Marketing: the books worth your time

Why this matters to an executive

Marketing is often the function general managers understand least and second-guess most. The budget is large, the results are hard to attribute, and the language can sound like opinion. That makes it easy to either cut the budget on instinct or approve whatever the agency proposes. Both are expensive.

You do not need to run campaigns. You need to judge whether a marketing plan rests on a clear position in the market, whether it is aimed at growth from new buyers or a hope of more loyalty from existing ones, and whether anyone has actually talked to customers. Those three questions cover most of what a senior manager has to decide.

How I ranked these

I ranked by how well a book helps an executive evaluate a marketing decision. Positioning is first because its central idea applies to nearly every product, price and message you will approve, and it takes a weekend to read.

How Brands Grow is second. Sharp builds his case on research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and argues that reach and mental availability matter more than loyalty programs. It is contrarian enough to start arguments in your marketing team, which is useful. Crossing the Chasm is third, and first if you sell technology to businesses. Obviously Awesome is the practical companion to Positioning for B2B products.

Influence is fifth. Cialdini's principles of persuasion explain why many marketing tactics work, though the book is about psychology more than marketing strategy, and it serves negotiation as well. Playing to Win belongs more to strategy, but its where-to-play choices are marketing choices too. The Mom Test is short and worth it before any customer interview. Kotler's textbook is last because it is a reference for students, not a book for decisions.

Reading order: Positioning, then How Brands Grow, then Crossing the Chasm if you are in technology or Obviously Awesome if you sell B2B.

Where people go wrong

The common mistake is equating marketing with promotion. A general manager sees the campaign, the ad and the trade show, and judges marketing by those. The decisions that matter more come earlier: which customers you are for, what you stand for in their minds, and what price that position supports. Get those wrong and the best campaign will not save the product.

The second mistake is believing your own customers are typical. Executives tend to hear from the loudest and most loyal accounts. Sharp's work and The Mom Test both push you toward the buyers you are not hearing from, and Sharp argues that is where growth comes from.