Marketing As We Know It is a good read - Zyman teaches with plenty of good examples, encourages one to think about one's own experiences and methods, and has an entertaining, conversational tone that keeps the book from becoming dry or "heavy." It's the first book in a very long time that I've wanted to re-read right after finishing it. As someone who writes features for a business magazine and also does PR and advertising, I found Zyman's words relevant and invaluable.

Everyone in business should read this book - and not just the folks in the marketing/advertising department, and not just the big companies. Its content is pertinent to overall business strategy, because it focuses on marketing as a business, or a science - producing measurable results in the form of increased sales rather than merely running some ads that may be appealing and even award-winning but aren't doing anything for the company's bottom line.

Readers will learn why it's important to form a marketing strategy and make regular measurements to test its success. They'll learn ways to position a product - their own and their competitor's - in the minds of consumers. And that continually presenting a brand in fresh and different ways - and in different markets - is essential to keeping sales up. And much more. Whether or not you agree with all of Zyman's methods, this book will definitely make you think and may even rescue you from stale, dead-in-the-water viewpoints about marketing.

Very convincing... Very convincing indeed
THE END OF MARKETING AS WE KNOW IT. It's a great business book to add to your collection. Firstly - what is it about? Why is Marketing going to die? Well - Sergio Zyman explains (and convinces) that the majority of people in marketing these days believe that the only thing they have to do in order to be successful is to simply be creative. What a joke. That is no business, definetely no part of Sergio's business. Rather, Sergio states that the NEW WAY OF MARKETING will be based 100% on results, and getting people to buy more of your product. Winning an advertising award in your company, or merely, knowing that people in your workplace are saying how creative you are - means nothing. If you don't have a strategy, which is aimed at producing better results than you are currently recording - you really need to pull up your socks and realize; that because of people like you - the end of marketing is approaching... rapidly.

When business' are losing market share, and need to cut back on something - a vast array of business first cut money from their marketing department. THis is completely ludicrous, as the only way to increase market share, is to implement a new, or work on the current, marketing strategy. This book goes beyond what a textbook will teach you about marketing. Throw away those Kotler books, because watch out, this Mexican, who is the former CMO of the Coca-Cola company - convinces that results are the only thing business is about - especially marketing.

I really liked the book. It's not too heavy - thats probably why I liked it. However, one thing I would love to ask Sergio is his views on Marketing being a Science. This is the only thing that should have been expained more in depth. Maybe that can be your next book! He backs this up with nothing much at all other than the fact that you must test, test and test again. And that you have to experiment, measure, analyze, refine, and implement. How does this differ to an art?

But, other than that - I really liked it. Enjoy the read, he is quite a character!! I'm off to read the end of Advertising!

Where's the beef
This book by Sergio Zyman is an interesting perspective into the mind of the ex-Coca Cola executive.There are a several nuggets of value in the book, which are based on Sergio's experiences at Coca-Cola. At times he does wax on about things outside his domain of knowledge without throughly researched facts to back up his musings. However, as a perpective of his thought process, and in particular, the impact of some marketing moves at the firm, the book makes an interesting read.

Thumbs Down
Honestly, I was expecting a lot more out of this book. Zyman does a wonderful job at taking a lot of credit for his accomplishments in the marketing world. Nevertheless, there was not a page in the book that the word "I" wasn't mentioned. I wasn't expecting a personal story on how he conquered the markets with the coke brand. I was looking for new and original ideas that were used to improve my marketing techniques.

The End of Coke As We Know it
I'm ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, Sergio Zyman was the architect of New Coke, one of the biggest marketing failures of all time. On the other, he has great spin on this by describing the debacle as how Coke "increased the attachment of the American public to Coca-Cola and sold lots more as a result." You be the judge.

Coca-cola's market share has stagnated in recent years, culminating in vast and well publicized layoffs. Additionally, one has to be leery of any business book published in the late 90's in the midst of an economic bubble when business types were treated like some sort of cross between rock stars and popular jocks. I was also skeptical of some of the advice he gives in the book, especially when he describes some of the other failures of the Coca-Cola company, including building massive production and distribution facilities in the old Eastern bloc following the fall of Communism, and then realizing that most of the people didn't have any money to buy cokes - duh.

