There are numerous ways to get all the information and help that you need in this department, from countless blogs, podcasts, webinars, and even workshops. But books still are a major source of information, inspiration, and insight when it comes to learning how to follow the first steps in building up a successful business or just learning more about marketing concepts.
Table of Contents
Here is my list of top marketing books you should be reading and a bonus recommendation at the end.
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
If you work for a startup in any sense or have entrepreneurial visions of grandeur, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries will make an excellent addition to your bookshelf. Eric Ries, a seasoned entrepreneur and co-founder of IMVU (a 3D avatar-based chat room), has crafted an excellent introduction to startup best practices. From inception to maturity, any startup, whether a seedling or a The Lean Startup offshoot from a well-established business sequoia, can gain valuable information on how to use lean startup methodologies to help eliminate wasteful activities and instead focus on the projects and techniques to help break through the bonds of linear growth and achieve the exponential. Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business.
How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know by Byron Sharp
Highly recommend this book to Advanced Marketers and Business Owners. Real assertions based on value driven non biased data. Byron Sharp takes on some of the real heavy hitters from HBS and other leading business schools and he does it with outstanding proprietary research and rich third-party data. The book now has me wondering what other leading thought leaders I’ve been impressed by whose work is also suspect. This book provides evidence-based answers to the key questions asked by marketers every day. Tackling issues such as how brands grow, how advertising works, what price promotions do, how consumers behave, and how loyalty programs affect loyalty. How Brands Grow presents decades of research in a style that is written for marketing professionals to grow their brands.
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne
A “Blue Ocean” represents an uncontested market, a product or service that only one company is selling. The authors show that historically this has been the most profitable situation to be in, as opposed to a market with lots of competitors, or a “Red Ocean.” This book was written to help people find new markets, analyze if the new market could be profitable, and then develops strategies for fully exploiting the new market. The global phenomenon that has sold over 4 million copies, is published in a record-breaking 49 languages and is a bestseller across five continents now updated and expanded with new content. Named by Fast Company as one of the most influential leadership books in its Leadership Hall of Fame.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point, takes the reader through a myriad of colorful stories to help the reader understand how communication, whether verbal or non-verbal are key contributors to effecting a change. Gladwell compares the way “changes occur” to an epidemic or virus that is spread throughout an area. He discusses how these changes start with only a few people at the helm of the change.
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas. Btw, Malcolm Gladwell has other inspiring books like Blink, highly recommended.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel
Perfect reading for entrepreneur or leader. The key advice it provides are worth reading the book. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.
Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
What is truly inspiring in this book are the abundant stories of those who read his first book, Crush It! and tales of their successes in applying the same principles taught in this book. Even if you read Crush It!, this book is a must read as platforms have evolved and strategies have changed. Four-time New York Times bestselling author Gary Vaynerchuk offers new lessons and inspiration drawn from the experiences of dozens of influencers and entrepreneurs who rejected the predictable corporate path in favor of pursuing their dreams by building thriving businesses and extraordinary personal brands.
In his 2009 international bestseller Crush It, Gary insisted that a vibrant personal brand was crucial to entrepreneurial success, In Crushing It!, Gary explains why that’s even more true today, offering his unique perspective on what has changed and what principles remain timeless. He also shares stories from other entrepreneurs who have grown wealthier—and not just financially—than they ever imagined possible by following Crush It principles. The secret to their success (and Gary’s) has everything to do with their understanding of the social media platforms, and their willingness to do whatever it took to make these tools work to their utmost potential. That’s what Crushing It! teaches readers to do.
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom
So many lessons to learn so many strategies to make so many relatable marketing experiences and lastly you can be a great marketer. How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today’s message-cluttered world? In Buyology, Martin Lindstrom presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what captures our interest and drives us to buy. Straight to the point, and very easy to read.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant
If you’re going through the pains of inventing, setting up a small business and you’re not sure at what stage you’re at and your head is full of busy thoughts, this is the book. With Give and Take, Adam Grant not only introduced a landmark new paradigm for success but also established himself as one of his generation’s most compelling and provocative thought leaders. In Originals he again addresses the challenge of improving the world, but now from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all? If you are looking to understand the way change is made; from the work place to the world, this is the book for you
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries, Jack Trout, Philip Kotler
Positioning is not only to find a keyword for the product, to compose a slogan, but also to occupy a unique position in the mind of the prospective customer. This book uses several corporate cases, illustrating a company name at the beginning, a simple slogan, may be able to lay the foundation for the success of the product and the company. In short, positioning is not simply advertised, and the depth of the doorway is difficult to distinguish and is crucial. The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a “position” in a prospective customer’s mind that reflects a company’s strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
If you were studying advertising -same as me- Ogilvy’s admirable legacy follows you at each learning path. He had insight in spades, practical experience, common sense, a passion for research as well as creativity, and above all, a relentless focus on selling. A candid and indispensable primer on all aspects of advertising from the man Time has called “the most sought-after wizard in the business.” If you are responsible for advertising or promoting a company, a product or a cause, this is a superlative book to read. David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, was one of the most successful advertisers of the 20th century.
