Seth Godin is arguably the marketing guru of our time, or at least one of the most influential marketing voices. I’ve followed Seth’s writings for several years now. I recently finished his book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable and I was thoroughly challenged and impressed.
In the world of marketing, several “P” words set as marketing factors: promotion, price, placement, and others. The problem is none of those truly work as well anymore. Enter the Purple Cow.
A brown cow is boring. Any cow of any normal shade or hue is still boring. What isn’t boring is finding a cow that’s purple. It’s worth noticing. It’s worth telling your friends and family about, “Did you hear I saw a purple cow?” It’s remarkable.
Online marketing glut has created so much noise that we see browns cows everywhere. The key is creating a purple cow experience that leaves customers raving and sharing with their friends and family.
Godin explores several companies who created “purple cows” in their products or services, like Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Apple, and KrispyKreme. These companies weren’t worried about pricing or placement first; they were concerned with creating a remarkable product or experience worth sharing: a purple cow.
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable was originally written in 2003, so some of the concepts are now dated, but that’s to be expected with any book on marketing. It’s also not a very long book, so don’t expect an exhaustive exploration of a fairly simple concept. It’s a very well-written book that summarizes a basic concept many entrepreneurs, business owners, and ideators struggle to apply but it will dramatically change your business efficacy if put into practice.
I would highly recommend Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable to anyone wanting to stand out with your marketing message. It starts with creating a remarkable product, not aggressively pricing a subpar experience. It starts with a purple cow that people will talk about.
- Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable may be found at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other popular retail sites.
- Follow Seth’s writings at sethgodin.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”