Customer Reviews

First, Best, or Different: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing

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Reading this book becomes addictive. Like small chocolates or fresh, hand-picked berries, there is something satisfying in every bite. Each one of the 106 concise, funny, insightful chapters begins with a relevant quote from some famous poet, philosopher, comedian or author, follows with a meaty discussion of the do's and don'ts of the subject, and ends with a list of action items or next steps. There's no fluff in this book whatsoever; it is straight to the point, and filled with the kind of guidance only a seasoned executive could have acquired. I highly recommend it.

At the time of this writing, John Bradley Jackson is the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University in Fullerton (CSUF). I have had the pleasure of working with him and his students at the center; a wonderful experience.

Jackson writes in a conversational style that is easy to read and to understand. His grasp of the need for focused marketing along with his up to date knowledge of how technology has changed our ability to market, will be invaluable to both new and experienced marketers. The layout of the book is also simple, comprising some 106 short chapters, some but one page, making it easy to read in "spurts" if you must and also making it easy to get back to information you want to review.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to appreciate this book is Jackson's insistence on marketing with integrity and focusing on the customers. As a long time sales and marketing manager for high technology companies, I can speak firsthand about the need to always have the customer's best interests at heart and to market/sell with integrity. The short term gains by over selling, or misrepresenting products will be greatly outweighed in damage to your personal credibility, company brand and product reputation. Throughout the book, Jackson makes the call for aggressive niche marketing with the utmost attention to integrity.

The reader will pick up many valuable, time saving "tips" for their marketing projects including, but not limited to, learning: what viral marketing methods are most effective; what direct mail might still be able to accomplish in lead generation; concepts on website optimization; how to retaining top sales talent; what to do about choosing a PR firm; some new ideas on utilizing social media; and even learn about some ways to use "outdoor" advertising.
First, Best or Different is well worth reading, not only for the target audience of the entrepreneur, but for established marketing personnel as well.

I had great success using this book for teaching university level marketing. The use of real world examples connects with the students. Student feedback was very positive. The book is fun to read.
Prof. Nancy Merlino
Food Marketing and Agribusiness Department, Program Director
Western Collegiate Food Marketing Competition, Chair
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

John flushes out the cobwebs from stodgey, corporate business paradigms (like the "4 P's of Marketing") by using 21st century strategies that entreprenuers can use, particularly the "4 C's of marketing."

First, Best, or Different has a simple message for the reader: to be competitive over the long run you need to do different things, or you need to do things differently. The author suggests that the trick is not to follow the herd or obsess about the competition; instead he challenges us to focus on personalizing your offering to better fit the customer's needs. This specialization will be valued by the customer and you will be rewarded accordingly. Very cool book!

Sound a little extreme? Well, maybe so, but this book did changed my whole approach when it comes to the way I sell and market. I am a 30 year sales guy who started his own business 10 years ago. I thought I knew everything there was to know about sales and marketing. Boy was I wrong. I read First, Best or Different at the suggestion of a good friend, it is chocked full of great ideas and sage advice. I am now entering new markets that I thought were completely untouchable. John Bradley Jackson is a marketing Guru!

I liked this book. It is very concise and informative and it delivers good tips for a wanna be or already an entrepreneur. The Kindle version doesn't include The Contents page, a thing that I have also encountered in other Kindle version books and find seriously strange and somewhat annoying. But it's a small nuisance, of course. The book itself is a book I am gonna come back to multiple times in the future. It covers so many topics. It really might serve as good reference for different situations and issues that arise while founding and managing a business.

"First, Best, or Different touched base on many important parts on how to run a successful business. Each chapter provides expert advice and insights on topics such as: Brand Awareness, Organic vs. Traditional PR, Online Marketing, etc. What I enjoyed most about this book is after each chapter the author does a great job of providing a vivid example of the segment he just explained. The author, John Bradley Jackson, effectively captured the true essence of entrepreneurship, while keeping a steady pace of the book at an easy read. "

used as course material in a marketing course, this book has continued my education with the ever changing market today, as i constantly find new ways to apply the learnings into my job as a marketing coordinator.
if you are looking into understanding the complex minds of today's information savvy customers, this book is definitely worth the time to read.
its written in a very direct and easy to read format that most should be able just pick up, and read any specific part that applies to whatever the occasion calls for.

First,Best, or Different is a great read and resource for business professionals for all size companies. Bite Size, easy to digest chapters and thoughts make this Book an easy to use Tool. This book is a tremendous value-add to the portfolios of not only first-time entrepenuers but those sales and marketing professionals who want to achieve differentation for their products as entreprenuers within established companies.

Read, Enjoy, and Apply the real world examples.


Dennis Lyftogt, Sales, Consulting, & Marketing Veteran