This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin
It’s hard to write about marketing consistently (as Godin does), especially as it is always changing and slippery enough to define in general terms as is. Initially, I felt that this book was so similar to all of Godin’s other books. By the end however, he had me, and I can honestly say I enjoyed this book. Seth Godin brings important thoughts about marketing avoiding those clichés that we’re used to. Definitely worth a read! A game-changing approach to marketing, sales, and advertising. For the first time, Seth Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one compact, accessible, timeless package. This is Marketing shows you how to do work you’re proud of, whether you’re a tech startup founder, a small business owner, or part of a large corporation.
Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing by Harry Beckwith
Powerful, practical advice on marketing and selling services and intangibles. Overall, one of the best books I’ve read on sales and marketing. The short lessons are easy to read, yet thought-provoking and entertaining. This is a succinct and often entertaining look at the unique characteristics of services and their prospects, and how any service, from a home-based consultancy to a multinational brokerage, can turn more prospects into clients and keep them. This book covers service marketing from start to finish. Selling the Invisible is a profound read for anyone venturing into service marketing. The book packs a punch with its concise, to-the-point guidance that’s easy to digest. I found it particularly handy as I started my freelance services.
Made to Stick: Why some ideas take hold and others come unstuck by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Learn how to make ideas catchy so people remember and share them. Super important for marketing! Great examples to make the six key qualities of an idea that stick, stickier. Also very suitable for re-reading over and over. The rules the authors explain in this book might seem the things you would feel that you already know. But, these are the things you could easily ignore. The book is a great reference to keep you on succeeding the efficient deliverability of your ideas.
No B.S. series by Dan S. Kennedy
No B.S. series includes 18 books so far, from social marketing to direct marketing from sales to brand-building and different fields of marketing. Each books have many step by step, easy to execute changes that I can make to be more successful at promoting my business. Now I have a much better understanding on how, when and why some Simple tweaks can help me to be far more successful with campaigns, launches, promotions and more.
The Sales Development Playbook: Build Repeatable Pipeline and Accelerate Growth with Inside Sales by Trish Bertuzzi
This book encapsulates author Trish Bertuzzi’s three decades of practical, hands-on experience. It presents six elements for building new pipeline and accelerating revenue growth with inside sales. Trish suggests that companies who are looking to grow exponentially should align sales development with the specific market and buyer’s journey. This books also addresses how technology is changing sales, giving actionable advice on how to lead sales development today.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
The book is structured around six key principles of influence, each backed by research and compelling examples. Cialdini’s writing style is engaging and accessible, making complex psychological concepts easy to understand. I particularly appreciated the real-world applications and the ethical considerations he emphasizes, ensuring that persuasion is used responsibly. In this highly acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini—the seminal expert in the field of influence and persuasion—explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these principles ethically in business and everyday situations.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
The book was eye-opening, in terms of exploring what drives people and how to manipulate that drive to do better work. The writing style is smooth, there weren’t too many studies bombarding me in every chapter, but just enough to prove the point. I took away many great things from this book. In this provocative and persuasive new book, Pink asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction at work, at school, and at home is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
This book is full of well thought out concepts that would work for any industry but especially those in entertainment. The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. It’s more than that, though. It may be the best book you’ll ever read about how leaders and organizations can make it possible for people to use their whole creative brain power.
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
A must-read for any business leader or manager. The book has a few dings against it – mostly simply that it is dated. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (40th Anniversary Edition). Written in a fast-paced thriller style, The Goal, a gripping novel, is transforming management thinking throughout the world. It is a book to recommend to your friends in industry – even to your bosses – but not to your competitors. Alex Rogo is a harried plant manager working ever more desperately to try improve performance.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Insanely powerful by its own nature of timelessness but also its humility with which it comes up with factual observation, and not fancy management recommendations (DOs and DONTs) In reading the reviews of this book you will likely think that either this book is a piece of trash, or a road map to being the greatest company on earth. However, this book is neither. What Jim Collins and his staff of researchers did was to analyze 1,435 companies that had appeared in the Fortune 500 to find 11 companies with a specific set of characteristics. A couple of the most key characteristics were that these companies had to have been good performers for a number of years and then gone through a transition phase where they achieved well above industry average in performance sustained for at least 15 years.
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
I think this book should be read by anyone involved in the website development. Is is easy to read, very practical, full of suggestions and colorful illustrations. I particularly liked a comparison of website sections to street signs, and the idea that there is always “just one more thing”. I have to admit it, this book is both informative and entertaining. Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.
In addition to this list, if you are looking to learn the basics and easy-to-read concept books I suggest having a look at Marketing for Dummies and all their marketing series.