Customer Reviews

Building Brandwidth: Closing the Sale Online

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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Brandwith is a cute name for Internet marketing, and the author's lay out the case for pushing sales pretty well. But speaking from a small business/entrepreneurial viewpoint, I found not very much practical information that I could put to good use. If you want a better alternative, try "The Anatomy of Buzz" by Emanuel Rosen. Some very practical stuff that the upstart e-marketer can really use.

Let me try to save you a few bucks.

The authors believe that "brandwidth" (cool buzzword) means being able to sell on-line, and should include using the unique properties of the web to target and customize offers and relationships in a more intelligent way. OK, I get it, and ....? Not sure I should believe the authors, one of who is best known as the guy who convinced the Coca-Cola Company to scrap the world's greatest beverage for New Coke.

The book attempts to take you in with the obvious observation that online brands will not be built successfully via bombastic Super Bowl advertising. OK, I get it, and ....?

From my perch, online or offline, great brands are built by understanding competition and competitive dynamics, establishing a clear, differentiable product or service offering, and focusing marketing spending on the target customers with the best probable return on investment.

The fundamentals of marketing have not changed in years. If you want to read actionable books on strategic marketing, pick up anything by David Aaker or Phil Kotler.

When writing this book the authors should have followed their own advice, "If you don't build benefits and customer value into your brandwidth, your days are numbered." (pg 12) and "Every detail is either adding value or subtracting it..." (pg 40). If they had I would have loved this book. Instead the authors trumpet old ideas (e.g. Be customer focused not product focused) and don't add their own take on what that means. They don't even offer much in the way of supporting evidence.

Throughout the book I was asking myself, "How? You're the marketing gurus, tell me how your customers did it." They talk about viral marketing, how did the successful companies do it? What are the pitfalls? They talk about the importance of fostering a conversation with your customers. Again, no examples. No "how". The authors make grand statements, but never back them up with evidence of their truth nor examples of how the sucessful used the idea for success.

If you want to find out about being market driven read "The Market Driven Organization" by George S. Day., "Inside the Tornado" or "Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey A. Moore.

But save yourself some money and time, don't bother with this book.

I'm glad I listened to the three-hour abridged tape set while driving in the car, rather then spend even more time focused on reading the book.

There's not much new material here, but the main point of Brandwidth: Closing the Sale Online is earthshaking! When counting online success, only dollars count--not hits, visits, looky-lous--just sales revenue.

For that point alone and all the supporting information, listening to this abridgement was worth my time.

I loved Zyman's earlier book, so I expected more of the same. But not until page 82 did I encounter a single fresh idea or interesting example. This reads like the outline for a book that was slapped together. It's not that the advice is wrong. It's good advice, but there is no depth and no originality to it, and very little worthwhile content.

Many dot-coms have failed and there have been periods where the fallout has been great. Enter the author, Sergio Zyman. Sergio Zyman introduces the concept of building "brandwidth." Building Brandwidth is defined as a company creating a structure of brand meaning and power through constantly adding value to the relationship the companies' brand and business has with each of its customers. This relationship builds gradually, according to the author, with each contact or usage. The author sees this practice as not being just for dot-coms, but can be applied to all businesses.

In order to build brandwidth, one must learn:
· The three phases of e-marketing from the beginning to now, with an interesting look at the future.
· The need to differentiate between getting hits on a site and generating sales, and by utilizing "building brandwidth." By specifically adhering to the principles of presence, relevance, differentiation, credibility, and imagery, a company can close the gap between hits and sales.
· Learn the secret to speed in e-Marketing and learn how to go beyond just being the first.
· The "Return of the Merchant" and the personalized "merchanting" all customers used to receive as a matter of course. Learn to sell what customers want to buy. Focus on selling customers more, and business should multiply.

Let me try to save you a few bucks.

The authors believe that "brandwidth" (cool buzzword) means being able to sell on-line, and should include using the unique properties of the web to target and customize offers and relationships in a more intelligent way. OK, I get it, and ....? Not sure I should believe the authors, one of who is best known as the guy who convinced the Coca-Cola Company to scrap the world's greatest beverage for New Coke.

The book attempts to take you in with the obvious observation that online brands will not be built successfully via bombastic Super Bowl advertising. OK, I get it, and ....?

From my perch, online or offline, great brands are built by understanding competition and competitive dynamics, establishing a clear, differentiable product or service offering, and focusing marketing spending on the target customers with the best probable return on investment.

The fundamentals of marketing have not changed in years. If you want to read actionable books on strategic marketing, pick up anything by David Aaker or Phil Kotler.

Reads like a sequel to a blockbuster movie. Does not quite live up to expectations.