Finally, I put aside as much of my distaste as I could for large, morally bankrupt corporations like Coca-Cola and read the book to learn something. There are great insights about the function of ad agencies in strategy, marketing and even some nuggets of interesting management ideas. However, the real gems of the information could have been condensed to a pamphlet you could read in 20 minutes. Good editors would have hacked through all the anecdotes about how to play major ad agencies against each other. I suspect that the people who need that kind of information could buy Sergio himself.

By the way, don't agree Coca-Cola is morally bankrupt? ... Read more

Book Description

Developed by industry guru and mega best-selling author Eli Goldratt,Viable Visionis a proven strategic plan and approach that lays out the steps to transform an organization’s current total sales into net profits within 4 years. This book explains the Viable Vision concept and provides readers the proven frame of reference and roadmap for achieving exponential growth in profits, without relying on minor miracles such as a new product breakthrough.

Supported by significant testing and proven results in real companies, it is now conceivable that even large companies can grow profits at double digit rates. Concisely packed with the proven principles of 25 years of scientific research and real-life application, readers will learn about the holistic implementation of constraints management in strategic planning, operations, supply chain/logistics, sales and marketing, project management, technology, metrics and finance. Whether or not you are one of the millions of people who have read "The Goal" or other fine books on the Theory of Constraints, you will gain enormous benefits from reading this book.Viable Visionis a must read for anyone interested in rapidly increasing their company's net profits. ... Read more

Book Description

From two vanguards of global strategy consulting comes this eye-opening look at the business dilemma of unsustainable growth--along with insights on what companies can do to stimulate consistent profits. Though most companies claim to be growth oriented, surprisingly few actually achieve double-digit growth--and over the past 10 years, that percentage has steadily decreased. In HOW TO GROW WHEN MARKETS DON'T, Adrian Slywotzky and Richard Wise examine this problem and offer real solutions, including how to fully map customers' higher- order needs and ways to get investors to change their thinking. They also offer methods to enhance existing asset bases through acquisitions, partnerships, and licensing, and suggest that companies learn not to depend on the CEO to solve the growth crisis. Creating sustained growth in company value has never been an easy task--in fact, it's getting more and more difficult in today's economic climate--and HOW TO GROW WHEN MARKETS DON'T addresses the need for solid and sensible advice. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

New growth for old companies
Slywotzky and Wise could have titled their new book, New Growth for Old Companies: A Comprehensive Compendium. If you've read their many previous papers and articles, you'll find the contents of this book familiar but will probably be delighted to find all those ideas and more gathered informatively in one place. The authors' audience consists of companies in mature industries struggling to grow - and to grow in a sustainable manner.

Inspired by examples such as General Motors, Clarke American, and Cardinal Health, Slywotzky and Wise mix their own thoughts with others floating around the world of business ideas to come up with a strategy they call "demand innovation". I agree that typical product innovation, while retaining value, is far from the final word in achieving growth. The authors' demand-centric approach instead focuses on the customer's context in using a product or service, and satisfying that with the company's intangible wealth - customer contacts, business models, technical expertise, human capital.

If you are like most customers, you have no trouble finding any number of innovative products. Your wish-list of new stuff is probably making your bank balance very nervous. Yet the experience of finding, buying, using, getting support, and other issues that surround the product itself can create enormous frustration. Slywotzky and Wise do us the favor (as businesses and customers) of bringing together a set of opportunities to grow by helping customers reduce complexity and by helping businesses make better decisions and reach their market faster - often a newly uncovered or created market. Some of the methods for companies are ensuring operational excellence, treating growth as a systematic discipline, developing lots of small ideas and a few big ones, mandating growth at the operating level, securing high-level support for growth initiatives, and building your capabilities through acquisitions and alliances.

You may not find many of these ideas to be radically new, but that's no reason to ignore this book. The authors have done a fine job of gathering diverse elements of new-growth practices and putting them in a sensible framework of "demand innovation". Keep this book on the shelf next to you and pull it down next time you get that not-so-fresh feeling about your business and your markets.

Wear new glasses
Growth has always been a challenge and passion for top management. Mature markets, fierce competition, greater expectations from customers, investors and employees contribute to setting of tough growth targets and the difficulty in attaining them. It is interesting to note that only single digit (7) percentage of companies are able to achieve double digit growth in today's markets. This book takes a closer look at some of these and the means that they adopt to achieve it.

According to the authors, the conventional focus on product innovation, R&D and market penetration strategies have all hit a wall. To break free from this syndrome, companies have to adopt innovative approaches- Demand Innovation. Instead of focusing on the current offering, companies have to look from a customer perspective into the entire value chain of which the current offering could be a small part. The approach is to explore the surrounding processes, products and services.

