Purple Cow

Customer Reviews

• 4 out of 5
  
  
  by David from The United States | Aug 23, 2007
  

  Purple Cow tells how the traditional 4-Ps of marketing is lacking to move consumers in current day's media noisy market place. Marketing Guru and author, Seth Godin defines a new ' P ' that stands for 'PURPLE COW'. He coined the term PURPLE COW to mean a product or service having achieve huge differentiation, innovative and scores high on wow factor. On this point, Seth describes that the PURPLE COW will first attract the early adopters who will then take it through into the masses. He reasons the madness in spending in mass advertising is instead better spent in creating a much better product which will turns promotes / sells itself.
  
  

  
  
   2 people found this review helpful
  
  

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• 5 out of 5
  
  
  by Micah from Beaverton, OR | Jan 5, 2009
  

  At the heart of this book is the notion of "Moore's idea diffusion curve". It's just a bell-curve that shows innovators (sneezers), early adopters, early/late majority, and laggards. The central theme of the book is that you need to target the front of that curve by appealing your "remarkable" product to them as a niche, and treat them very specially.
  
  Contrary to the most popular review here (quite negative) calling this book an unnecessarily expanded essay, I would argue that Godin covers a lot of ground in a concise 137 pages. And you don't need an MBA to understand the principles. This book is required reading for anyone looking to start a business.
  
  The most resonating take-away is that marketing has worked its way to the front phases of product development. If the product can't *be* the marketing, then it will fail. This means that developers/engineers need to understand a bit about marketing, and need to be able to include and work with marketers from conception.
  
  In the few hours it took to read through "Purple Cow", I've been able to take away quite a few valuable insights:
  
  - The days of the "Hurricane Effect" (traditional massive blitz marketing, e.g., TV commercials, banner ads) are over
  
  - Understand the importance of the idea curve (a simple concept) and its ripple effect.
  
  - Employ market-centric design (marketers need to be a part of early design phase).
  
  - At the front of the curve are sneezers -- a very loud group of users who will do your marketing for you.
  
  - Treat the sneezers individually and personally, as your most valuable asset. Overwhelm that small target, and please them in every way possible.
  
  - You can only attract sneezers by being remarkable (a purple cow, stand out, break the rules, do the unsafe thing, etc).
  
  - The marketing *is* the product (the Leaning Tower of Pisa markets itself just in its name), and a good slogan is essential.
  
  - If your product is not innovative, start over.
  
  - Find an edge of the market, go to it and beyond.
  
  - Resist the temptation to "milk the cow" (be ever seeking the next purple cow).
  
  If you must pay $[...] for this book, it is well worth it. But given its popularity, you'll likely find many copies at your local library. In reading this you'll probably become a Godin fan. His blog continues to discuss material similar to that found in this book.

  
  
   2 people found this review helpful
  
  

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• 4 out of 5
  
  
  by Book from Whitestone, NY | Apr 30, 2010
  

  Purple Cow Transforming Your Business By Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
  
  
  
  Seth Godin is a motivational speaker about business. His focus is on marketing goods and services. He does not just talk about marketing; he also has created a social network, Squidoo http://www.squidoo.com as well as a very popular blog http://www.sethgodin.com . His focus is on being exceptional and different. He is the most popular marketing blogger on the internet.
  
  
  
  
  In his words, a "purple cow" is a remarkable thing to see. Of course, it is also a Mother Goose nursery rhyme which many people remember as well from their childhood, "I never saw a purple cow, I hope, I never see one, but I'd rather see than be one."
  
  
  
  
  Mr. Godin combines an ethic of showmanship with a very straightforward style. The message is easy to follow in this book; produce a remarkable unique product, find the early adopters who will sell your product by word of mouth, and try and create a strategy that others have a hard time following.
  
  
  
  
  He urges people to take risks, because people are no longer paying attention to the tried and true methods of advertising. Television and radio do not catch peoples attention as easily. Most everyones basic wants and needs have been met. You must create a unique message with strong knowledge of what you are selling. His statements are quite compelling. They sound like common sense.
  
  
  
  
  Seth Godin's examples are of newer companies; Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Jet Blue, Ben and Jerry's, Apple Computer, Google, and Yahoo. His pitch seems to come right out of new media.
  
  
  
  
  He consistently combines design with marketing. If you look at the cover of the book, Purple Cow, it is bright purple with white splotches and a picture of a cow on the front of the book. The book itself is well laid out with black and white pictures and very simple charts. There is a list of very prominent companies in the back of the book which would appeal to most business people.
  
  
  
  This book is entertaining, focused, well designed, full of snappy writing, and not boring.

  
  

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• 4 out of 5
  
  
  by Anya from Somerville, MA | Dec 27, 2009
  

  I've been enjoying new-media and digital-economy expert Seth Godin's blog recently, and this book feels like a papery extension of it (you can find his blog at sethgodin.com). Godin's a businessguy and is fascinated (as am I) with how business and marketing are currently transforming themselves.
  
  Purple Cow reads like a series of blog posts about business innovation. Some of Godin's most useful ideas are so simple they feel like no-brainers--but as far as I know, he's been the first to articulate them in this organized a format.
  
  Godin posits that the riskiest thing you can do as a business is play it safe, since that puts you at risk of becoming conventional, boring, and therefore invisible in the ongoing media blizzard. He also suggests aiming your marketing at the narrowest slice of potential customers, the "early adopters" who will be genuinely excited about what you're doing and will preach your virtues to their friends. It's tempting to market to a larger segment of the crowd--almost irresistibly so--but Godin understands that by trying to attract everyone, you actually will attract no one.
  
  Extremely useful for anyone in the persuasion and/or selling businesses.

  
  

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• 5 out of 5
  
  
  by Mark from Canada | Oct 25, 2009
  

  After reading a lot of Seth Godin's blog and watching some of his talks I realized I had not actually picked up any of his books. When deciding where to start I picked up one of his most popular books - Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. I wondered if a book published in 2003 would still be relevant six years later and after digging into Purple Cow I was not disappointed.
  
  Godin's encouragement to be remarkable is illustrated throughout the book with examples of remarkable people and remarkable approaches in all different business sectors from technology to food to service industries. Being remarkable doesn't always take massive amounts of effort such as a doctor making a quick call with test results even if everything is fine. The age of the book also allows some insight into areas where being remarkable has had payoffs for companies. For example, when this book was written the cell phone market was languishing with a lack of innovation (small size had been optimized and Godin references some companies just focusing on adding cameras to phones). The iPhone has since achieved Purple Cow status and it is interesting to follow its growth to this status with Godin's Purple Cow thesis in mind.
  
  He also illustrates how marketing has changed in the past decades - from the death of the TV-Industrial complex to the ineffectiveness of banner advertising. Much successful marketing now changes the product itself and not the ads - in many cases the product is the marketing. I appreciate the concept of shifting millions of dollars of advertising money from dying (dead?) channels, such as TV and newspaper advertising, to research and development budgets. Godin does say failures can and do happen, but the remarkable product will be closer at hand. Is all advertising dead? Not at all, but the approaches and media are changing and while old titans may resist change, when those venues no longer work the Purple Cows know it.
  
  This book is a quick read an full of not only marketing ideas and stories, but also inspiration. It encourages continual creativity and whether you are a designer, scientist or business person that is a welcome message. "Safe, it seems, is risky" says Godin and that is especially true in today's light-speed society and business environment. I hope to see more Purple Cows in the future - they are so much more interesting.

  
  

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