Book Review: Analysis of Marketing Strategies and Consumer Behavior

This report presents a detailed book review of two influential marketing texts: "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin and "Invisible Influence" by John Berger. The review begins with an executive summary and table of contents, setting the stage for an in-depth analysis. The first section focuses on Godin's "Purple Cow," exploring its core themes of innovation and exceptionality in marketing, advocating for remarkable products that stand out in a crowded market. It examines Godin's arguments against traditional advertising and the importance of targeting specific niches, offering examples and insights into the "Ps" of marketing and the concept of the "Purple Cow." The second section reviews Berger's "Invisible Influence," highlighting its focus on the psychological factors that shape consumer behavior and the subtle influences affecting buying decisions. The review delves into the major themes of social influence and the need for marketers to understand their customers' motivations. Both sections include detailed discussions of the books' content, interesting points, and the reasons for selecting the books, culminating in a concluding summary of the key takeaways.

Running Head: BOOK REVIEW
Book Review
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

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Executive summary
The assignment is a book report of the works by authors John Berger and Seth Godin. The
discussion will outline the reason for selecting the books, describe in detail the main topics in
each book along with the author’s purpose behind writing it. Finally, the discussions will
conclude with five interesting points or findings from each book and highlight the aspect that
makes the points interesting.

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Table of Contents
Book 1: introduction........................................................................................................................4
Major themes...................................................................................................................................4
Reasons for selecting the book by Godin........................................................................................5
The content......................................................................................................................................5
Interesting points made in the book.................................................................................................7
Book 2: Introduction........................................................................................................................9
Major themes.................................................................................................................................10
Reasons for selecting the book......................................................................................................10
The content....................................................................................................................................11
Interesting points made in the book...............................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
BIBLIOGRAPHY:........................................................................................................................14

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Book 1: introduction
The selected book for discussion is Purple Cow by eminent author and public speaker in
the field of business and marketing, Seth Godin. The motive of the book is to transform the way
people approach business and equip them with remarkable tactics to stand out in the market and
advance towards innovation and betterment. The author points out at the very outset that the
traditional marketing strategies involving the age-old advertisement, distribution, and product
selling and buying are no longer meeting the purpose of businesses in a rapidly emerging world.
Hence, the author comes up with some unique strategies with a simple, yet effective message for
altering the ways in which marketers approach business. The report will review the book for
assessing its significance and contribution to the world of business. The topics explored in the
report will explain in details the main themes of the book and the author’s purpose behind
writing it.
Major themes
Godin makes innovation and exceptionality the central theme of his work. This point is
simple yet noteworthy: in a world full of white, brown and black cows, a purple cow is bound to
stand out in the herd. That should precisely be the motto marketing; not just to secure attention,
but to boost sales. The trick is to be remarkable in a way that it means something to the
consumers.
Seth Godin begins his argument with the assertion that advertisement in the contemporary times
has become less effective than what it used to be few decades back. The following discussion
maintains that in order to draw attention and secure a wide consumer base in a market, it is not

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only necessary to market a product in a tactful and remarkable manner, but also to launch a
product that is equally remarkable in comparison to the other products available in the market.
Citing some of the examples of successful marketing programs of products, Gordon claims that it
is pointless to copy these strategies directly since the target audience have the ability to identify
plagiarism in ideas and would be bored to see the same things repeatedly. The only chance at
achieving success is therefore to stand out, be remarkable in terms of approach, execution of plan
and reaching out to consumers.
Reasons for selecting the book by Godin
Gordon’s work appropriately outlines the reasons responsible for the modern day failure
of marketing activities. It addresses the elephant in the room and provides suitable ideas for
dealing with the issues effectively. The book offers some suitable suggestions like protecting
companies from the gold rush, which makes it an insightful read for a marketer. The guidelines
are tactfully formulated with the aim of equipping marketers with the knowledge and tactics they
need for ensuring a bright future for their business. Additionally, the discussions in the book
theorizes some of the primary concerns of marketing, integral to business and its potential
success. It offers a valuable insight into the key elements of a successful market plan and
suggests the marketer on how to go about a product in an open market. Moreover, the book
maintains a simplicity in style and content, using ordinary management terms to elucidate the
arguments.
The content
The central idea is that some products always retain their uniqueness in the market
despite the ever-changing nature of the market and the regularly evolving product ranges. Godin

