Marketing as a function is often confused with marketing as a business philosophy.
I think management guru, Peter Drucker said it very well in his book “Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices”.
“…the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to make the product or service available.”
Marketing is not who does it, a department or person in a business.
It is a way of thinking that sees the purpose of the business as creating and then delighting customers. I say “delighting” because a satisfied customer often isn’t very loyal.
You will only see the books I’ve rated at Four Stars (meaning good and well worth reading) and Five Stars (excellent and very highly recommended).
If you want to be more selective, you can just focus on my 5 star rated books. Alternatively, you can see all my marketing books reviews.
If you read my reviews, you’ll see I try to explain why I like them but also to identify any weaknesses. My job as a reviewer is to help you to find the most appropriate books rather than to help sell more books.
On that note, if you do decide to buy, I’d appreciate it if you could click through to Amazon on my links as (hopefully) I’ll earn a small referral commission.
Some of these books can be very expensive so, if you’re happy with a hard back or paperback book, take a look at the second hand options on Amazon. Personally I only buy if the condition is described as “As New” or “Very Good” unless I’m really keen and forced to drop down to “Good”.
I have a separate category of books for Copywriting but I’ve included some of them in this marketing category as it’s hard to talk about advertising of direct mail without thinking about copywriting. And others for Internet Marketing , Persuasion , Pricing and Understanding Buyers.
I’ll let you into a little secret.
I enjoy reading marketing books which means there are a lot of them. In a smaller category, perhaps a few of the four star books may have been upgraded to five but I know you need me to be selective.
This is a big category – here are links to page 2 – page 3 – page 4 – page 5 – page 6 – page 7 – page 8 of the best marketing books.
The title of this book by Pam Ingmire is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 4 Stars rating. This means it is Good to Very Good.
Here is my book review.
A well defined process
This is a very sensible, clear process for developing a value proposition. [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by James Webb Young is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 4 Stars rating. This means it is Good to Very Good.
Here is my book review.
Short and sweet advertising classic
If you’ve ever wondered how creative marketing people come up with their ideas, this book is for you. [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by Dan Kennedy is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Five Stars rating. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
Magnetic Marketing is the name of the author’s most famous premium priced course and it’s the one that has helped make his excellent reputation.
Kennedy didn’t invent direct response marketing – its origins go back at least as far as the late 19th century – but he’s done a great job of bringing it to the attention of business owners and entrepreneurs along with others including Jay Abraham. I’ve always felt Kennedy was stronger on the initial aspect of attracting new customers while Abraham was better at expanding the backend, that is the ongoing business with the customers. Books by both deserve a place on the bookshelf of a well read business owner. [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by Craig Simpson with Brian Kurtz is
In my review of the book posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
I’m ashamed to say I bought this book in November 2016 and hadn’t even opened my Kindle copy until January 2019. Why? Well I tend to go on buying binges and there’s the constant risk I start my next buying binge before I’ve worked my way through my last purchases.
The problem was I don’t like the main title – The Advertising Solution – or the subtitle if I’m getting picky because it mentions brands. After I’d bought it, I’d forgotten it was based on the work of six direct response marketing legends. Nor did my unfamiliarity with the main author – Craig Simpson – help me. It became a book to read some time, not next [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by Rebecca Geier is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of 4 Stars. It is good and well worth reading.
There are few marketing books which look at B2B marketing issues and those that focus on selling technical products or services to engineers are rare and precious.
This one looks at the post Internet development of inbound marketing, sometimes called content marketing. It’s about establishing credibility so customers come to you when they want to buy. This contrasts with traditional marketing where businesses blast out marketing messages to anyone and everyone who might buy some time. [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by Craig Simpson with Dan Kennedy is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of 4 Stars. This means it is good and well worth reading.
Here is my book review.
This is a useful guide to direct mail although it’s more targeted to B2C mass mailings than it is for anyone who wants to mail to B2B targets and small lists.
As is often the case when there is a bug name author sharing credit with a less known author, it us the less well known one does most of the work. To be fair, there are more chapters from Dan Kennedy than I expected. As is normal in his books, you’ll be urged to buy plenty of other DK books. [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by Michael Masterson is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my review.
I read a lot of business books and especially about marketing. I have to admit many of them are quite dry and only appeal to my inner geek who wants more knowledge and understanding.
Thus book is different. [continue reading…]
The full title of this book by Hugh Davidson is
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 5 Stars. This means it is Excellent.
Here is my review.
Back in the mid 1980s, this was the first great marketing book I ever read and I must have read it half a dozen times in total. I’ve also bought the two updates of the book.
This is the book that taught me the POISE acronym for marketing: [continue reading…]
In my review of
posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the summary 4 Stars.
Here is my review.
As a general rule, I think it’s well worth reading summary books by Trout and Ries. Books of X laws or Y tips or Z rules are particularly suitable because curiosity drives you to want to know what they are. [continue reading…]
In my review of
posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 4 Stars.
Here is my review.
It’s many years since I read the full book but it’s one I’ve been intending to go back to and review. When I saw this summary available through my kindle unlimited subscription, it instantly appealed.
Just as armies fight over territories and the people in them, businesses fight over customers. The methods of waging war have changed dramatically over the centuries while the strategies have remained constant. [continue reading…]
I was a consultant, small business coach and advisor based in Birmingham, with over 35 years business experience, including more than 20 years as self employed.
My main business qualifications are:
– Chartered Accountant
– MBA
– Certified Guerilla Marketing Coach
My main interests are in helping business owners who are stuck get unstuck by thinking more clearly about their issues and possible solutions.
I no longer provide professional business coaching but I will be sharing more ideas on my blog and will continue my popular business book reviews.
I can be contacted by email at Paul@BusinessDevelopmentAdvice.com
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