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Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition
vBulletin Book Store > vBulletin books beginning with D
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Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition |
Author: Jack Trout
Published: 2001-09-14 |
List price: $21.95
Our price: $14.93
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In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
As of: November 20th, 2008 12:30:02 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Did not fact check!
Do not waste your time with this book. Initially, it looks intriguing because of the amount of business examples that they use. However, as I delved further into the book, it just became clear, example after example, that they just simply did not fact check their findings. It's pretty sad when a 2nd edition, 2008, is just simply this out of touch. For example, they talk about category killers, and call out Baby Superstore, and talk specifically how Babies R Us is putting pressure on their earnings. Babies R Us bought Baby Superstore back in the late 90's! Come on, do your fact checking. Want another example? Well, later in the book they talk about convergence, and state that products that do more than they should are quick to die, and specifically call out the early PDA's. Have they heard that they've morphed into smart phones such as the wildly successful iPhone? There are more examples than this - it was just hard for me to believe their other cases when there was just so many inaccuracies throughout. I'd fire their publisher for hiring that fact checker.
 Differentiate or die.
This is definitely compulsory reading for anyone hoping to survive in todays cluttered market where the consumer is bombarded with similar products!!!!
Marketers read this or die
Jack Trout is probably the most entertaining author of marketing books. This one not only entertains, it lays down the fundamentals of differentiating in the marketplace and dives deep into it. Essential reading for all marketers.
 Tactically sound, despite the hype
Today markets are driven by customer choice, and there are more possible product choices than ever before for the customer. Companies that fail to address the whims of the marketplace will not survive. It is more important that ever before to differentiate your product from its competition. According to the authors, companies must address differentiation in three ways:
br /1. If you ignore your uniqueness and try to be everything to everybody, you will undermine what differentiates you from the competition.
br /2. If you ignore changes in the market, your differentiation can become less important.
br /3. If you stay in the shadow of your competitors, without establishing your "uniqueness" you will always be weak.
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br /The authors then outline four steps to successfully differentiate yourself from competitors:
br /· Step 1: Make sense in context. Your message must make sense within the context of your market category. Start first with a "snapshot" of customer perceptions about yourself and your competitors.
br /· Step 2: Find the differentiating idea. There are many ways to set your company apart from the competition. However you differentiate yourself, set the difference up as a benefit to the customer.
br /· Step 3: Have credentials. Your claims to the customer must be real and believable. You should be able to demonstrate the difference to the customer. That demonstration becomes your credentials.
br /· Step 4: Communicate your difference. You need to build a strong perception of your product in the market. Every aspect of your public communication should emphasize your difference.
Too simplistic to rest business success primarily on uniqueness
I work for a book summary company. One of the books selected for summary is this.
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br /In today's proliferation of products, what sets a product or idea apart is its distinctness or uniqueness. And authors Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin focus on the idea that unless companies strive to make their product or concept interestingly different and evolve a unique identity, their business is bound to bite the dust. The book reiterates the need for companies to promote the `unique selling proposition' or the USP in their product in order to stand out from the `also-rans'. Indeed Jack Trout, who had pioneered the concept of `positioning' which has become the fad word in the ad world today, makes blunt assertions on the common practices adopted by most companies to gain that competitive edge over others. He dismisses the well-entrenched marketing ploys such as stress on product quality, use of creative advertising, competitive pricing, and unveiling range of product line as futile exercises that could prove unsuccessful in the long term. To him, being a pioneer, having a distinct attribute and peerless heritage, cultivating particular consumer group (s) or being the first or new arrival are the features that single out a product from the cluttering crowd. The author provides success stories alongside some others that failed. It seems rather too simplistic to build the entire logic of success on a single attribute of uniqueness or distinctness. Indeed while there is no gainsaying that exclusivity undoubtedly lifts a product, there are other concomitant factors, which are too real and important to be ignored, for ensuring the long term success of a product. Nonetheless, this slim book could be an interesting read for gaining additional inputs to ensure success in business.
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