Major themes in Seth Godin’s Purple Cow
The selected book for discussion is Purple Cow by eminent author and public speaker in the field of business and marketing, Seth Godin. The motive of the book is to transform the way people approach business and equip them with remarkable tactics to stand out in the market and advance towards innovation and betterment. The author points out at the very outset that the traditional marketing strategies involving the age-old advertisement, distribution, and product selling and buying are no longer meeting the purpose of businesses in a rapidly emerging world. Hence, the author comes up with some unique strategies with a simple, yet effective message for altering the ways in which marketers approach business. The report will review the book for assessing its significance and contribution to the world of business. The topics explored in the report will explain in details the main themes of the book and the author’s purpose behind writing it.
Godin makes innovation and exceptionality the central theme of his work. This point is simple yet noteworthy: in a world full of white, brown and black cows, a purple cow is bound to stand out in the herd. That should precisely be the motto marketing; not just to secure attention, but to boost sales. The trick is to be remarkable in a way that it means something to the consumers.
Seth Godin begins his argument with the assertion that advertisement in the contemporary times has become less effective than what it used to be few decades back. The following discussion maintains that in order to draw attention and secure a wide consumer base in a market, it is not only necessary to market a product in a tactful and remarkable manner, but also to launch a product that is equally remarkable in comparison to the other products available in the market. Citing some of the examples of successful marketing programs of products, Gordon claims that it is pointless to copy these strategies directly since the target audience have the ability to identify plagiarism in ideas and would be bored to see the same things repeatedly. The only chance at achieving success is therefore to stand out, be remarkable in terms of approach, execution of plan and reaching out to consumers.
Gordon’s work appropriately outlines the reasons responsible for the modern day failure of marketing activities. It addresses the elephant in the room and provides suitable ideas for dealing with the issues effectively. The book offers some suitable suggestions like protecting companies from the gold rush, which makes it an insightful read for a marketer. The guidelines are tactfully formulated with the aim of equipping marketers with the knowledge and tactics they need for ensuring a bright future for their business. Additionally, the discussions in the book theorizes some of the primary concerns of marketing, integral to business and its potential success. It offers a valuable insight into the key elements of a successful market plan and suggests the marketer on how to go about a product in an open market. Moreover, the book maintains a simplicity in style and content, using ordinary management terms to elucidate the arguments.
Reasons for selecting Seth Godin’s Purple Cow
The central idea is that some products always retain their uniqueness in the market despite the ever-changing nature of the market and the regularly evolving product ranges. Godin calls these products the “eternal purple cows”, products that remain fresh in the changing market environments.
The current generation is flabbergasted with information of all sorts. As a result, they have stopped paying attention to the arbitrary messages in the media. The solution, according to Godin, is for companies to start innovating instead of just advertising. His recommendation is for marketers to target a particular niche and uses a range of case studies for describing the effective ways for spreading the ideas to the potential consumers who are most willing and likely to purchase the product. There is no lack of remarkable ideas, the lack is only in the will and effectiveness of executing them. Effective marketing requires all the Ps to be in place and function in harmony. The important Ps include positioning, packaging, pricing, permission, promotion and pass-along. The message of marketing remains obscure and ineffective if either of these factors are not in place. Ensuring that the Ps are working right would enhance the chances of a business to achieve success in the marketplace. Although, Godin proceeds with his theory that the evolution of marketing proves that merely following the Ps are no longer enough in the competitive scenario. This is where the book comes up with a new P for marketing; that is the purple cow. Purple cow has emerged as a new marketing terms for referring to the products and services that are relatively different from those available in the market and stands out in its own right on account of its remarkable characteristics. The content of the book elaborates on the what, why and how of the remarkable aspect of a given product.
