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Guys, we are going on a long road trip. You all are coming with me. We are going to snap a lot of selfies. Our tour guide is a genius scavenger. He is none other than bestselling author Seth Godin.
Introduction
Title: Purple Cow
Author: Seth Godin
Genre: Self-help/Entrepreneurial
Pages: 160
Language: English
About the Author
Image Source: Wikipedia
Seth Godin is the author of five worldwide bestsellers: ‘Free Prize Inside’- Forbes Business Book of the Year in 2004, ‘Purple Cow’- sold over 150,000 copies in the first two years, ‘The Dip’- Business Week and New York Times bestseller, ‘Linchpin’- best 20 books by the most influential thinkers in business.
He is a renowned public speaker and contributing editor at Fast Company magazine. He was chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses. Seth has an MBA from Stanford University and was called the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age by Business Week.
About the Book
"You must design a product that is remarkable enough to attract the early adopters — but is flexible enough and attractive enough that those adopters will have an easy time spreading the idea."
- Seth Godin
“The right information brings knowledge. And knowledge is power. Sharing it is empowerment.”
- Seth Godin
‘Purple Cow’ by Seth Godin is a self-help motivational book for aspiring entrepreneurial marketers. The author stresses that being remarkable is worth talking about. Companies should build their products worth noticing instead of focusing on hyped marketing and sales strategies only.
The author says, if all the marketing P’s- product, price, promotion, positioning publicity, packaging, passing, and permission, are set in the right motion, you’re likely to succeed. But you're bound to go down too.
The business environment is dynamic and ever-changing. The markets are oversaturated and overcrowded. This means that creating something ordinary is identical to creating something invisible.
You cannot expect consumers to buy ordinary products through ordinary marketing and sales strategy. The time demands something exceptional. Traditional P’s aren’t enough and a new P has emerged. The new P is “Purple Cow.”
The quintessence of ‘Purple Cow’ is that you must concoct something remarkable. Something worth noticing and talking about. It is exceptional, new, and interesting.
My Review - A Personal Verdict
When was the last time you saw a cow? You must have seen a cow, right? Have you ever stopped and gawked at a cow? Did any cow get your attention longer than a few seconds? Not likely! How well-bred were they? Tall or small? Why? Because they are boring? Trivial? Common? Not worth noticing? You are not the only one buddy, I thought so too. I noticed that I never noticed trivial things like this. That is what the author is trying to say in Purple Cow.
Throughout the book, I learned a few critical points that every entrepreneur in marketing should know. Mostly this book talks about what a purple cow is? It is not a guide to answer how? But do not get disappointed. By the end of the last page, you will master the concept that the book tries to tell.
Extravagant, outrageous attention-seeking ads, expensive marketing campaigns, or celebrity stunts may get some attention initially but it is not sustainable. Therefore purple cows must be built in the business model. Marketers must think outside the box in every segment of their work. To demonstrate this, Godin cites well-known and fast-growing companies. Take the example of Bata, the most favored and trusted product in India and worldwide.
This book is not meant for deep analysis but rather light reading, deeply consumed and instantly inspired to take action.
Top Intakes from the Book
Opting for Safe is riskier than risky
Make strangers your friends, friends your customers, customers your client
Dump traditional P’s and focus on- Purple cow, Purple marketing, Innovation, Collaboration
Become exact opposite of the normal
Be the sneezers of the idea-virus epicenter
The key to creating a Purple Cow is marketing innovation
Selling to Your Target Consumers
The Fear in Becoming a Cow (black/white or brown)
It is one of the best books on project management and product management. Is the term innovation new? No. Is being remarkable really remarkable? No. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed. Seth Godin is plausible as he describes the most difficult concepts in an easy, readable manner with real-world examples like his citations on famous companies: Krispy Kreme, Apple, and Starbucks.
The Bottom Line
Overall, it's a mixed sack of fodder- a few critical points everyone in marketing should know. It drives home the concept of Purple Cow very well. Things might seem to be going in loops. He repeatedly uses terms like remarkable, innovative, unique, and some very known facts that we are aware of but don’t pay attention to. So, I recommend this book to anyone with a desire to stand out, i.e. YOU!
My Ratings for the Book - 4 on 5
Grab Your Copy at Purple Cow
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Written By - Arpita Singh Chauhan
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