Cardinal Health Care is a good example with which the authors effectively start demonstrating this concept. Cardinal was struck on the periphery of wholesale drug distribution with shrinking growth and negligible margins. Cardinal soon realizes that for its customers, primarily big hospitals, procurement of drugs is just a part of the solution that seeks to reach the prescribed drugs to the patients' stomach. Suddenly a big opportunity for dispensing, accounting, re-ordering, billing and information processing of drugs in hospitals emerges. Cardinal decides to seize this opportunity. Through extended processes and acquisitions, Cardinal steps into the customers premises, providing them with end to end solutions in procurement, storage, accounting and dispensing of drugs. The concept looks simple , but the revenue streams are deep and margins healthy. A healthy prescription for growth.

General Motors' On Star service is another success story. Instead of just delivering a machine for transportation, GM now assures safety, security and other value added services to the harassed drivers on the road. It is now a part of the customer throughout the product's useful life enjoying a steady stream of revenues, with higher margins and delighted customers. An example where communications and information technology is used to wrap value added services to an otherwise routine product delivery.

The book is split into logical parts and includes chapters on the role of senior managers, unlocking hidden organizational assets like customer contacts, technical expertise, process excellence and a framework to put the ideas into practice and thereby manage growth over an extended timeframe.

Look through the glasses of Demand Innovation and growth will appear closer and bigger.

Recommended reading for managers across all industries.

Another thought provoking book from Slywotzky
I frequently refer to Adrian Slywotzky's previous books as we respond to a rapidly changing market environment among our software customers, and found How to Grow to be a very useful source of new ideas. Slywotzky and co-author Rick Wise concisely frame the growth challenge faced in many industries today, and help the reader in identifying several tangible options for driving revenue and profitability, even in the current market.

The overall format is familiar to readers of Slywotzky's Profit Zone: The first chapter describes the challenge and suggests a response. The middle chapters provide fresh case studies that illustrate how companies across a range of industries have successfully overcome declining growth trends in their traditional business model. The final chapters bring together the common themes from the case examples, and construct an initial set of tools that a leadership team can use can use to identify tangible new opportunities in their own business.

The factors driving the growth challenge--- maturity and commoditization of many key product lines, decreasing returns to new product and line extension investment, increasing saturation of new geographic markets, limited remaining industry consolidation opportunity in many markets, to name a few-are becoming well understood. Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard frequently writes that even the tech industry is waking up to find that many more customers care about products being cheaper than being faster. Slywotzky and Wise don't dwell on this topic, but encourage the reader to ask which drivers may be slowing growth in their own industry.

I found the examples of "demand innovation" to be particularly helpful. These are drawn from a range of industries, presumably including several of Slywotzky's and Wise's consulting clients. Many examples are industries seldom used as case studies on the business speaker circuit, including check printing, lawn care equipment, and automobiles. The fresh material is very instructive. It is quite likely that the reader will find a case example that provides a close analogy to his or her own business.

As with the Profit Zone, the book concludes by providing an outline and set of tools of how to engage an organization in a process to define their own growth challenge and identify actionable responses. It doesn't try to be a recipe book, but it's a very helpful "preflight check list", which increases the likelihood that a valuable opportunity isn't overlooked. The menu of options emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer structure, the customer's activity chain around the product, and the value of the information created in the interaction with the customers. Even companies that have implemented effective downstream business models are likely to find ideas that help extend the creativity in identifying new opportunities.

I read through the book quickly to understand the major themes and keep it handy as a reference when developing new initiatives.

A worthwhile Read
This book is very good, filled with useful ideas.

The authors analyze companies from a variety of industries, many of which faced low growth or no growth markets, and identify the innovations in thought and practices that laid the foundation for future, sustained growth.

They provide the kind of ideas, grounded in real-world examples, that will help you to find and apply new approaches to trigger growth in your business. In the tradition of other good books, this book prompts you to ask the right questions, ending each chapter with a series of questions to help you to capitalize on your business' unique strengths and hidden assets.

A worthwhile read.

Surprisingly Useful
I am very cynical about business books. I typically read two or three chapters and then put them down. Frankly, I think most of them are junk. They state the obvious about age-old management problems. They also tend to be obsessively focused on the internal dynamics and structure of a company.

