Customer Reviews

Relationship Marketing: Successful Strategies For The Age Of The Customer

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This is a must read for anyone in technology related marketing. McKenna brings about the concept of relationship/industry "infrastructure" marketing. He clearly outlines the steps in taking techonogy products to market. It turns a little "salesy" near the end (i.e. this is how Regis McKenna, Inc. consults with its customers), but the gems you will find on nearly every page justify the book

This 1991 book focuses on technology marketing, but it is relevant to general marketing today. In some respects, McKenna was a marketing prophet, since he was an early proponent of experience-based marketing, interactivity, connectivity and creativity. He sees marketing as a means of building relationships and credibility through a four-part process:

1. Use word of mouth, primarily through face-to-face meetings.
2. Develop the infrastructure (rank influencers in your industry and cultivate relationships)
3. Form strategic relationships with the 10% who influence the other 90%..
4. Sell to the right customers.

Here are some of my other take-aways from Relationship Marketing:

* Shift from monologue to dialogue.
* Concentrate on substance before image.
* Be wary of secondary marketing research reports.
* In the information age, image advertising won't work.
* Know that the line between products and services is blurring
* Personality and image are always changing.
* Perpetual adaptation makes a product successful.
* Marketing is a process, not a set of tactics.
* Marketing is qualitative, not quantitative.
* Marketing is everyone's job.

McKenna also has a distinctive approach to positioning. Unlike Trout and Ries, he sees positioning as a blend of technology, price, applications, quality, service, distribution channels, target audience, specific customers, and alliances. In other words, positioning is who you are, not what you want people to believe you are. He also sees positioning as changing and dynamic.

When you look at the world of blogs and social media, this counsel makes more sense than ever. I also think McKenna was on the mark with his expanded understanding of positioning and focus on relationships as the focal point of marketing.

I'm very glad I read this book in the late 90s. It has helped me become a better marketer. Her are other books to consider:

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, 20th Anniversary Edition
The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage
Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets (Collins Business Essentials)
The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual

Clearly, Regis McKenna has given a tremendous amount of thought to marketing technological products. He has a deep familiarity with the customer-focused concepts that drive his marketing theory. His book, written in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, presents his views on how sweeping changes in technology transformed traditional product-based marketing. McKenna weaves concepts associated with technology - such as product cycles, customized goods and strategic relationships - into his marketing theory without any lapses in logic. He buttresses his presentation with his actual experiences launching such new products as Apple Macintosh computers and Lotus 1-2-3 software. While somewhat dated, many of the lessons in this clear, readable classic remain applicable. We recommend this as core reading for any professional in technology and software marketing.

How are relationships vital to new products, positioning, and ultimately customer loyalty? These are just a few of the issues that Regis McKenna, a highly respected marketing guru in the Silicon Valley, addresses in this classic marketing book.

In an environment where customer choice is increasing, company loyalty is waning, and the market is constantly shifting, Relationship Marketing, McKenna claims, can provide a company with an intangible competitive advantage. Though many of the examples in this book revolve around the high tech industry in Silicon Valley, most of the concepts can be applied to any industry. There is a good balance of theory, practical application, and insightful ideas.

This is a valuable book on marketing and plenty of real examples are provided. If you are interested in form of marketing that emphasizes the development and importance of strong relationships, I highly recommend this book. If you are involved in marketing in the computer industry, this book is a must.

I really liked this book. Whilst it was slightly out of date, some of the concepts were highly relevant for today. In the UK, relationship marketing hasn't taken off as well as it has in the States, we are slightly behind in applying these great concepts.

A UK or European reader would benefit from reading this book in conjunction with a UK-oriented publication, for example Residual Dream. www.residual-dream.com