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Purple Cow, Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable (精装)
by Seth Godin
| Category:
Marketing, Intuitive marketing, Product development, Innovative strategy |
| Market price: ¥ 218.00
MSL price:
¥ 208.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Speaking from a pretty novel perspective, this little book serves as an excellent challenge to existing notions of marketing. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
I am businesswoman building what I hope will one day become a successful company with millions of loyal clients. Starting a business, for me, is riddled with fears of self-doubt touched by moments of feeling, "Hey, maybe I'm doing something right here".
I found Seth Godin's Purple Cow a comfort as a small business owner. Sometimes in the mist of listening to business advisers, accountants and loan officers you can forget why you even started. This forgetfulness puts distance between you and the beloved customer.
Godin's Purple Cow is purple not only because it is different, but because it has a heart. The examples of companies mentioned in this book succeed because they stopped looking at "the numbers" for a moment and started asking deep questions about their customers such as: What do our customers need; who really is our customer, not who we think he or she is, but really who are they and why should they bother with us in the first place?
While Godin's principles may not fly in Blue Chip corporations, I aim to build a substantial corporation nevertheless. So reading that you don't have to spend a ton of money on marketing is comforting. This marketing decision, by the way, is a personal one. Intimately knowing your customers, and potential customers for that matter, will tell you how to reach them. Otherwise, you will do textbook market testing to try to figure out what works.
I've come to find word-of-mouth works best for me. Granted it's slow, it's what my customers and I are comfortable with and want. Reading that I should stay true to my passions and take the time to create something remarkable, not just marketable, inspires my creative energy and helps me remain calm and confident about my business outlook.
In brief, I recommend this book to young entrepreneurs with radical ideas and a sizzling passion for what they do. Additionally, I'd recommend Purple Cow to anyone who feels they are disconnecting with their clients. |
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Kathy Stucker (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
In Purple Cow, Seth Godin makes the point that to get the attention of customers, products have to be remarkable. That may seem obvious, but that doesn't mean that most companies understand it.
My favorite part of the book is "The Problem with Compromise." As a marketing instructor and consultant, I've seen way too many businesses try to appeal to everyone, and as a result they appeal to no one.
Godin uses the example of vanilla ice cream. Inoffensive and bland, vanilla ice cream may be acceptable to most people, but vanilla ice cream is boring. The boring, vanilla slot is filled in most industries, so Godin says that success and growth come with products that annoy, offend, don't appeal, are too expensive, too cheap, too heavy, too complicated, too simple - too something. That means that while many people will not be attracted to your product, it will be absolutely perfect for others. They will be your customers.
Although Godin's advice is intended for companies of all sizes, it is especially important to small businesses. Most small companies can't afford to compete with the big guys on the big guys' terms. Instead, shake up the industry with a creative innovation and capture the niche you want to serve, while your competitors are busy making compromises to try to hold on to what they have.
This book will remind you of the importance of breaking away from the herd. Dare to be different, follow your passion, and the customers who share your passion will be drawn to your product.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
I first became a fan of Seth Godin's books when he came out with Ideavirus, a study of viral products and ideas. Ideavirus was marketed very cleverly. (...) Seth's bet was that the book was so good that you would end up buying a printed copy and buy products from him for years to come. His bet worked with me.
Seth's latest book is Purple Cow: Transform your business by being remarkable. The book is an easy read. Entertaining and informative, its message is even more critical now than ever for companies that want to create winning products. With all of the half-baked products and broken product promises that customers endured during the boom, this book preaches that it's time to get back to creating products and services that are truly remarkable.
Purple Cow advocates that in order to stand out, in order to have your marketing and all of your other efforts make any impact, you must go beyond "good enough". For me, Seth was preaching to the choir, having been a Product Management professional for most of my career working on breakthrough products like the Macintosh Human Interface, Symantec Caf and the Whistle Interjet. I've always been convinced that what makes a product phenomenally successful is taking care of the little details that add up to something customers can't stop talking about. Seth's book is somewhat of a manifesto on this topic.
One of my favorite parts of the book is where he discusses the concept that "The opposite of very good is remarkable". Companies like Microsoft make products that are very good (or in many cases their products are just good enough to sell). But look at products that have become phenomenons - the Macintosh, the Palm Pilot, Hotmail, IBM Thinkpads - these are products that truly shined (at least when they were first released). They went far beyond "good enough".
