• How to Start and Grow a Think Tank
  • Prologue
  • Planning
  • Legal Documents
  • Staff
  • Board
  • Sample Board Job Descriptions
  • Infrastructure
  • Fundraising
  • Events
  • Networking and Outreach
  • PR and Marketing
    • Field Guide for Effective Communication
    • The 90:10 Rule: Why Marketing Matters & Some Great Books to Help your Organization Marketing Effectively
    • Communicating Success: The Value of a Strategic Communications Plan
    • The Personal Touch
    • Must-Read Books of the Free-Market Movement
    • Branding & Messaging Essentials for Think Tanks
  • General Management
  • Resources
• Grassroots Leadership Guide to K-12 Education Reform
• Taking Donors Seriously
• Fundraising Fundamentals

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The 90:10 Rule: Why Marketing Matters & Some Great Books to Help your Organization Marketing Effectively

Jane Markell, JEM Marketing Associates

If 90 percent of what people call "marketing" is common sense, then why on earth do we need to study it, write books about it, and spend countless dollars supporting it?  

The corollary to this is simple:  the remaining 10 percent is the art and discipline of identifying and connecting with the right customers or audiences and offering them something they want and you have to give.

This 10 percent is where the science of branding, positioning, messaging, and strategic planning comes into play.  No matter what your business sells, you must identify and explain:

• who you are
• what you do
• why they should care 

 

If you don't answer these three questions effectively, you will lose customers to the businesses that do a better job of articulating their message.

Based on my own 20-plus years of working with clients from a wide range of businesses, both for-profit and non-profit, I've found that while organizations are as individual as the people who run them, the basic marketing and communications disciplines are essentially the same.

The key is learning the concepts and then applying them rigorously and consistently.  And there's no better place to start than with the following - my top five books for improving your marketing program.

1. Marketing Insights from A to Z:  80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to Know
By Philip Kotler; Wiley Publishers; 2003; 206 pages.

Why it's worth your time:  Kotler is the original textbook guru on marketing.  His comprehensive texts on marketing management have been the gold standard for most marketing 101 classes in undergraduate business and graduate MBA programs.  If you want the whole semester, get his "Marketing Management" textbook.  Otherwise, I suggest this short form as it defines all the buzzwords and makes it easier to prioritize among the many marketing strategies out there.

Other books by the same author:

Strategic Marketing for NonProfit Organizations (6th Edition)
By Alan Andreasen and Philip Kotler; Prentice Hall; 2002 (6th Edition); 536 pages.

Marketing Management (11th Edition), By Philip Kotler; Prentice Hall; 2002 (11th Edition); 768 pages.

Principles of Marketing (textbook on marketing)
by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong; Prentice Hall; 768 pages.

2. Ogilvy on Advertising By David Ogilvy, Crown Publishing Group; 1983; 224 pages

Why it's worth your time:  This is my all-time favorite book for a general understanding of what advertising is all about, especially the difference between good and poor advertising.  What's great about this book, in addition to Ogilvy's British wit, is that it is based on time-tested experience from one of the most successful people in the business.  The book is loaded with great examples and tips on how to write and design better ads.  There is something to learn from this book for everyone who reads it, even the third time around.

Other books by the same author:

Confessions of an Advertising Man, By David Ogilvy; McGraw-Hill, 1987, 172 pages.

3. A Branded World:  Adventures in Public Relations and the Creation of Superbrands
 By Michael Levine; Wiley Publishers; 2003; 256 pages.

Why it's worth your time:  What I really like about this book is that Levine talks about branding from a PR perspective, which is so essential to nonprofits these days, as well as corporations.  Branding is so much more effective when it is fully integrated into your marketing mix and even greater when you know how to leverage the media.  Levine also provides insights into differentiating your brand. 

Other books by the same author:

Guerrilla P.R.: How You Can Wage an Effective Publicity Campaign... Without Going Broke  By Michael Levine; Harpercollins; 1993; 229 pages.

4. The Tipping Point By Malcom Gladwell. Little Brown; 2000; 288 pages.

Why it's worth your time:  "Big changes follow from small events."  This is a terrific read for how  to start an epidemic in ideas, selling a product, or changing behavior.  It reveals much about how people are influenced and what leads to change.  Reading this book is sure to jump-start your creative thinking about how to make your product "sticky" or memorable, and how to tap into large networks that help you sell it.

5. Eat That Frog!  21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time  By  Brian Tracy.  Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 2002. 129 pages.

Why it's worth your time:  One of our biggest challenges today is deciding which of the many tasks facing us each day are the absolute most important.  We can't do it all, so we had better make sure we are focused in the areas where we can add the most value to our organization.  This book is an indispensable tool for helping you to prioritize, which is key in marketing as well as in every other area of your business.

Other books by the same author:
 
The Psychology of Selling: The Art of Closing Sales
By Brian Tracy. Simon & Schuster; 1986

The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success
By Brian Tracy. Berret-Koehler Publishers; 2001. 336 pages.

Check out these books and you'll have 100% of what it takes to maximize the impact and effectiveness of your organization's marketing and outreach.

Marketing Books of Note:

The Influentials:  One American in Ten Tells the Other Nine How to Vote, Where to Eat, and What to Buy.  By Jon Berry and Ed Keller.  Free Press; 2003.  368 pages

This book points out that the most influential Americans-the ones who tell their neighbors how to vote, what to buy, and where to eat-are not necessarily the people you'd expect. This has implications for the think-tank business.

Jane Markell is president of JEM Marketing Associates.