Gimme Book: Thinking Beyond the Unique Selling Proposition

Gimme! book is an eye opening book for marketers as it touches on the long ignored aspects of marketing: "how human beings are wired and how they work emotionally." For too long, marketers have been taught to focus on unique selling proposition (USP). Now John Hallward tells us about the reality of USP and how it is "not a consumer-centric view."

The "wired" part is especially interesting to me as it touches on the hidden powers of socially targeted advertising and marketing.

“Consumers do not want one characteristic or one USP. Consumers want it all.Why should a consumer have to choose between the longest lasting pain reliever versus the fast acting, or the safest, most gentle, or the cheapest priced? The concept of marketing a USP is not a consumer-centric view. It is not a realistic, relevant reflection of how consumers operate. Furthermore, a USP for a brand is limiting in appeal by the very definition of trying to sell one main benefit to the sub-segment of consumers which most values that one benefit. Consumers want pain relievers to be fast-acting, and safe, and strong, and inexpensive and more.”

I have just started reading the book, "Gimme! The Human Nature of Successful Marketing" and I have already found the "wow" factor that's all over this book. If you'd like to preview the contents of Gimme! check out the "lessons learned" section of the book's website. Highly recommended!

Writing a book - Tips by Dave Thomas

A friend of mine, with whom I am working on a book related project, pointed out some tips on writing a book by Dave Thomas, author of Programming Ruby (the third edition of the book now covers Ruby 1.9).

“Writing is difficult. Part of the trick of writing is to be able to focus on the writing itself—there's no point making things harder than they already are. So choose your writing environment carefully, and defend it when necessary.”Dave has tips on dealing with book reviewers, writing rules and finding your voice among other things. Definitely worth checking out if you're writing a book.

Ken Blanchard on Leadership

“The problem with American business today is that Wall Street demands short-term thinking, which means that business-people focus on results and forget about the important people part of their jobs.” - Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business (Quote from "In Tough Times, Focus on Fairness" - Inc. Magazine | May 2008)