Seth also argues that your marketing needs to be just as remarkable. Combine it with great products and you have the recipe for cutting through the noise and having your product be noticed. As he says in the book, "Safe is risky".
Full of case studies, including Krispy Kreme, Jet Blue, and many other tech and non-tech companies, Purple Cow is a must read for anyone involved in product development and product definition. Every entrepreneur, CEO, general manager, product manager and marketing professional interested in creating industry-changing products should read this book. |
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Bill Murphy (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Seth Godin is the most astute marketer of the last 10 years. His latest book, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable arrives at just the right time to save the corporate world from ruin.
Hyperbole? Not at all.
As an adjunct professor in a nearby university, I have the privilege of teaching the principles of direct marketing and advertising to the next generation of adcats and DM pros. I base a lot of my class lectures on both personal experience (I've been a direct marketing guru for nearly 15 years) and cutting edge books - especially those from Seth Godin.
What I like most about Seth Godin (in addition to his witty, insightful style of writing) is that he walks his talk... and doesn't bother to sugar coat what's going on in the world today. He tells it like it is. Or, more accurately, how it should be.
Seth is right: This is the most challenging time in history to be part of the American workforce.
Recent news reports reveal the unemployment rate (at 6.4%) to be the highest in nine years. But the fault doesn't lie with The White House.
Companies these days are actually more interested in playing it safe than in reaching for the stars. Ditto for employees. Remarkable ones aren't getting hired any more. Ones that "fit in" are. (Remarkable ones are routinely shown the door.)
The result is an endless parade of boring products, services, and employees.
And let's not overlook Hollywood. Or the whiney music industry.
Both churn out such bland tripe that they seem bent on drowning the world in a sea of mediocrity. So they have no one to blame but themselves if sales are down.
Enter the Purple Cow.
Seth's message is simple: Be Remarkable.
That's it. He calls on companies to be unique and exciting. He calls on employees to be extraordinary, to think big thoughts, to stand out.
Here's a personal example. I put the principles of Seth's book to work in my own advertising agency. When I started PurpleCrayon Direct earlier this year, I aimed for a target audience roughly the same as every other agency... and got literally zero reponse.
So I stepped back, rethought my strategy, and relaunched PurpleCrayon Direct to a completely new and unique audience: Artists. We now work with painters, musicians, actors, writers, sculptors, dancers, poets -- anyone who makes his or her living (or would like to) as an Artist with a capital "A."
And it worked. Big time. The buzz has been amazing.
So I know from observing society (and talking to friends out of work and looking for jobs) that America is in trouble. Forced sameness is crippling the human spirit and destroying hope.
But I know from personal experience what the answer is: BE REMARKABLE.
Thanks to Seth Godin's latest book, I'm more excited than ever before about my professional life. I may still go down in flames with my agency. But at least I'll go down giving it my best shot, being true to myself and to my clients.
I highly recommend Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.
It worked for me. It'll work for you, too.
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Susan Heywood (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
I recently received a copy of Seth Godin's new book (I hesitate to say "newest" as he is so prolific.) Purple Cow is a fun look at ways you can differentiate yourself and your organization by separating yourself from the herd and standing out in your field (so to speak.)
I wonder if Purple Cows are what Sacred Cows become if they want to avoid becoming hamburger... or, if Mr. Pine has one in his backyard? Anyway, read this book. Yes, if you like me have always found it easier to ask forgiveness than permission, or long ago decided to wear purple even if you weren't old, you might find the message familiar, but, what the heck, it's a still a good, fast read. Maybe it will help you persuade others that purple is good. I guarantee you'll get at least one idea you can use from it if you face a changing economy and marketing environment. (And, don't we all?)
At the very least, you've got to admire the marketing case that this book itself provides. Read 99 Cows, or if the Seeking Purple Cows link is still below, click on it to learn more about this fascinating exercise.
If you've rarely strayed from the familiar, please read this book. By the time you've finished this slim volume, you'll see the power in taking the risks and reaping the rewards of being remarkable!
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Greg Kittinger (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
It is a very simple concept: if you are remarkable, you will stand out. But, what is "remarkable?" In a recent article on his Leadership Wired newsletter, John Maxwell's guest, Mark Sanborn, wrote a compelling article why "excellence" is NOT the proper pursuit - even it seems to become the default of most companies. Sanborn states, "The biggest problem with excellence is that it isn't distinctive. The killer marketplace strategy is to be distinctive - to go beyond excellent to offer something distinct and unique to your company."
