Product Management Books

Marketing Management (12th Edition) (Marketing Management)

Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Tons of theoretical information 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Although this is the primary used textbook for MBA students in marketing classes, it lacks one major substance- practical implications. Kotler and Keller are absolutely awesome in introducing almost all theories applied to marketing (except they lack to focus on international marketing), but this text is not "applied" marketing. Therefore my only problem with this about 700-page textbook is it's missing crucial steps required to achieve mentioned goals.

Marketing Management 12e 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This has always been a great book, and as good wine has only improved through the years. It is at the same time a great textbook for Marketing Management courses as well as a useful reference for practitioner.

Excellent Price 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this text book because of price; the university's custom book was over $150. I am so glad that I was able to locate this book. Thank you so much. The book was delivered in a timely manner.

Good 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nice but the main weakness stands on the delivery on time especially for outside Europe

this book sucks 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

this book has been published and republished with the only chnages being the chapters reversed and new examples. the index in the back however has not been updated so it references incorrect pages. several acronyms used are not explained. terrible book.

Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs

Craig Stull, Phil Myers, David Meerman Scott

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

3 stars for the content, 5 stars for the examples; 3.5 stars altogether 3 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Remove the examples from the book, and you have for the most part a collection of already known high level concepts without much depth. Granted, marketing does not have to be complicated and it should not be, but creating innovative products requires more than concepts. For example, the first step in the authors' Tuned-in "process" is "Find unresolved problems". OK, good point, but I knew that and you probably did know that too! How do I do it? The authors's advice: "ask the customers"! But I knew that too. Tell me more. "Ask your non-customers". Wow,I would never have thought of that. Tell me more. "Go to trade shows" say the authors. I knew that too. Tell me more. "Ask open questions", "Keep an open mind", etc. say the authors. At the end of this chapter and of most chapters, I fell frustrated of not learning approaches or tips I have not heard about before and of not learning more how to do it.

At the end of Chapter 4, I was going to drop the book, but the examples kept me going. There are at least 50 examples of Tuned-in companies from Disneyland to the Maganavox remote control that locates itself to the ubiquitous iPod. These examples are interesting by themselves. They are spread through the book to illustrate each step and to validate the entire tuned-in "process".

I keep putting process in between quotes because what the authors present is not really a process. It is more a framework. In addition, it seems that not one of the examples was actually the result of applying the authors' framework under their guidance. So the whole edifice is an after-the-fact analysis of successful innovations that serves to justify the author's framework. I would have liked to see at least one example of a product that the authors actually helped develop.

The book itself is an example of the framework the authors propose, and in particular of "Step 5: Articulate Powerful Ideas". This chapter develops the idea of establishing "memorable concepts that speak to the problems the customers have". The authors here eat their own dog food, and it is clear that they spent time thinking about how they should name that book and what memorable concepts they should articulate it in. "Tuned-in" is a sgood and simple concept that is repeated over and over throughout the book so that it sticks in your mind. There is an other one that is used over and over; it is "resonators" to designate successful products that resonate with customers.

In summary, the value of this book is probably in this Chapter 5. At least it is for me. We typically underestimate that the least number of words a concept can be described in, the more powerful it is. "Tuned in" is a useful concept to keep in mind to designate that idea that we need to be "tuned in" to the market and the customer. But you will need many other books and workshops to know how to do it. But, that's what the authors' core business is: delivering seminars! No doubt that they will have demand.

Editorial Review:

If you market a product, service, or idea in any business, industry or organization, you must read Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs, a guide to understanding and meeting the needs of consumers, whether or not they make those needs clear. An easy-to-follow six-step process developed over the past 15 years can help you address unsolved problems, recognize buyer personas, quantify impact and create breakthrough experiences. Stop wasting time by guessing what your market needs and start understanding consumer desire.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

Seth Godin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 177 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

You're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.

What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last?

Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed -Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few-aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally important 'P' that has to be added to the list. It's Purple Cow.

Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though...now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable. Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period.

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It's a manifesto for marketers who want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first place.

Framework for Marketing Management (3rd Edition)

Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

New Marketing Concepts from Classical Texts 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Kotler, a symbolic guru of marketing, has brought a new offering of "Framework for Marketing Management" since years' serial publication of classic texts in marketing management.
Some new issuse has been included in this edition in depth.

Saved me when I needed it FAST! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I needed 27 copies for a class that was started in a week ... Amazon saved me!!!

