Books About Differentiated Business Strategy

The full title of this book by Marco Lucchina is

The Camel Theory: Design and execute your unique value proposition

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 1 Star rating. This means it is Very Disappointing.

Here is my book review.

Very hard to read.

I’m beginning to think it’s hard to write well about customer value, value propositions and similar topics. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Malcolm McDonald and Grant Oliver is

Malcolm McDonald on Value Propositions: How to Develop Them, How to Quantify Them

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a 2 Stars rating. This means it is Disappointing.

Here is my book review.

Very disappointing. High expectations not delivered

How well businesses differentiate themselves in the eyes of their potential customers is a bit of a hobbyhorse for me.

I believe it’s often one of the fundamental problems that lie at the heart of underperformance in business. It’s also an area I find fascinating. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Robert Woodruff and Sarah Gardial is

Know Your Customer: New Approaches to Understanding Customer Value and Satisfaction

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book Four Stars. This means it is Good and Well Worth Reading, provided you don’t mind the academic nature of the book.

Here is my book review.

A challenging read

I read a great academic summary by Robert Woodruff on customer value and how you had to consider issues at the different levels of the customer’s thinking.

I was encouraged to buy this book, expecting to learn a lot. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Andy Cunningham is

“Get to Aha!: Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition“.

Normally I have a simple rule, the book has to earn four stars to be considered worthy of featuring on this blog. I only gave this book Three Stars in my review at Amazon.co.uk and yet, I’ve decided to feature it.

Let me explain why.

It’s a specialised technology strategic marketing book masquerading as a book written for the general market. As a result, I graded it as Three Stars, but, if it had included Technology Businesses in the title/subtitle, I’d have given it Four Stars.

Here is my review.

Very interesting for technology based businesses (Four Stars) but for the rest Three Stars

This book about positioning is interesting since it says that your position in your market isn’t so much about choice but is hardwired into the type of business you have – your business DNA.

You make the most of what you are and the natural advantages you have and, if you try to go against your DNA, success will be hard if not impossible. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by David Gomez is

“Stop Competing on Price: What every salesperson, entrepreneur and business professional needs to know to differentiate their product or service and make price irrelevant“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a Four Stars book, which means that I consider it to be good or very good.

Here is what I posted.

Thoughtful guide to differentiation

I read a lot of books about differentiation strategy and how to communicate those differences quickly and believe there is always room for more to increase understanding and clarity over what to do. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne is

“Blue Ocean Shift: Beyond Competing – Proven Steps to Inspire Confidence and Seize New Growth“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the FIVE Stars level, which means that I consider it to be excellent.

Here is what I posted.

A detailed how to guide for developing blue ocean strategies

I’ve been very impressed with the authors’ blue ocean thinking, ever since I read the early articles in the Harvard Business Review. I gave the Blue Ocean Strategy book a five star review.

When the revised Blue Ocean Strategy book was published several years ago, I appreciated the extended text and give it five stars again but I was a little disappointed as well. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by David Parrish is

“Chase One Rabbit: Strategic Marketing for Business Success: 63 Tips, Techniques and Tales for Creative Entrepreneurs”.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the FOUR stars level, this means it’s in the good to very good category.

Here is what I wrote.

A good introduction to strategic marketing that deserves to be read by many small business owners

Although this book is targeted towards entrepreneurs in the creative industries, I believe it deserves a much wider audience of small business owners. The general messages in the book apply to all sectors and whilst the examples and stories used are from creative businesses, they are easily understood.

The main purpose of the book is to introduce the ideas of strategic marketing as opposed to operational marketing. You’re probably familiar with operational marketing because it tells you how to use marketing media – how to have a good website, how to get ranked in search engines, how to use display advertisements in newspapers and magazines, how to create a direct mail letter or how to use social media. It’s probably how you think about marketing. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Seth Godin is

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Three Stars.

Here is my review.

A powerful analogy but a disappointing book

I’ve developed a bit of a habit of reading Seth Godin and being disappointed. I find it with his books and his famous blog. He is an expert at marketing himself.

This is another book where I hoped I’d gain much more than was actually delivered. I’m fascinated by how businesses stand out from their competitors. I also think it’s an issue that is under developed in many companies. [continue reading…]

The full title of the book by Lanze Thompson is

The Consumer Value Model: Know The Perceived Value of Your Products & Services and Convert Inquiries Into Purchases

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 1 Star.

Here is my review.

Too small to read

This is a topic I’ve read quite a bit about so I was interested to see how the author could contribute to the issues involved. [continue reading…]