I took a chance with this book after hearing Mr. Slywotzky on the radio and realizing that I still had a decent balance on an Amazon gift certificate. As the owner/operator of a small wire manufacturing company, the messages about the problems of commoditization and global overcapacity hit home with me. My company has always focused on staying in niche businesses that were not quite large enough to be of interest to larger manufacturers. It worked well for literally decades until about a year and a half ago when we found that a certain "small" product line was not too small to escape the attention of some mainland Chinese businesses. After taking a 60% gross margin haircut (Ouch!!!) to retain the business, I started to become very scared.

At this same time in another product line, we began manufacturing some equipment to more easily dispense an oscillated wire product. We luckily decided to lease this machine rather than sell it, and it has become a lynchpin in our ability to establish and maintain a dominant position in this market. As this machinery has evolved, it also became the rough outline of a business model that I continue to try to pursue. This book is a very good refinement of my rough idea plus a lot more. I intend to try to use the authors' ideas to think about a new product line that has some disruptive elements to it(yes, I think that Clayton Chritensen is worthwhile, too).

I may just like this book because they are preaching to the choir, and I feel that I have arrived at a lot of the same conclusions, albeit in much rougher form, on my own. One thing that I do know is that all the games of incremental, internal change are not enough when mainland China shows up in your backyard.

P.S. - One thing the authors' don't touch on much, but that should be noted is that the ones who are most responsible for commoditizing your products are your own customers. You can be sure that the bigger they are, the more sophisticated the sourcing organization that they have in Asia. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a systematic approach which is grounded in relevant theories and empirical research. Marketing of Technology and Innovation provides a framework for making marketing decisions in a high-tech environment. It covers such industries and contexts as telecommunications, information technology (hardware and software), biotechnology, and consumer electronics. The book provides a balance between conceptual discussions and examples, small and big business, products and services, and consumer and business-to-business marketing contexts.Marketing of Technology and Innovation provides readers with a solid conceptual framework. The book covers such topics as strategy and corporate culture in high-technology firms, market orientation and R&D/Marketing interaction, marketing research tools, understanding customers, product development and management issues, distribution channels and supply chain management, pricing considerations, advertising and promotion, and high-technology marketing and the Internet.Ideal for those interested in learning about Marketing of Technology and Innovation, as well as Marketing Management, Business-to-Business Marketing, New Product Development, E-commerce and Internet Marketing. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Very interesting book
It has a very good approach about how to plan a marketing strategy in high tech enviroments.

Well balanced book
What impressed me the most about this book is the right balance of theoretical discussions and practical examples. The idea of including "views from the trenches" is just way too good. This book helped me conceptualize all the experiences that I have gathered in the past five years in the high-tech industry. This is an excellent read for people who are exclusively focused on marketing (product marketing / product management, etc) or for people who are in other functions, but want to understand the basics of high-tech marketing

The best text on the marketing of high technology
Mohr's text is a good overview of industry practice, mixed with theory on marketing and the diffusion of innovations. This text is a huge step forward for the discipline. As I see the field of electronic marketing evolving, I think we will see material about the Internet moving into mainstream marketing courses. What will remain in the specialized electronic marketing course is the intersection of marketing with the cutting edge of technology. Mohr's text makes me feel much better prepared for this evolution. ... Read more

Book Description

No company can be an island in today's business world. Each one is locked into a complex network of relationships with suppliers, customers and other business partners. To be effective, managers within companies must constantly assess these relationships and the intentions, actions and reactions of their counterparts within them. Indeed, managing its relationships and its position in the business network has become the critical task on which a company's very existence stands or falls.

This new edition of Managing Business Relationships aims to help managers and students understand the reality of business networks and how to manage in them. It has been entirely rewritten to include the latest thinking and research from the IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing) Group.

The book

• provides a structured way to understand business networks and their effect on the practicing manager.
• offers a complete analysis of management in different relationships including those with suppliers, customers, distributors and development partners.
• includes a brand new and easy to understand model of managing in networks.

This book is vital re ading for students of business marketing, purchasing, business networks and relationship management at the MBA and final year undergraduate level. It will also be a valuable resource for all managers operating in business markets, including those in purchasing, marketing, technical development and distribution.
... Read more

Book Description

You say you like doing deals and making money but don't care much about getting into the retail grind?

Maybe you need to be the person in the middle-the wholesaler, the one who buys goods in volume from manufacturers and sells them to retailers at a profit. With millions of products on the market already and new ones coming every day, the wholesale economy has plenty of room for growth.

