Seth Godin’s bestselling book Purple Cow is all about how to stand out in a market overcrowded by businesses. In it, Godin aims to teach entrepreneurs and companies the importance of creating a product or service that is so remarkable, it can’t go unnoticed. That is the titular purple cow, which Godin believes is the only way companies can succeed in today’s market.
Purple Cow outlines the concept of “transformational marketing”—an idea that encourages companies to surprise and delight their customer base in order to maintain high levels of loyalty and interest. This concept, put into practice, means creating products and services that become so popular, that it is necessary for the company to constantly improve their craft such in order to remain successful and maintain the respect of the customer base they’ve accumulated.
Godin provides case studies that demonstrate, with real-life evidence, the successes companies have had when implementing transformational marketing. He illustrates how some companies have stagnated, while others have been able to rapidly advance in the market by taking challenging risks that provided customer’s new experiences.
While Purple Cow mainly outlines transformational marketing, Godin also covers topics such as viral marketing and niche markets. In the book, he further explains the idea that “the best way to get noticed is to be remarkable”. He provides examples and theories to show how companies can, through providing valuable and cutting-edge products, can make the most of the resources available to them.
Through practical advice and thought-provoking suggestions, Purple Cow provides a blueprint for modern businesses in order to be successful and make a lasting impression. Godin proves why companies need to keep their customers guessing in order to stay in business.
By advocating industries to take risks and think outside of the box, Godin is able to explain why a company needs to be the purple cow— whether literal or figurative—in order to stay relevant. He provides clear instructions to follow that enable businesses to be successful while also providing ideas they can implement in order to remain a staple in the market. By understanding the concept of transformational marketing and applying it to their business’s strategy, companies can ensure that their products and services touch people in a way that keeps customers coming in and the profits rolling in.