Editorial Review:

For the MBA Marketing Management course and/or undergraduate capstone marketing strategy course.

Framework for Marketing Management provides authoritative marketing theory in a concise format to provide flexibility where outside cases, simulations, and projects are brought in.

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, 20th Anniversary Edition

Al Ries, Jack Trout

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 75 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A must-read 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is a must-read for anyone trying to understand strategy, marketing and also how to write compelling books. It is dense, intelligent and very well written. The 20th anniversary edition has the bonus fact that the authors comment and evaluate their own thesis made 20 years ago. Very few books and thesis would survive this test as this one did.

Editorial Review:

“Ries and Trout taught me everything I know about branding, marketing, and product management. When I had the idea of creating a very large thematic community on the Web, I first thought of Positioning....”—David Bohnett, Chairman and Founder of GeoCities

A handsome edition of the original 1981 text, this 20th Anniversary Edition makes available to business and marketing professionals—including tens of thousands of Ries and Trout groupies, worldwide—the work that forever changed the way marketing strategy is done. This new edition features commentary from the authors that offers fresh insight into why “positioning” a product in a prospective customer’s mind is still the most important strategy in business, and includes numerous examples of campaigns that followed, or didn’t follow, Ries and Trout’s thinking.

The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization

Thomas Kelley, Jonathan Littman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The author of the bestselling The Art of Innovation reveals the strategies IDEO, the world-famous design firm, uses to foster innovative thinking throughout an organization and overcome the naysayers who stifle creativity.

The role of the devil's advocate is nearly universal in business today. It allows individuals to step outside themselves and raise questions and concerns that effectively kill new projects and ideas, while claiming no personal responsibility. Nothing is more potent in stifling innovation.

Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience managing IDEO, Kelley identifies ten roles people can play in an organization to foster innovation and new ideas while offering an effective counter to naysayers. Among these approaches are the Anthropologist—the person who goes into the field to see how customers use and respond to products, to come up with new innovations; the Cross-pollinator who mixes and matches ideas, people, and technology to create new ideas that can drive growth; and the Hurdler, who instantly looks for ways to overcome the limits and challenges to any situation.

Filled with engaging stories of how companies like Kraft, Procter and Gamble, Cargill and Samsung have incorporated IDEO's thinking to transform the customer experience, THE TEN FACES OF INNOVATION is an extraordinary guide to nurturing and sustaining a culture of continuous innovation and renewal.

The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage

B. Joseph Pine, James H. Gilmore

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sometime during the last 30 years, the service economy emerged as the dominant engine of economic activity. At first, critics who were uncomfortable with the intangible nature of services bemoaned the decline of the goods-based economy, which, thanks to many factors, had increasingly become commoditized. Successful companies, such as Nordstrom, Starbucks, Saturn, and IBM, discovered that the best way to differentiate one product from another--clothes, food, cars, computers--was to add service.

But, according to Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, the bar of economic offerings is being raised again. In The Experience Economy, the authors argue that the service economy is about to be superseded with something that critics will find even more ephemeral (and controversial) than services ever were: experiences. In part because of technology and the increasing expectations of consumers, services today are starting to look like commodities. The authors write that "Those businesses that relegate themselves to the diminishing world of goods and services will be rendered irrelevant. To avoid this fate, you must learn to stage a rich, compelling experience."

Many will find the idea of staging experiences as a requirement for business survival far-fetched. However, the authors make a compelling case, and consider successful companies that are already packaging their offerings as experiences, from Disney to AOL. Far-reaching and thought-provoking, The Experience Economy is for marketing professionals and anyone looking to gain a fresh perspective on what business landscape might look like in the years to come. Recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

Al Ries, Laura Ries

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Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, longtime marketing strategist Al Ries and his daughter/business partner Laura Ries offer solid arguments championing the latter over the former for modern-day brand building. Such a stance is hardly new for these two, who have jointly, individually, and with others written eight previous books on related topics since Al penned The Positioning Era Cometh for Advertising Age some three decades ago. What's fresh this time is the dissection of contemporary corporate hits--like Starbucks, Botox, eBay, and even Harry Potter--that have eschewed traditional advertising and nevertheless soared to the top through the savvy use of public relations. The authors spend the first part of the book discussing how advertising lost credibility among consumers as it became more of a creative art than a sales tool, and the second part showing how PR subsequently supplanted it in effectiveness. Using the above examples and others, they explain how such practices can work in various situations (building a new brand, rebuilding an old one, dealing with line extensions, etc.), as well as ways advertising can still be usefully employed (primarily to maintain a brand and "keep it on course"). The result is both provocative and practical. --Howard Rothman

The Product Managers Handbook, 3E

Linda Gorchels

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Provides insight into the roles & responsibilities of the product manager 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This book gives a good introduction into the roles and responsibilities of a product manager. It makes no assumptions of any prior knowledge or experiences. For each chapter, it provides worksheets or process flow charts. In addition, case studies of actual events are presented. At the end of each chapter, it provides a set of checklist. Therefore I will recommend this to any reader interested to know more or making a career change.

