I am planning to start my blog, by writing review about the different books I read recently…. Though I liked all these books… I envy the authors of these books….Since one of my ambition is to write a world class book on marketing and where will I find new words to write???? These world class authors have written everything from scratch to what they predict will happen in the near future… But at the same time they have helped me in understanding new concepts and open up my mind and helped me in exploring new things…so I am writing this review to show my gratitude towards the authors!!! There were days when I used to read some concepts and will keep pondering over it again and again… how is this possible??????
The books I read recently…
Blue ocean strategy – Review!!
To escape from the bloody red ocean whatever you do should add value to the customers. It might not necessarily be invention, it should be innovation. And you have the freedom to set your own limitations (boundaries) for your industry which you created by redefining the market boundaries of existing industries. It says focus only on certain things, and what your company focuses should be different from what the rest does (divergence). And without a compelling tagline it’s no use whatever you do. This is a book which will make you question the basic concepts you learnt about marketing and/or strategy. One of the main concepts of marketing is STP – Segmenting targeting and positioning. This book challenges that concept. Why the hell you look at differences between the customers and target them?? Look at similarities between them and also it says change the focus from potential customers to focusing on noncustomers so that you can increase your customer base. This is an extremely interesting book. Each and every management student should read this… There are lot of examples given in this book like yellow tail wine(casella wines), ford model T, IBM among others.
Cheers!!!!
Marketing management – Philip kotler
This book is the best for a fresher who is interested in learning about the nuances of marketing. This book explains each and every concept in detail like Four Ps of marketing or STP or whatever. This book is created so interesting that you will never feel like you read such a big chapter in no time. The USP of this book is that it is a blend of theory and examples of companies which implemented the concepts and have succeeded. The latest edition which I read, the authors have gone one step ahead by using regional examples (from India) so that we can relate to the examples in reality. There are lot of practical examples given in this book “Creating markets – Sony walkman”
Blog marketing
This book I read quite some time back. It says that the future of marketing will be most importantly relying on internet and blogs will be most crucial since it enables two way communications. The author also speaks about marketing concepts and how to deal with different customers from evangelist to saboteurs. It also gives astonishing facts which makes us rethink how crucial a blog will be for any company. The author speaks about GM product/company blogs and gives other practical examples also.
22 immutable laws of marketing
Wow… What a book… I now became a fan of Al Ries, the author of the book. This book speaks about 22 laws which companies should follow to succeed in the market (at least most of the laws). Though all the laws that are explained in this book might not be applicable to all the companies, this book is worth reading. And most importantly, the author speaks less stories and more concepts and practical examples which I like the most (since I hate reading stories and stories). There are lot of examples used in this book like failure of new coke, etc
Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid
This book speaks about the fact that bottom of the pyramid is big and profitable. Though it might be debatable that doing business with poor people as exploiting the poor, this book helps in understanding how to eliminate poverty at the same time maintaining or increasing the profitability of the companies involved. Lot of examples like HLL lifeboy, Arvind Eyecare, ICICI bank among others
Brand Failures - The Truth about the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Times
This is the book which I read recently. Few people say the best way of learning is to learn from others mistakes and that’s the concept on which this book is built on. This book tells you what the company should not do with their brand. It also speaks about big and famous companies like McDonalds, Coke, Pepsi, and Exxon making branding blunders. This book not only makes you familiar with the mistakes these companies did but it also helps you to learn about 100 different brands. It also justifies that marketing is both art and science. And in most of the cases discussed it is said that the companies had done proper market research. But the main reason was that the association of the brand with the product didn’t make meaning like Coke tried with its clothing range. This book also tells that the more the famous the brand with one particular product, the chances are thin that the same brand will succeed with other brand ( like coke failed with new coke, etc) but yet few companies like Virgin has shown contradictory results. And believe me guys after you read this book, whatever advertisement you see you will start to think about this book and the concepts like line extensions. I feel this is a must read book for all students!!!!
