Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
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Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin suggests that marketing as we have known it, dominated by what he refers to as the TV-industrial Complex churning out products to meet the market's need, and television advertising directing people to these products, is broken. The book claims that we have now moved into an era where markets are largely satisfied, and to be noticed a product and its marketing need to be remarkable to be seen at all, let alone to sell.
What is Purple Cow?
During my MBA times, I recall a conversation where in a person drives his car through a specific route to his office everyday. During his drive, he sees a herd of cows grazing in the green fields which are by the side of the road. This is a regular phenonenon and the person looks at them and continues his travel. One day this person on seeing the cows grazing pulls over his car to the side and gets out to have a closer look at them.
What prompted him to stop his car this day? What did he see peculiar this day? Why did he break his regular routine followed for years by stopping and giving his attention?
These are the regular questions which come to any readers's mind. This is where the therory of "Purple Cow" applies. This is what happened that day. Amoung the herd of cows grazing in the green fields, there was one Purple cow amoung the white ones. Since this was a change from the regular routine, a break in the Stereotype which made a person stop, break his routine and give full attention to the herd grazing.
This is one of the best examples of a product differentiation. this is what creativity keeping in mind the end user's needs helps in making a product successful. Having said that a product differentiation does not necessarily work always. There are tons of products which bombed in spite of the fact that they were the brainchilds of a Maverick.
Why do you think product differentiation does not always necessarily work? The answer is quite simple. The end customer did not see value in your product. You might have invented a pair of shoes which have nitro boosters. This product will be the first of its kind, Do you think it will work. It will most certainly not. Me as a user will not see any benefit i derive by purchasing the pair of shoes.As an end user I do not really care if the cat is black or white as long as it catches rats ! This is the attitude most of the population has.
But as a Producer, one cannot afford to have a similar attitude. It will be a lose- always lost proposition. You as a producer must be on your toes in understanding the present and the future needs of your customer. Product differentiation should be rationalized proportionately to the value benefit formula. The VB Formula as i call is thus
Selling price = True Value + First mover advantage + Product differntiation
This is the first calculation every customer makes before evaluating. Not necessary that all the 3 variables are evaluated. A % of them is most of cases certainly done.
lastly a product which gives "customer delight", adding true and honest value to the customer and the price, different from the competition not necessarily with discounted pricing always and perfect positioning will work always. As a producer follow a principle of KISS( Keep it simple and stupid) only then a common man can relate to it. Your customer base is full of them. Target the Niche market later.
Koushik APS
Contents |
[edit] Analysis
The book consists of general concepts interspersed with practical examples. It seems that Godin is working his thinking through with the examples to then give us what he concludes from these examples. The book reads well, with so many practical examples illustrating the ideas; but to obtain a coherent set of principles one needs to review the book after reading to draw the points together and then determine a course of action in one's own professional activity. The book is part theory and part practical activity plans for implementation; digesting these is necessary before implementing them in a local setting.
The theory starts with the presumption that marketing as we know it is broken, and that the only way now to gain attention in a market is to not only market a product in a remarkable manner, but also to have a remarkable product to market. For a product, or a marketing program to be remarkable Godin sets out the parameters of what has been remarkably done and indicates there is no use copying these but rather, that is what has gone before and from that position we need to move forward into more remarkable territory.
Godin suggests the book is:
- ". . . a manifesto for marketers who want to make a difference at their company by helping create products and services that are worth marketing in the first place. It is a plea for originality, for passion, guts, and daring. Not just because going through life with passion and guts beats the alternative (which it does), but also because it's the only way to be successful. Today, the one sure way to fail is to be boring. Your one chance for success is to be remarkable."
Godin wraps the concept up in a Ten Point Checklist that sets out how to create a Purple Cow. This checklist is general enough to be applied to creating a product or a marketing program that is remarkable. However, the book is just a starter for thinking; the innovation to create a Purple Cow still lies with the reader.
[edit] Marketing and Sales
Purple Cow was itself, marketed through many of the techniques that Seth details in his book. The first, self-published edition came packaged in a milk carton and was sold for just shipping and handling charges. The cover is purple and white and the words are printed sideways.[1] This followed Godin's book "Unleashing the Ideavirus", in which the entire book was put on the web for free download. The colliding of this launch with the rise of blogs led to the book becoming one of the bestselling marketing books of the year.
This marketing approach certainly indicated that Seth Godin knows marketing, and second that the concept of sneezers can seemingly work. As for this being a new era when 'television advertising' no longer works, and where the TV-industrial complex is broken is perhaps an overstatement. There are still many millions of dollars being spent and working reasonably well in the world of television and industry. However, the practical demonstration of online marketing as displayed by Godin is an indication he is perhaps onto something in the book.
In the book's first two years of release, it sold more than 150,000 copies over the course of 23 printings.[2] According to the publisher, the sales were almost entirely due to word of mouth.[2]
[edit] References
- Godin, Seth. Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. Portfolio. ISBN 1-59184-021-X.
- ^ DiNardo, Kelly (7/14/2003). "Witty book shares secret for success: Be remarkable". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/books/reviews/2003-07-14-purple-cow_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-25."
- ^ a b Hogan, Ron (5/16/2005). "How to Succeed in Business (Books)". Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA601439.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-20."...reports that the two-year-old title has more than 150,000 copies in print after 23 printings"