Overall, this book provides an excellent overview of the on-goings within business processes. Below is a brief summary.

This book is divided into 4 parts. Part I gives an introduction into product management. Part II highlights the process that the product managers (PMs) can use in their annual planning activities. It provides a format or guidelines for the annual product marketing plan. Part III highlights the analytical skills of PMs, which is to evaluate existing product line and to determine & implement new product strategies. Part IV elaborates on the marketing skills necessary for a successful product line. Special attention is devoted to pricing and marketing communication decisions and activities.

Briefly, product management is about the planning, forecasting and marketing of products and services. There is a need for PMs to be cross-functional leaders. The overall responsibility of the PM is to integrate the various segments of a business into a strategically focused whole, maximizing the value of a product by coordinating the production of an offering with an understanding of the market needs and requirements. PMs manage not only products, but projects and processes as well. The PM's job is to oversee all aspects of a product/service line to create and deliver superior customer satisfaction while simultaneously providing long term value for the company.

In terms of time allocation, the PM typically spends 40-55% on day-to-day activities, 20-30% on short term activities and 15-25% on long term or strategic activities. Therefore excellent time management is crucial. Examples of day-to-day activities are maintenance of product fact books, motivation of the sales force and distributors, collection of marketing information including competitive benchmarks, trends and opportunities and customer expectations, acting as liaison between the sales, manufacturing and R&D, etc teams. Examples of short-term activities are controlling budget and achieving sales goals, participation in annual marketing plan and forecast developments, working with advertising departments or agencies to implement promotional strategies, coordinating tradeshows and conventions, participation in new product-development teams and predicting and managing competitors' actions, modification of product and/or reduction of costs to increase value, recommendation of line extensions, participation in product elimination decisions, etc. Examples of long term strategic activities are creation of long term competitive strategy, identification of new product opportunities, recommendation of product changes, enhancements and introductions, etc.

PMs need a variety of knowledge including product/industry knowledge, business knowledge and interpersonal/management knowledge. In the beginning, PMs typically spend most of the time gathering and organizing information on products, customers and their competition. Product knowledge is paramount. As they gain experience, the focus shifts to more comprehensive business knowledge, including finance, marketing and strategic planning. At the same time, they develop team building, negotiation, communication and leadership abilities. For PM to be effective, they need to build bridges throughout the company and be cross-functional leaders. For product management or marketing management, the emphasis is on being market-driven and not product-driven.

In terms of new product development, the role of the PM will be to represent the voice of the customer, balancing the corporate ROI (rate of investment), customer satisfaction and the manufacturing cost. Whereas for strategic interactions, the PM must work continuously with operations to improve and enhance production line. PMs are frequently involved with operations on cost-reduction projects.

Editorial Review:

Revised and updated techniques to achieve top performance in product management

The Product Manager's Handbook takes the mystery out of this field by detailing how to integrate aspects from production and coordination to value maximization into a cohesive whole, while examining key international issues, new technologies, and the financial side of product management.

Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch, Third Edition

Robert G. Cooper

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

For over a decade, Winning at New Products has served as the bible for product developers everywhere. In this fully updated and expanded edition, Robert Cooper demonstrates with compelling evidence why consistent product development is so vital to corporate growth and how to maximize your chances of success. By any measure, most product concepts never make it to market, and of those that do, most fail. Winning at New Products cites the most recent research and showcases innovative practices at such industry leaders as 3M, Exxon Chemical, and Guinness to present a field-tested game plan for achieving product leadership. Cooper outlines specific strategies for assessing risk, marshalling the appropriate resources, engaging customers in the pre-development discovery phase, evaluating your project portfolio, ensuring true cross-functional collaboration, and, most importantly, applying a rigorous process for making sound business decisions at every step-from idea generation to launch.