In order to serve its ultimate purpose, a marketing book must be timely, and feature takeaways that are easy to implement, says the New York Times best-selling author, consultant, and accomplished speaker.
“There are lots of nuances in marketing that continue to evolve, which keeps it interesting and fun for me,” notes Baer, who caught up with FenderBender at a recent collision repair industry conference in Chicago.
But, Baer notes, not every marketing book is a worthwhile read, especially considering business owners like those that operate body shops are typically quite busy, with free time in short supply. In his opinion, in order to be effective, a marketing book needs to provide clear guidance for how to implement changes in a business.
“A lot of marketing books actually fail on that point, frankly,” Baer says. “They’re like ‘Here’s a thing you should do … end of book.’ Just telling somebody you should do something doesn’t help them—you’ve got to give them the ‘how.’”
Below, Baer offers his suggestions for marketing books that are truly impactful.
Different, by Youngme Moon
SYNOPSIS: The main message of this book, written by the head of Harvard’s business school, is that, by fiercely trying to keep pace with competitors, businesses like body shops often forget the importance of making their brand unique. The book hammers home the need for businesses to differentiate themselves in their marketplace.
And, that message has resonated with Baer in recent years, as he has led his own business, Convince & Convert, a marketing advisory firm.
BAER’S TAKEAWAY (as told to FenderBender): The book Different illustrates that, if you just try and follow best practices and copy whoever’s the best in the market—or, who you think is best—it’ll only take you so far. Same is lame. Having the courage to do something different will set you free. You have to give customers a unique experience.
Get Scrappy, by Nick Westergaard
SYNOPSIS: Do more with less. That’s a mantra that all types of businesses—both big and small—have often been forced to adopt in recent years, as the economy has fluctuated. Westergaard, a noted brand strategist, has embraced the situation, however. And, in Get Scrappy, the author offers numerous tips aimed at allowing business leaders to create engaging social media content.
A key focus of the book revolves around how business leaders like body shop owners can inspire dialogue with their customer base.
BAER’S TAKEAWAY: Get Scrappy is a great primer on digital marketing. Westergaard devotes countless pages to demystifying digital marketing in an effort to help business leaders grasp it more completely. The book offers practical, easy-to-utilize tips for improving a business’ marketing campaigns, through means such as Facebook and Twitter promotion.
Procrastinate on Purpose, by Rory Vaden
SYNOPSIS: This book touches on marketing and more, and much of the text is devoted to helping readers work as efficiently as possible on a daily basis.
BAER’S TAKEAWAY: It’s a fantastic book about getting more done every day. One thing about marketing—and I’ve been in marketing for 30 years—is that it requires a lot more time now.
Even though we have more technology now, there’s so many places that you have to interact with your customers now, with all the different social channels, and all the digital channels. It’s a lot, so getting all that done can be a real challenge. Procrastinate on Purpose has a really good formula for how to spread your time out in an appropropriate way.”
Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath
SYNOPSIS: This marketing tome, which has become a New York Times best-seller, analyzes why some innovative ideas survive and some whither on the vine. The book provides quick-hitting analysis of success stories like those of successful charities.
Made to Stick also analyzes why some business leaders struggle to make their ideas memorable to those around them, and why those leaders sometimes struggle to effectively express their ideas.
BAER’S TAKEAWAY: I can’t speak highly enough of the writing of brothers Chip and Dan Heath in the book Made to Stick. Because their book provides a thorough guide to effective communication, with clear takeaways.
It’s the best book ever about storytelling in business.
What I look for as a reader is, ‘Here’s what you should do, and here’s some ways of how to do that,’ so I’ll have a recipe.