Godin’s distinction of the three different periods in advertisement is an interesting point to think about. The first stage being before advertising, which refers to the time back in the age before the inception of media where the only medium of spreading the word involved mouths. Then came the age of digital media when TV commercials, billboards, magazine advertisements work their magic in the world of advertisement and had a massive role to play in influencing buyer decisions and consumer behavior. This is followed by the era after advertising when people do not pay as much heed to online advertisement and are more keen on something specific. This observation is interesting in the sense that it hints at a very important revelation; that is the era in which we are standing now requires advertisers to return to the ancient practice of marketing via word-of-mouth. Just that the word now circulates in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter; platforms that are responsible for tagging a product as good or bad.Another lesson is that the only thing riskier than taking risks is not taking any. Seth’s opinion is that since the internet in the post-advertising world is a crowed and noisy place, a product must have the quality to stand out remarkably, like a purple cow in a herd of black and white or brown ones. That is why following the fashion without taking any risk would only entail greater risks as keeping it aligned with the trend will only make the product or service invisible. Something like this had never been pointed out in the past by marketing theoreticians and it gives marketers good reasons for taking risks when necessary. The third lesson is the insistence of focusing on the early adopters for reaching out to the masses successfully. The central ideas is that marketers must first communicate to the target audience why they do the things before telling them what they do. This will help in getting the product in the hands of the right people. Seth refers to these people as early adopters. The traditional forms of marketing targets the advertisement at the majority while launching a new product. This stance is wrong since the majority may not be ready for the product, given that they prefer a proven product rather than a new gimmick.The noteworthy point in this lesson is that it suggests the manufacturers to build their product and make it attractive to early adopters and innovators, the technology geeks and people who line up to buy the newly launched products so that they become the perpetrators of publicizing their product or service. Choosing and differentiating between the customers is another interesting point made in the discussion. It gives companies the opportunities to do something special for their loyal customers and sell exactly what people are willing to buy. Channelizing the consumer base is always an excellent idea for boosting sales by catering to the exclusive needs of the buyers in the market. Finally, the chapter on raising the purple cow is particularly captivating as it provides the guidelines to build a unique market value for a product and suggests how to sustain its competiveness. The concluding section asks marketers to explore the limits if there is any, and device ways to extend them.
Eminent marketing professor at Wharton, John Berger enables readers to explore their unconscious through his remarkable insight in Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior. The author in his books aims to reveal how society influences and shapes consumer decisions, both consciously and unconsciously. Berger explores the secret and subtle influences that deeply affect the decisions people make; be it the products they buy or the kind of services they opt for, the careers they choose, and what they eat and wear. The book is a groundbreaking work that suitably merges marketing with psychology for providing a deep insight into the studies in marketing and consumer behavior. The author resolves intriguing mysteries surrounding human behavior by removing the invisibility cloak from powerful and influential sources in society. The most creditworthy aspect of the book is that reading it will transform the way a person looks at oneself and at others. It is both thoroughly engaging and eye opening.
Interesting points in Seth Godin’s Purple Cow
The themes of the book deal more with psychology than traditional marketing theories. An ideal marketer must be a good judge of human psychology and Berger’s book is a suitable illustration of the workings of the human mind, and how buying behavior is deeply affected by it.
The discussions in the book attempts to reveal a simple yet unexplored marketing secret. The author is of the opinion that marketers invest way too much time and energy into devising tactics and employing strategies for a sales boost; whereas they should be backing up and asking a different question to address the heart of the matter. Marketers should pay particular attention into observing the factors that influence their prospects (buyers). The first mistake of marketers is that they concentrate on product details way more than necessary. The focus should instead be on who the customers are and whether they are being serviced properly. Several companies fizzle out as soon as they arrive the market since they fail to identify the nuances of the consumers. Their colleagues, friends, online reviews Facebook videos, tweets, Instagram pictures and so on heavily influence customer of the current generation. Comprehending the social influence and analyzing its potential would be hitting the jackpot that all marketers around the world might be yearning for. If the marketers are able to identify the factors that influences their buying behavior they will be better able to design the techniques that connect uniquely with the potential customers. That is precisely the major theme of the book: effective marketing.