This guide tells you how to start thriving wholesale operation, specializing in any industry you choose-and run in from your kitchen table, if you like. Entrepreneur magazine has interviewed dozens of successful wholesaling entrepreneurs and distilled the best of their advice into a format that's easy to read and understand. You'll learn:

• How to make contact with manufacturers and retailers
• How to obtain product exclusives
• How to find prime locations for your wholesale distributorship
• Insiders' secrets for overcoming your competition

Start Your Own Wholesale Distribution Business also includes sample forms, step-by-step instructions, checklists and worksheets to guide you smoothly through each stage of the startup process.

It's a straight shot from where you are today to owning and running your own business tomorrow-and you can start right now.

Reviews (1)

Don't waste your money
The saddest thing about this book is that Amazon wants to charge me $4.95 to return it when the description on the web site is clearly wrong. The book is 85 pages (+ 14 appendix/index pages), not 200, and isn't worth the paper it's printed on. An absolute waste of time and money. ... Read more

Book Description

Develop a successful strategy for segmenting high-tech and industrial markets!

Whether it's due to a lack of focus, lack of time, or just bad planning, most companies fall short of the mark in their target marketing. The Handbook of Market Segmentation, 3rd Edition: Strategic Target Marketing for Business and Technology Firms is a practical, how-to guide to what marketers need to know about defining, segmenting, and targeting business markets: assessing customer needs; gauging the competition; designing winning strategies; and maximizing corporate resources. The latest edition of this marketing classic combines content and features from the previous editions with an emphasis on successful practices in business-to-business and high-tech segmentation. This valuable research source puts the latest thinking from the business and academic communities at your fingertips. ... Read more

Book Description

Why do more than 90% of new products fail? Why do so many branding efforts never create a blip on consumer and business radar screens?

The reason: Many companies – especially those selling to other businesses – are failing to brand today because they are using the one-way marketing tactics of the 1970s, such as "positioning."

That's the premise of a controversial new book, FusionBranding: How To Forge Your Brand For The Future, by brand futurist Nick Wreden. The book argues that companies need to start preparing now for the branding imperatives of the next decade, which will be substantially different from the marketing requirements of the past 30 years.

The imperatives will be based on a new "brandscape" that will incorporate dramatic advances in wireless and other technologies, new production and distribution capabilities, and expanded measurement capabilities. Techniques that worked well in the mass economy won't succeed in today's customer economy and the emerging demand economy of 2005 and beyond. Instead, building brands that customers will embrace requires an emphasis on customer equity, operational excellence and accountability that extends from the CEO to production workers at supplier firms. Most important, companies require the ability to do business on customer terms.

By distilling the successes of today's – and tomorrow's – top brands, FusionBranding helps companies avoid expensive mistakes caused by dated marketing myths. It also provides operational, merchandising and marketing road maps that ensure customers receive continuing economic and psychic value from brands. FusionBranding is based on 10 core principles that any company – not just large companies selling to consumers – can use to establish a perpetual brand.

Many of the 10 core principles of FusionBranding are drawn from studies of FedEx, Amazon.com, Staples, Harley-Davidson and other business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. But the book also takes a close look at an area ignored by a lot of branding studies – business-to-business (B2B) companies. That's important because the economy mainly consists of businesses who sell to other businesses, and branding is as important to them as it is to Nike and Coca-Cola, although they will never advertise on TV. As a result, the book looks closely at supply chain management (SCM), key technologies, organizational models and management of such constituencies as the media, employees and investors.

FusionBranding is not another marketing book based on personal experiences or dated practices. For example, many have focused on the Internet as a tool to establish 'e-brands,' even though it is often counterproductive from the customer's point of view. While the Internet does open new communications and sales channels, its true branding value lies in its ability to unite relationship enterprises and enable business on customer terms. Instead of ads, logos and slogans, companies building a 21st century brand must focus on reach, immediacy and personalization.

The book has endorsements from U.S. Sen. Max Cleland; Thomas Gad, author of 4-D Branding and Managing Brand Me; Michael Corcoran, Chief Communications Office at Information Builders Inc.; and Nick Morgan, editor of Harvard Management Communication Letter, a publication of Harvard Business School Publishing.

