Book Review – Purple Cow; Transform your Business by being Remarkable, Seth Godin

I have long been a fan of Seth Godin, he is a well known Marketing expert who really does deserve the accolades. I have read a number of his books, the Purple Cow being one of my favourites.

Rather than a text book of how to go about marketing, it is more of an observation Seth has made about people who stand out from the crowd. He uses the metaphor of a purple cow.

Think back to those long, leisurely country drives you’ve taken. Do you remember the cows in the paddocks? Did you notice them as you drove by? No, most people don’t. How about if there was a bright purple cow amongst them, would you have noticed it? Would you remember it? Yes, it would certainly have grabbed and retained your attention.

Seth’s main point is; you need to grab your audiences attention. You need to be the purple cow that transforms your business to stand out in the market place.

It all comes down to being remarkable, memorable, being the business that stands out from the crowd.

This book is full of real life examples of businesses that have found the product or service to offer their client such amazing value that they have become a purple cow in their niche.

It’s an important message for business owners- you can’t compete while you are the same as everyone else. You’ll blend into the scenery like the brown and black cows. You need to be special to really succeed.

The business landscape is always changing, to be able to keep up and compete you must stand out in your customers mind.

So how do we make our business remarkable? Seth gives a few pointers to follow:

• Make an awesome product. He makes it clear that your product should be more remarkable than your marketing, which should still be fabulous.
• Get people to like your remarkable product. You do that by finding ‘Sneezers’, the key spreading agents (like sneezes spread influenza). You need to find the influencers who will tell their friends, colleagues and fans all about your remarkable product.
• Focus on your niche market, don’t try and appeal to the masses. It is much easier to succeed within a niche segment.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it’s a very interesting read and it does make you think. He has a number of bullet point prompts throughout to trigger those thoughts.

Seth writes a great blog, some times a post is only one or two lines, but it’s enough to get you thinking. His blog posts also have great titles that catch your attention. The book is in a similar format. He uses some great case studies to make his point and to get you thinking.

The take away message is that you need to make your marketing stand out. What’s your purple cow in your business? How are you standing out?

Overall I would rate it an excellent read for a business owner. Great value and there is also a Purple Cow website which includes extra chapters and some bonus information.

Are you being remarkable, like a purple cow?