Positioning
The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, “Positioning” describes a revolutionary approach to creating a “position” in a prospective customer’s mind – one that reflects a company’s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.Writing in their trademark witty, fast-paced style, advertising gurus Ries and Trout explain how to: make and position an industry leader so that its name and message wheedles its way into the collective subconscious of your market – and stays there; position a follower so that it can occupy a niche not claimed by the leader; and, avoid letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one.”
Positioning” also shows you how to: use leading ad agency techniques to capture the biggest market share and become a household name; build your strategy around your competition’s weaknesses; reposition a strong competitor and create a weak spot; use your present position to its best advantage; choose the best name for your product; determine when – and why – less is more; and, analyze recent trends that affect your positioning. Ries and Trout provide many valuable case histories and penetrating analyses of some of the most phenomenal successes and failures in advertising history. Revised to reflect significant developments in the five years since its original publication, “Positioning” is required reading for anyone in business today.
Differentiate or Die
There are no two ways about it with Jack Trout. Either you’ve got a product or service that you can say is different, or you don’t have much at all. In today’s global marketplace and at its lightning-fast rate of change, there’s no point in inventing and presenting a product only to sit back and hope that consumers everywhere will discover its greatness. It’s not simply about what you or your product can do, it’s about what you do differently from everyone else. Coauthors Trout and Steve Rivkin say it all in their no-holds-barred title, Differentiate or Die.
A disciple of the marketing guru Rosser Reeves, who introduced the concept of the “unique selling proposition,” Trout relays his vision of what can help you differentiate in blunt, tell-it-like-it-is prose. First he breaks the bad news that product quality, advertising creativity, price advantage, and breadth of product line are rarely successful ways to differentiate your business. Consumers expect the best quality, he says; they don’t think it’s a bonus. In the same vein, your competitor can slash prices just as quickly as you. After dismissing these common marketing techniques as futile, Trout concentrates on which differentiating ideas will set you apart from the pack: Being first (and staying there), owning a discernible attribute, having a heritage, becoming the preference of a particular consumer group, or even being the most recent arrival in a product arena are just some of these useful differentiates. Though the book’s fast and quippy narrative style may leave some readers looking for more substance behind his adamant assertions, Trout’s recommendations act as inspirational spurts of energy. A slim manual packed with punchy points, Differentiate or Die won’t take you long to read but could make a lasting–you guessed it–difference to the success of your business.
MehrMarketing Warfare
It rocked the marketing world in 1986, and now, more than two decades later, the strategies set down in Marketing Warfare are still just as relevant. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the classic book that changed an industry, marketing mavens Al Ries and Jack Trout will reunite to annotate their book for another generation of marketers. The Anniversary Edition offers: / A fresh perspective on why waging marketing warfare is even more important today than 20 years ago / In-depth analyses of some of the biggest marketing successes and failures of the last two decades / Reproductions of successful (or not so successful) ads, accompanied by the authors’ comments on why they succeeded or failed / Valuable follow-up to the original edition. Where are these companies now? Who’s still a market leader? Marketing is war. To triumph over the competition, it’s not enough to target customers. Marketers must take aim at their competitors–and be prepared to defend their own turf. This indispensable guide gives smart fighters the best tactics–defensive, offensive, flanking, and guerrilla. Marketing Warfare is the book that wrote the new rules.
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