Chapters also feature a "FutureView," which looks at branding in 2005 and beyond, "Takeaways," in-depth questions that can help apply FusionBranding principles to your brands, and "Resources" that feature books and Web sites about FusionBranding principles. Finally, key vendors are listed. The book is complemented by an comprehensive Web site that offers information, resources, newsletters and continuing insights about the future of branding. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Tribulations of Branding Through the Ages
In FusionBranding, Nick Wreden first warns his readers that his book is not 1) a cookbook (about how to "do more" or "do better", activities that do not necessarily ensure a brand); 2) a positioning user's guide (that builds a brand strategy over relying on competitive activities); 3) a celebrity marketing treatise (capitalizing on a passing fad, like e-brands or communities); or 4) a tactical book (spending time on PR, advertising, emails and other marketing tactics while ignoring the strategic mindset required for branding). Wreden then debunks such die-hard branding myths as awareness equal to branding, overrated first-mover advantage, overestimated impact of the Internet on human behavior and business fundamentals, and disproportional relevancy of pricing to branding. Wreden clearly demonstrates through his book that a brand is all about creating a set of positive expectations that generate trust, commitment, loyalty, respect, and satisfaction based on the ability to deliver constantly what is promised to the target audience. Wreden concisely explores the evolution of branding through the ages of the Mass Economy, Customer Economy, and Demand Economy. To his credit, Wreden not only emphasizes customer equity (lifetime value of customer) and accountability, but also operational excellence. What is indeed the value of a brand if operations cannot deliver what marketing and sales promise? To summarize, FusionBranding brings a breeze of fresh air into branding that keeps its paramount importance in convincing the target audience to take a ride and hopefully make a journey together until death separates them.

Customer equity is king in branding
How do you turn a small business into big business?

Answers vary from hiring great talent to inspiring innovation to superlative customer service. While all those factors play a vital role in growth, this book argues that the key force in propelling start-ups from bedrooms to boardrooms is customer equity.

According to Wreden, customer equity is "the value that a customer brings to an organization in terms of sales, profits and intangibles, like referral sales, over the lifetime of a relationship." Customer equity is built on the premise that existing customers are much more valuable than new customers.

Everyone knows that existing customers are most valuable, yet few firms follow through with actions. About 80%-90% of sales and marketing budgets are devoted to customer acquisition, not retention. According to the consulting firm Bain & Co., fewer than 20% of firms track retention.

FusionBranding argues that focusing a business on customer equity pays multiple dividends. First, it increases branding and other accountability by, for example, pinpointing whether marketing campaigns are generating short-term sales without creating long-term customer value. Customer equity also focuses an organization on retention, especially if sales and other compensation are tied to that benchmark. Loyal customers lead to word-of-mouth, the most effective form of branding. Finally, and most important, loyal customers are more profitable. FusionBranding cites well-publicized studies that indicate that a retention increase of only 5% results in a lifetime profit increase of 95%.

Branding is important even for small firms. But too many firms see branding only from the perspective of advertising and public relations. (As an advertising and PR agency executive, I run into this perspective all the time.) While ads and PR are absolutely essential to branding in the mass economy, Wreden believes they are less important in today's customer economy. Because customers - not companies - define brands today, he argues that better branding and other paybacks come from emphasizing customer equity, accountability and operational excellence running from the supply chain to the customer.

Accountability starts with benchmarks that are clearly measureable, not intangibles like "creativity," "awareness" or even satisfaction. The most crucial benchmark is customer equity, but other benchmarks can include responsiveness, percent of revenue from new products and even employee retention. Benchmarks must also be from the customer's perspective. This is part of what Wreden calls "doing business on customer terms." In short, it's not about the ad featuring my company and my products but about the relationship my company fosters with you.

Wreden believes the coming demand economy will spark another wave in branding. Then, the emphasis will be on immediacy, reach and personalization. Immediacy places an even premium on responsiveness. Companies will be able to reach customers through a variety of media, but have to be prepared for customers to reach them at all times, and have to be prepared for accuracy and completeness during each contact. Almost all products will be personalized in the demand economy.

Interestingly, he also examines the challenges of the demand economy, such as dynamic pricing. Unlike other marketing books, which dismiss pricing with a standardized comment about "brands enable premium pricing," FusionBranding devotes attention to pricing techniques and their relationship to customer value. Dynamic pricing, where prices change in real-time according to supply and demand, will present a lot of challenges to businesses seeking to understand all their process costs as well as current market conditions.

Most branding books have little relevance to small businesses, especially those involved in selling to other businesses, because the authors focus on large consumer firms with big budgets. But Wreden has purposely oriented his book toward the practicalities of business, such as ensuring an effective distribution channel and incorporating the right technologies. At almost 400 pages, FusionBranding is not a quick read, but it is most definitely a worthwhile one for any small business that wants to be a bigger business which means everyone.