Invisible Influence is an excellent read even for people who are not remotely interested in marketing, but are simply willing to have a better understanding of the mysteries of human behavior. It offers a valuable insight into the things that influence human behavior with its well-researched and thought provoking details. The primary reason for selecting the book for the assignment is that is takes the readers deep beneath the surface-reality of things, with results that are outstanding and educational. It is a powerful means to change the way people see themselves and their place in the world. Additionally, it adepts people, especially marketers, with the tools and ideals for going about the world and making progress while doing so.
The author draws on scientific experiments and ingenious research for exploring why people do the things they do, in political, social and economic terms. Contexts and social forces that people are unaware of drive these influencing factors. A considerable section of the book’s content is centered on effective marketing and how it involves breaking away from the noise and clutter of current day marketing. The authors repeatedly asserts in different parts of the book that doing what everyone else does will never work for the new companies that has not established a reputable brand name yet. The connect of the book picks up on the theme of effective marketing and proceeds to dig deeper into the intricacies of social behavior and how it is inextricably related with marketing. Jonah Berger in Invisible Influence incorporates social science ad psychology into business research and thinking with the intention of focusing on the subtle and invisible influences responsible for individual choices. The book proves how the understanding of social influence, can enable one to decide when to embrace or to resist it. It also suggest the ways in which this knowledge can be used for exercising better control over one’s own behavior to take decisions that are well informed.
Major themes in John Berger’s Invisible Influence
The author offers five valuable insights for elaborating on the arguments. The conjectures are as follows:
Human beings have an innate tendency to imitate each other- It is interesting to note that modeling and conditioning is more effective in influencing behavior than punishments and rewards. For instance, if a waiter repeats a diner’s order with more elaborate details and elegance at a high-end restaurant, it increases the perceived value of the meal along with the appetite of the diner. Also, it enhances the chances of a tip increase by 70%. Something every marketer should be keeping in in mind is that a crowd best attracts another. This explains the line blocks at expensive and braded restaurants while other places offer the same service at cheaper prices.
People have the impulse to stand out in a crowd- Perhaps the most unique argument made in the entire book, the point asserts that people like being included among the elite, and in this case the elite means the selective different. Distinction affords people a sense of importance and value and this is enough reason why companies should focus on innovation and distinction of product range.
The contending cravings to imitate depends on the ‘other’ and on the context- The point made is notable since it warns marketers against competing blindly with contenders without analyzing the context of the situation and the kind of service offered by the rival company.
The successful products are different but bear some resemblances with other products- The marketers must understand that success revolves around the perception of consumers. A new product cannot be entirely similar to something that’s already existing in the market; it will have minimal chances at survival since people would not be too willing to spend extra for a substitute. On the other hand, if the product is too unique people might not have perception enough to purchase it. The products must therefore have some similarity with existing products but must have a distinguished quality about it to appeal to the consumers.
Simple tasks are performed better in the presence of others while complex tasks are better accomplished alone- The authors quite interestingly uses this point to argue that social comparisons are extremely powerful motivating forces is designed carefully. Although if it is faultily employed, it can even lead consumers to quit from the game. Social competitions have always successfully motivated consumers to change, modify or transform their behavior and marketers should use them wisely to goad them to their ends. Understanding the concept of social influence can guide the marketers on the strategies they can employ to create marketing programs that are effective.
Conclusion
Both the books are highly beneficial for someone willing to make a difference in the world of business and marketing. The discussion in the report demonstrates the importance of acquiring both theoretical and practical knowledge for becoming a successful marketer. The arguments made in the books afford a valuable insight into the intricacies of marketing and provides suitable guidelines for new marketers who desire to prosper in their field. The authors have made notable contributions to the studies of marketing and business with their remarkable findings and observations in their work.
Reference
Berger, J. (2016). Invisible influence: The hidden forces that shape behavior. Simon and Schuster.
Godin, S. (2009). Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. Penguin.
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