Perfect Branding: 6 Useful Books for Marketing

If you want to succeed in your profession, you must have a willingness to study and develop your skills. Today, we suggest some books about the ideas which we actively implement in Swan Software Solutions’ marketing. These are great books for those who want to successfully combine creativity and a business approach to be recognizable in the market.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

Classical economic science claims that people behave rationally and are inclined to choose the best option and the best way to improve their lives. However, economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein persuade: if that were the case, there would be no problems such as obesity, tobacco or alcohol addiction, etc. Thaler and Sunstein assure – people are primarily homo sapiens, not homo economicus, as they are often drawn by economists. In his work, the Nobel Prize winner, Richard Thaler, and the law professor at the Harvard Faculty of Law, Cass Sunstein, describe the concept of nudges that softly push people to make one choice or another without any prohibitions or orders.

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

In a turbulent growth of competition in the market, not only old tools but also old models are losing relevance. The authors of this book suggest a radical change in our approach to the business environment. They described the concept of “blue ocean” – an uncompetitive environment for innovative proposals and the creation of fundamentally new demand. The authors contrast such a concept with the overheated, filled with “bloody competition” of the red ocean market.

This book is a more philosophical model than a practical textbook. It was translated into 40 languages and sold 3.5 million copies worldwide. “The red oceans seemed to embrace the reality of what the organization is increasingly concerned about, while the blue oceans reflect – as from the very beginning – the history of industry – the endless possibilities that their organizations could create,” the authors say.

Ten Deadly Marketing Sins: Signs and Solutions by Philip Kotler

Although modern marketing experts say unanimously that “Kotler’s marketing has died,” the understanding of classical instruments will definitely be useful. Philip Kotler, whose parents at the beginning of the 20th century emigrated from Ukraine to the United States, was born in 1931. He became one of the most well-known marketing theorists, writing over 60 books and hundreds of articles. In this book, Kotler summarizes 10 major marketing issues that can lead to a decline in your business. For example, misunderstanding of the target audience, the lack of monitoring of competitors, or the mere absence of a marketing plan.

Zag: The #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands by Marty Neumeier

“In the business world, where everything moves zigzag when others choose zig, you need a zag!” – says the author of this book. Marty Newmeyer is a business consultant who has worked with such companies as Apple, Adobe, Google, Facebook, and PayPal. In this small book, he calls the brands not just to differentiate, but to radically distinguish. According to him, exclusively unique brands will remain on top of the over-saturated market. The author gives you tips on how to choose a good name for your product or service, to create a balance between online and offline strategies, how to rethink your brand and add to its uniqueness.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

In this book, a marketing specialist and professor at the Warton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Jonah Berger, is trying to explain one of the mysterious phenomena of the Internet environment – viral content. Why do some videos capture hundreds of thousands of views and others remain unnoticed? What makes a person click on the “share” button? Is it possible to put the potential of popularity in the product itself?

Berger has devoted more than 15 years to research marketing and social influences, trying to understand the reasons why the famous “video with cats” is such popular content. He summarized his observations by describing the specific features of what the content and the product itself should be, in order not only to interest the buyer, but also to encourage the dissemination of information about it.

Purple Cow by Seth Godin

‘’Classical advertising tools, including TV ads, do not work as effectively as they were at the inception of the industry’’, says well-known American entrepreneur, marketer, and business coach Seth Godin. Your product, not just its wrapping, must be unique. Godin suggests adding another “p” to the classic paradigm of five marketing principles such as product, pricing, promotion, etc. That is a purple cow. Why a purple cow? Imagine traveling around the city and seeing a herd of cows. These are cute animals that are interesting and enjoyable to admire. And quickly you get bored – all the cows are the same. But suddenly you see a purple cow. Wow! You will certainly not forget it. This is a product that the buyer will remember. “Marketing in the post-television world is no longer about making the product attractive, interesting, or fun after its design and creation. It’s primarily about designing this thing so that it can become a virus” says Seth Godin

If you know other useful and unique books on marketing, please share them us, we would love to read them!