Heartland Review: "A Must Read"
FusionBranding is a textbook look into the future of business branding.Written by a branding futurist, this book can be read on several levels,depending on how deep the reader wants to dig into the subject. The author points out that branding has become increasingly important, while at the same time, increasingly more difficult to generate. Fusion branding is not about products in isolation, but the whole sales and support infrastructure­going beyond the bounds of the company to these pipeline and even to the customers' reactions to the company's products and their support infrastructure.

This is a must read for business students and entrepreneurs. It is cogent and complete. It emphasizes the customer viewpoint interactions with them. We rated this book four hearts.
-- Bob Spears
Heartland Reviews

Review from "Brand Republic"
I'm sure Nick Wreden's new text 'Fusion Branding: How to Forge Your Brand for the Future' will stir up considerable feeling in the branding community, writes Ian McGregor, creative director at Proximity London.

There is nothing radical in his central premise that successful businesses of the future must focus on the nurturing of customer relationships. The contention will arise from how relationships are nurtured.

As the title suggests, Wreden forecasts that successful brands of the future will have moved away from dated branding tactics and base their strategies on personalising their relationship with the customer.

Wreden writes: "A brand's power doesn't stem from the number of ads or press releases. It derives from an emotional, even mystical, attachment between a purchaser and a company... a brand is a multidimensional accumulation of positive experiences resulting from performance, usability, value and the recognition of peers. Brand building is based on what's always been important. Trust. Commitment. Loyalty. Respect. Satisfaction. In a word, a brand represents a bond."

What may be difficult for some readers to accept are Wreden's 10 core principles that, he says, represent the new face of branding. These principles are mainly concerned with pursuing operational excellence and accountability. Herein lies the contention; there is very little credence given to the role of establishing the personality of a brand -- normally the remit of Branding consultants, marketing departments and advertising agencies. Wreden's core principle number one is: "Brands are built by organisations and supply chains, not by marketing departments". Hmmm. I've always thought that to create a bond with the customer a brand must clearly communicate its values and benefits and that marketing departments have a hand in that.

Wreden uses a wealth of examples to illustrate his ideas, which make this text all the more engaging and thought provoking. His understanding of the issues and his perspective on the role of new media adds an interesting angle. The book is finely structured, presents compelling arguments and summarises each chapter with a useful "Takeout" section of questions for consideration. It will make interesting reading for anyone charged with enhancing or maintaining the corporate bottom line in sales and market share.

A small gripe, however, would be that some of the brands used as examples in the book, lend an overtly American viewpoint that contradict Wreden's core principle eight: "Brands require an international perspective". He states "See Buick, think safety". Well, not from where I'm sitting Mr Wreden, for me it's "See Buick, think gas guzzler".

An excellent resource.
This book offers a lot of insight into the future of successful business. It contains invaluable suggestions and advice for both existing companies as well as new businesses. This is one of the few books that are written with a focus on the future, providing the reader with numerous innovative ideas and strategies. This guide will undoubtfully be useful to businessmen and students alike. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

Business-to-business marketing has become fiercely competitive and chaotic. Smart marketers and sales professionals are learning an exciting and profitable new way to find and keep customers in this difficult environment.

Integrated Account Management features a proactive and personal approach that creates mutually beneficial customer relationships (and makes every customer profitable).

With more than 90 charts, resources, and case studies, the book shows how to:

**pinpoint appropriate customers for the IAM system
**hire and train an account management team
**conduct workshops (to discover what customers value in a contact)
**build customer-contact plans at all levels
**measure customer loyalty ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent coverage of a new business marketing method
In Integrated Account Management, Mark Peck provides a complete guide to installation of a highly profitable system for building customer relationships in a business to business environment. IAM has been used by: - An automotive aftermarket business to turn an $8 million loss into a $400,000 profit in one year - A technology company to create a new sales channel with a 4-1 return on operating expenses - A high-tech company to generate a doubling of sales in one year with no increase in the size of the sales force. Mark Peck is Executive Vice President of Hunter Business Direct. Drawing on experience from such clients as Monsanto, BellSouth, Hewlett Packard, AMOCO and Shell Oil, Peck defines and explains what IAM is and how it can be installed and measured.

