Customer Reviews

Conquering Consumerspace: Marketing Strategies for a Branded World

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's a profusion of marketing strategy/branding books out there, but it's rare to find one that really makes me think about my business from the vantage point of the market I serve. Conquering Consumerspace starts with the premise that consumers form deep (and sometimes even bizarre!) relationships with products -- we truly are what we buy. If you can understand how this process works, the rest is pretty easy. I was amazed to learn about the extremes that loyal consumers will go to in order to "bond" with their favorite products -- tattooing a store's name on your forehead? Fascinating!
The author showed me in a very readable and entertaining way how to apply these ideas in both bricks and clicks situations. Solomon's expertise in consumer psychology gives him a perspective on marketing that few other business authors can bring to the publishing table. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to truly connect with their customers!

Long time marketing expert Phil Kotler provides the cover-quote for this book, writing "Solomon has the mind of a scientist and the writing flair of a journalist". Here's a book that lives up to its cover-hype. This book is an accessible, cutting edge exploration of the confusing, contradictory, and complex realities of today's marketplace.
Reading Solomon's book I often got the same sort of reaction that I get from reading essays from the N.Y.Times foreign affairs columnist, Thomas Friedman--both Solomon and Friedman can very nicely articulate what I feel or sense about what is going on, but didn't quite know how to express. If part of your work world involves trying to make sense of the marketplace (and communicate that sense to co-workers and other stakeholders), then you will find Solomon's book to be very worthwhile.

As a marketing professional, I read a lot of books about branding. This one is different. Rather than the typical collection of self-congratulatory "war stories," Solomon provides an insightful perspective about WHY consumers react to brand information the way they do. I found his propositions about ways to involve consumers in the marketing process to be unique and valuable. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to go beyond the surface and truly understand today's elusive customer!

Brands have a major role in determining what people buy. Consumers purchase goods based, in part, on an emotional reaction to brands. A brand can make people feel good, cater to their personalities or give them a sense of belonging to a group they would like to join. Brands can make people seem wealthier or more appealing. But branding has to be kept in perspective, and not everyone buys author Michael Solomon's viewpoint that consumers' allegiance to particular gym shoes or soft drinks helps define their roles in society. His book places branding in the middle of the commercial universe and spins off some interesting, but highly specialized, conversations about "aspirational" marketing, "retailtainment" and other developments. Citing his research and sources in sociology, advertising and media studies, Solomon offers solid material that we recommend as necessary background reading for branding professionals. However, readers from other fields need to be really intrigued by branding and marketing to work with the book's tossed salad of unrelated marketing factoids, its generalizations and its focus on branding as a consumer driver, to the near exclusion of other factors. If the melee of brand competition intrigues you, read on.

Michael Solomon's Conquering Consumerspace is a tremendous resource for an entrepreneurial, marketing novice like me. It conveys everything I need to know about branding and navigating the waters in today's competitive marketplace. The insights and practical ideas provided will prove invaluable for my company's success.

This book is the finest example I have yet seen in bringing the essences and nuances of consumer marketing strategies to realistic ends. I found I could excerpt numerous ideas and apply them immediately to develop current business solutions and discard old, time-worn strategies. Much thanks to Mr. Solomon.

This book - "Conquering Consumerspace" - is another in a recent and seemingly unending stream of tomes that tries to convince us how the consumer is in complete control of the purchasing process and needs to be engaged in a collaborative model. Message received. However, the saving grace for this title is that its author, Michael Solomon, is the director of Mind/Share Inc., a consulting firm specializing in online consumer research. The quantified insights he offers, which have been generated from his company, are genuinely interesting and make this work a standout from the blasé books of others.

If you want to read a book chock full of "company X did Y with a great result" with no followup on the long-term viability of what company X did, this is the book for you. Frankly, some three years after publication, I find it dated (unlike, say Blink, or Paradox of Choice). The book seems writtne around the 10th grade level. Perhaps of help to the pure consumer insight neophyte, but if you have studied CB at all, skip this title.

While much of the literature I have read concerning trends in the market-place seems to alienate readers as simply not trendy enough to "get it," Solomon is a complete success in ensuring his readers are "along for the ride." Solomon takes readers on a journey through witty real-life scenarios and enlightening market-world fact. "Conquering Consumerspace" is an enjoyable AND informative read (a rare combination); it's a perfect fit for audiences ranging from students to academicians, and from shop-til-you-droppers to big business CEOs.
A great read.

3/10/2004

Center For Allergy and Asthma - As an eighteen office single speciality group throughout the Greater N.Y. area servicing 35,000 patients each month, we find ourselves in a highly competitive market! Our group has been very successful in treating patients on a day to day basis but we felt the need to increase the educational component of our medical regimen. After reading "Conquering Consumerspace" while on vacation, I knew that we could aid our patients by utilizing a new approach to their care. Dr. Mike Solomon's book has helped us understand our patients' needs by customizing each patients' medications, schedule, socioeconomic variables and preferred doctor in each office. We have become partners in their care rather than just providers. I can not recommend "Conquering Consumerspace" enough, its principles have "branded" our medical organization as the asthma centers of the Greater N.Y. area.