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calls these products the “eternal purple cows”, products that remain fresh in the changing market
environments.
The current generation is flabbergasted with information of all sorts. As a result, they have
stopped paying attention to the arbitrary messages in the media. The solution, according to
Godin, is for companies to start innovating instead of just advertising. His recommendation is for
marketers to target a particular niche and uses a range of case studies for describing the effective
ways for spreading the ideas to the potential consumers who are most willing and likely to
purchase the product. There is no lack of remarkable ideas, the lack is only in the will and
effectiveness of executing them. Effective marketing requires all the Ps to be in place and
function in harmony. The important Ps include positioning, packaging, pricing, permission,
promotion and pass-along. The message of marketing remains obscure and ineffective if either of
these factors are not in place. Ensuring that the Ps are working right would enhance the chances
of a business to achieve success in the marketplace. Although, Godin proceeds with his theory
that the evolution of marketing proves that merely following the Ps are no longer enough in the
competitive scenario. This is where the book comes up with a new P for marketing; that is the
purple cow. Purple cow has emerged as a new marketing terms for referring to the products and
services that are relatively different from those available in the market and stands out in its own
right on account of its remarkable characteristics. The content of the book elaborates on the
what, why and how of the remarkable aspect of a given product.

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Interesting points made in the book
Godin’s distinction of the three different periods in advertisement is an interesting point
to think about. The first stage being before advertising, which refers to the time back in the age
before the inception of media where the only medium of spreading the word involved mouths.
Then came the age of digital media when TV commercials, billboards, magazine advertisements
work their magic in the world of advertisement and had a massive role to play in influencing
buyer decisions and consumer behavior. This is followed by the era after advertising when
people do not pay as much heed to online advertisement and are more keen on something
specific. This observation is interesting in the sense that it hints at a very important revelation;
that is the era in which we are standing now requires advertisers to return to the ancient practice
of marketing via word-of-mouth. Just that the word now circulates in social networking sites like
Facebook and Twitter; platforms that are responsible for tagging a product as good or bad.

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Another lesson is that the only thing riskier than taking risks is not taking any. Seth’s
opinion is that since the internet in the post-advertising world is a crowed and noisy place, a
product must have the quality to stand out remarkably, like a purple cow in a herd of black and
white or brown ones. That is why following the fashion without taking any risk would only entail
greater risks as keeping it aligned with the trend will only make the product or service invisible.
Something like this had never been pointed out in the past by marketing theoreticians and it gives
marketers good reasons for taking risks when necessary. The third lesson is the insistence of
focusing on the early adopters for reaching out to the masses successfully. The central ideas is
that marketers must first communicate to the target audience why they do the things before
telling them what they do. This will help in getting the product in the hands of the right people.
Seth refers to these people as early adopters. The traditional forms of marketing targets the
advertisement at the majority while launching a new product. This stance is wrong since the
majority may not be ready for the product, given that they prefer a proven product rather than a
new gimmick.

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The noteworthy point in this lesson is that it suggests the manufacturers to build their
product and make it attractive to early adopters and innovators, the technology geeks and people
who line up to buy the newly launched products so that they become the perpetrators of
publicizing their product or service. Choosing and differentiating between the customers is
another interesting point made in the discussion. It gives companies the opportunities to do
something special for their loyal customers and sell exactly what people are willing to buy.
Channelizing the consumer base is always an excellent idea for boosting sales by catering to the
exclusive needs of the buyers in the market. Finally, the chapter on raising the purple cow is
particularly captivating as it provides the guidelines to build a unique market value for a product
and suggests how to sustain its competiveness. The concluding section asks marketers to explore
the limits if there is any, and device ways to extend them.
Book 2: Introduction
Eminent marketing professor at Wharton, John Berger enables readers to explore their
unconscious through his remarkable insight in Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that
Shape Behavior. The author in his books aims to reveal how society influences and shapes
consumer decisions, both consciously and unconsciously. Berger explores the secret and subtle
influences that deeply affect the decisions people make; be it the products they buy or the kind of
services they opt for, the careers they choose, and what they eat and wear. The book is a
groundbreaking work that suitably merges marketing with psychology for providing a deep
insight into the studies in marketing and consumer behavior. The author resolves intriguing
mysteries surrounding human behavior by removing the invisibility cloak from powerful and
influential sources in society. The most creditworthy aspect of the book is that reading it will

