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Marketing Judo by John Barnes and Richard Richardson

The full title of this book by John Barnes and Richard Richardson is

Marketing Judo: Building Your Business Using Brains Not Budget

In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.

Here is my book review.

An interesting concept but I’m not sure the ideas transfer to most small businesses

This is designed as a book for anyone who wants to build a brand but doesn’t have a big budget. It tells the story of how the authors risked everything to create a worldwide brand for Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips.

I like the book name and the imagery that attaches to it where you can use other people’s strength and power to your own advantage.

There are seven steps to the Marketing Judo game plan:

1 – Get the basics right. Harry Ramsden’s wouldn’t have been a success if the fish and chips weren’t top quality.
2 – Picking the right partners – in everything you do from suppliers, people promoting your product and joint ventures.
3 – Choosing the right opponent – the book recommends that you aggressively target market share held by sloths. Those are sleepy incumbents who are not paying attention and can’t react quickly.
4 – Getting the crowd on your side – staff, customers and the general public through public relations.
5 – Using your size to your advantage – be fit, fast and focused.
6 – Doing the unexpected – to delight customers and keep your competition off balance.
7 – Keep your balance – be prepared for crises and keep a close eye on trends and the wider business environment.

It is certainly an interesting story although my experience of the Harry Ramsden’s restaurants hasn’t been particularly special. Perhaps my thoughts about the Marketing Judo book are coloured by my experience of the restaurant.

The authors made a lot of money when they sold out and Harry Ramsden’s has become a world famous brand so hats off to their success. Unfortunately I don’t believe the ideas will work for the majority of small businesses because Harry Ramsden’s is a special case.

The book is easy to read and a few areas may strike a chord but too often I believe readers will find it difficult to translate the actions of the authors who were aiming to build a worldwide brand to a small business which wants to make more money in the local area.

There are many thousand of business books, you can see the full list of my reviews at Business Books Reviews by Paul Simister. I’ve also narrowed these down to a list of the 12 Best Business Books For Business Owners & Entrepreneurs.

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