Integrated account measurement allows each account manager to manage relationships with customers in ways that are cost effective and profitable. IAM is proactive: it is not a system that waits for the customer to call you. IAM involves high levels of productivity through careful planning of customer contacts. IAM treats account managers as if they were small business owners. They: - Own the relationships with their customers - Plan their customer contacts - Segment their customers by profitability and risk of defection - Work to understand their customer's needs - Use a customer database as a primary customer knowledge tool - Invest in customers based on their worth - Sell by not selling - Let the customer decide the contact medium that they prefer

This book is an essential tool for companies that want to set up an organized system to maximize sales and profits in the most cost effective way, that will guarantee long term customer retention. Review by Arthur Hughes, Executive VIce President of ACS, Inc. He is the author of The Complete Database Marketer (McGraw Hill 1996) and Strategic Database Marketing (McGraw Hill 1994). You may reach Arthur at DBMarkets@aol.com. ... Read more

Book Description

How did the Grateful Dead use its fanatical following to build a $100 millionbrand that still thrives today? How did upstart Boston Beer Company--makers of Sam Adams--prevail over rival Anheuser-Busch without an advertising budget? And how did lams create the premium pet food market and leap from $16 million to $600 million in sales in just fifteen years, while charging twice the price of competitor Ralston-Purina? The answer: radical marketing.

In this fresh, provocative book, Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin identify the mar-keting strategies that have enabled ten innovative companies to emerge asindustry leaders. What do these organizations have in common? Each is intune emotionally with its customer base, allowing them to glean superior marketing insight without spending millions of dollars. Each is more focused on the big picture--growth and expansion--rather than short-term profits. And,despite their current success, each started out with little more than a passion for their product. Engrossing, informative, and invaluable, Radical Marketing demonstrates how any company, large or small, can achieve unprecedented success through inventive and revolutionary tactics.

Reviews (14)

It's like a series of articles profiling similar companies
I've just finished this book and as I read the other reviews, I'm not surprised that the reviews most people found helpful were the negative ones. This isn't a bad book if you are solely looking for an interesting read as most of the ten companies the author profiles are widely known and it is fun to learn about them. But each company's story gets more and more predictable and the 'radical' marketing schemes don't seem so radical anymore. If you've read any of the books by Ries and Trout on Marketing, you really appreciate how succinct they are in delivering their many lessons. I can't imagine this book as serving any real practical use to Marketing professionals, but if some of the companies featured in this book interest you, it makes for some interesting, albeit light, reading.

Not as Radical as they'd like to lhink
Divided into two parts - the first defining "radical" as an approach to marketing, and the second a series of ten case studies analyzing companies that 'got radical' - this book os an interesting analysis of traditional vs. new marketing. Defining traditional marketing as big, complex, aimed at the center of a mass market, separated from the consumer, and formulaic, the authors assert that newer more radical marketing methods are paying bigger dividends than old traditional advertising.

Citing organizations such as Snap-on Tools, Harvard Biz School, Boston Beer Company, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and the NBA, the authors build a solid case for anew breed of marketers with more intuition and vision than marketing education. The case studies are insightful and always entertaining. In fact, the chapter on Harley Davison's recovery from near bankruptcy in 1985 to $1.8 billion revenue and record profits in 1997 might just be worth the price of the book. Similarly, Jerry Garcia fans will love the well argued discussion of the Grateful Dead as radical marketers.

The books main weakness is its lack of concrete 'next steps' for the aspiring radical marketer. It also has little to offer (outside of the case studies) for the already radical. If you read just one marketing book a year - skip this one. But, if you enjoy well-researched and entertaining case studies, 'Radical Marketing' is definitely worth a look.

Marketing = Advertising = consumes huge amount of money ?
It is always said that Marketing always consumes huge amount of money. It is because most of the marketer used the traditional marketing strategies, such as advertising, which need large amount of money.

However, after you read this book, you will disagree with the above statement. It is because you will find that there are lots of other marketing strategies which are also very useful but do not cost so much money. This book gave you lots of ideas and examples about ¡§radical marketing¡¨ which would help you to build relationship with customers through different kind of strategies.

And I particularly agree with one of the rules mentioned by the author. That is the marketer should go out the office and interactive with the customers. Since customer is one of the most important ¡§assets¡¨ for the company. And the customers nowadays change rapidly. So it is very important for the marketer to interactive with the customers so as to understand the customer need or any changes of the customer needs. And actually, I think that this concept should not be only applied to ¡§radical marketing¡¨. Instead, all marketers should pay attention to this point and consider taking action.