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transform the way a person looks at oneself and at others. It is both thoroughly engaging and eye
opening.
Major themes
The themes of the book deal more with psychology than traditional marketing theories.
An ideal marketer must be a good judge of human psychology and Berger’s book is a suitable
illustration of the workings of the human mind, and how buying behavior is deeply affected by it.
The discussions in the book attempts to reveal a simple yet unexplored marketing secret. The
author is of the opinion that marketers invest way too much time and energy into devising tactics
and employing strategies for a sales boost; whereas they should be backing up and asking a
different question to address the heart of the matter. Marketers should pay particular attention
into observing the factors that influence their prospects (buyers). The first mistake of marketers
is that they concentrate on product details way more than necessary. The focus should instead be
on who the customers are and whether they are being serviced properly. Several companies
fizzle out as soon as they arrive the market since they fail to identify the nuances of the
consumers. Their colleagues, friends, online reviews Facebook videos, tweets, Instagram
pictures and so on heavily influence customer of the current generation. Comprehending the
social influence and analyzing its potential would be hitting the jackpot that all marketers around
the world might be yearning for. If the marketers are able to identify the factors that influences
their buying behavior they will be better able to design the techniques that connect uniquely with
the potential customers. That is precisely the major theme of the book: effective marketing.

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Reasons for selecting the book
Invisible Influence is an excellent read even for people who are not remotely interested in
marketing, but are simply willing to have a better understanding of the mysteries of human
behavior. It offers a valuable insight into the things that influence human behavior with its well-
researched and thought provoking details. The primary reason for selecting the book for the
assignment is that is takes the readers deep beneath the surface-reality of things, with results that
are outstanding and educational. It is a powerful means to change the way people see themselves
and their place in the world. Additionally, it adepts people, especially marketers, with the tools
and ideals for going about the world and making progress while doing so.
The content
The author draws on scientific experiments and ingenious research for exploring why
people do the things they do, in political, social and economic terms. Contexts and social forces
that people are unaware of drive these influencing factors. A considerable section of the book’s
content is centered on effective marketing and how it involves breaking away from the noise and
clutter of current day marketing. The authors repeatedly asserts in different parts of the book that
doing what everyone else does will never work for the new companies that has not established a
reputable brand name yet. The connect of the book picks up on the theme of effective marketing
and proceeds to dig deeper into the intricacies of social behavior and how it is inextricably
related with marketing. Jonah Berger in Invisible Influence incorporates social science ad
psychology into business research and thinking with the intention of focusing on the subtle and
invisible influences responsible for individual choices. The book proves how the understanding
of social influence, can enable one to decide when to embrace or to resist it. It also suggest the

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ways in which this knowledge can be used for exercising better control over one’s own behavior
to take decisions that are well informed.
Interesting points made in the book
The author offers five valuable insights for elaborating on the arguments. The conjectures
are as follows:
Human beings have an innate tendency to imitate each other- It is interesting to note that
modeling and conditioning is more effective in influencing behavior than punishments and
rewards. For instance, if a waiter repeats a diner’s order with more elaborate details and elegance
at a high-end restaurant, it increases the perceived value of the meal along with the appetite of
the diner. Also, it enhances the chances of a tip increase by 70%. Something every marketer
should be keeping in in mind is that a crowd best attracts another. This explains the line blocks
at expensive and braded restaurants while other places offer the same service at cheaper prices.
People have the impulse to stand out in a crowd- Perhaps the most unique argument made in the
entire book, the point asserts that people like being included among the elite, and in this case the
elite means the selective different. Distinction affords people a sense of importance and value
and this is enough reason why companies should focus on innovation and distinction of product
range.
The contending cravings to imitate depends on the ‘other’ and on the context- The point made is
notable since it warns marketers against competing blindly with contenders without analyzing
the context of the situation and the kind of service offered by the rival company.
The successful products are different but bear some resemblances with other products- The
marketers must understand that success revolves around the perception of consumers. A new
product cannot be entirely similar to something that’s already existing in the market; it will have