What Purple Cow does so well is take this ONE simple concept and dissect it from a variety of angles. The book shows a multitude of ways to approach "remarkableness." It provides many examples. It also askes many open-ended questions that lead you to thinking beyond the confines of the covers of the book.
And if nothing else - the simple mental picture of the Purple Cow becomes easily becomes a constant reminder of one of the few things any business person should constantly focus on: "how can my company (or I) be/become/stay remarkable?"
I have already personally applied the concept to change the way I was approaching the marketing of a new product. The jury is still out (product is still being manufactured) but by all early indications the application of the Purple Cow concepts will make a drastic difference. This quick, easy, thought-provoking read is well worth your weekend!
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M. Fyvie (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Seth Godin does an excellent job of making us sit and take notice. His style is easy to read and I found myself leafing through each page with a smile on my face. His energy and enthusiasm almost leap off the page!
A word of caution though - it's easy to get swept up and carried along with him, and I did feel that at times he got a little carried away with himself. In particular he strongly critised some companies for some of their strategies by making bold assumptions about what consumers would or would not want. I found myself not always agreeing with his assumptions.
One should also remember that spotting and disecting the purple cows of this world once they have been out in the proverbial pasture for some time is not a difficult task to do - and in this case Mr. Godin has the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Figuring out whether a given business has a purple cow or just a plain brown cow might not always be so easy to spot in advance - even for him!
That said - I think this book is a must-read for anyone who is involved in marketing or who has their own business. I found it inspirational, energising and easy to read. I think it forms a great base to present an alternative point of view to theories put forward by other books or other "marketing people".
I was recommended this book by a marketing person who told me that this is the only marketing book I'll ever need. Personally I think that is a little naive, but your bookshelf should certainly not be without this book! |
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Don Mitchell (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Purple Cow is probably the most overrated business book published in 2003.
Let me save you money and time. Read the summary below rather than buying and reading this book:
Marketing should begin with a differentiated product or service that gets attention (like a purple cow does among a field of brown ones). Be sure that those who care deeply about that differentiation learn about your product or service (as Krispy Kreme does by providing free donuts when it opens a new store). Those who care will e-mail and tell everyone they know (the ideavirus concept Mr. Godin has written about before). Keep adding new differentiated enhancements to your product or service (pretty soon you don't find a purple cow so interesting). Start looking for totally new business models that provide a breakthrough like your first purple cow did. Don't waste your time and money on advertising. Alternatively, it's dangerous not to do this because your product or service will be lost among all of the other brown cows (undifferentiated offerings).
I congratulate Mr. Godin on his marketing skill. Turning these few old saws with a few new examples into a best seller is outstanding marketing. Otherwise, I would grade this book as a one star effort. It will only be of value to those who have never read anything about the power of business model innovation. To learn how to do successful business model innovation, you will have to look elsewhere. I was particularly disappointed that he relied on examples that are so old. Starbucks, HBO and Krispy Kreme, for instance, haven't done a business model innovation in years. Only the JetBlue example is recent. Yet the world is full of new examples he could have talked about.
Actually, the book's key metaphor is flawed. While a purple cow (like the title and cover of this book) will certainly get your attention (and may get you to spend a few dollars to investigate it), is there really anyone out there who wants an actual purple cow because it provides any value other than uniqueness? The example reminds me of the old-time professional wrestler, Gorgeous George, who always wore purple and used that color in everything he owned (including his car and turkeys on his ranch near Yucaipa, California). Yes, the purple attracted your attention... but unless you liked his wrestling, that one glance was the end of it. I remember driving to his ranch to see a purple turkey, but never went back. Actually, the charity cows that are painted and decorated by different artists and then auctioned off in different cities would have made a better metaphor for this book.
Like much of what pretends to be new and different in business books today, this book is simply dressed up on modern clothes and new terms. I suggest you read Strategy Maps, the Innovator's Solution and Corporate Creativity if you want to learn how create these changes successfully in a company.
As I finished the book, I began to realize that much of what is wrong with business gurus today is that they love to tell their own ideas... but are seldom willing to do the hard work necessary to locate and measure how to do what they espouse. It made me realize that I should always "walk my talk to teaching people how to do what I encourage them to do."
(A negative review. MSL remarks.)
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1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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