Relationship Marketing: Successful Strategies For The Age Of The Customer (Paperback)

by Regis Mckenna (Author) "The 1990s will belong to the customer..." (more)
Key Phrases: bigness mentality, commodity mentality, corporate positioning, Silicon Valley, United States, Wall Street (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this spirited recap of the 1980s, marketing consultant McKenna ( The Regis Touch ) elaborates on a revolution in the computer-age marketplace that has all but laid low corporations whose isolated managements used massive advertising campaigns to dictate what the customer would buy. Today, he writes, the focus is on direct consumer contact and personal relations with the business "infrastructure"--media, suppliers, analysts, etc.--whose feedback will influence product development and marketing strategy. McKenna traces the rise and occasional fall of many start-up companies in the turbulent, proliferating computer and software industry, including the competition between Apple Inc. and IBM, a battle recently ended when the two signed agreements to work together on research, development and marketing.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The bestselling author of The Regis Touch expands on his previous work to focus on building crucial relationships that help a company dominate--and own--the market in this age of the customer. Includes stories, insights, and advice to give readers an edge in today's fiercely competitive climate.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 20, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201622408
• ISBN-13: 978-0201622409
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #605,508 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book takes "positioning" to a new level, February 3, 1997

By A Customer

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

5.0 out of 5 stars A Prophetic Marketing Book, February 12, 2009

By	Dan Wallace (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful insight into marketing tech goods, December 18, 2006

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.