Different ─ Escaping the Competitive Herd

哈佛商學院學生說：「這是我們最喜歡上的行銷課！」
亞馬遜書店讀者說：「不必擠進哈佛MBA，讀這本書就夠了！」
與柯林斯、葛拉威爾、史蒂芬．柯維一樣啟發人心的商業洞見。《哈佛商業評論》鄭重推薦！

行銷是商業的基本文法，最需要的就是靈活變通。
深受愛戴的穆恩教授，把這個概念給說活了！
她告訴你頂尖企業如何另闢蹊徑，助你提升商業敏感度，真正搞懂行銷。

跟哈佛學生一起，學行銷的第一堂課

沒有獨特差異，就無法勝出。
哈佛商學院最受歡迎的行銷學教授，指出三個方向，教你如何在各個層面異軍突起！

＊逆向操作：當同業爭相追求「好還要更好」時，卻沒注意到顧客早已「滿意度過剩」。當消費者不需要或不在乎的產品功能愈來愈多，正是逆向操作品牌崛起的絕佳時機。
企業範例：Google、捷藍航空、IKEA、In-N-Out漢堡、Wii遊戲機
啟示：消費者的喜好瞬息萬變，在我們今日享有的過剩優惠中，很可能正透露消費者明日的偏好。

＊跨界演出：超商的平價奶昔，放在咖啡店叫做星冰樂；早餐穀片做成餅乾狀，變成辦公室的午茶點心。跨界演出的品牌徹底忽視既有的類別定義，挑戰我們對事物的既定看法。
企業範例：AIBO機器狗、好奇寶寶褲型紙尿褲、太陽劇團、Swatch、阿烈西廚房精品
啟示：跨界演出的品牌往往開創出一個嶄新的產品次類別，改變了產業的面貌，並能取得先行者的優勢。

＊敵意挑釁：世上有極盡討好消費者之能事的品牌，卻也有擺著高姿態、不易接近的品牌。敵意挑釁的品牌正是這樣反市場而行，使得消費該品牌的行為不再稀鬆平常，而是代表著對品牌的擁護。
企業範例：MINI Cooper、紅牛機能性飲料、馬麥醬、勃肯鞋、BAPE、Hollister
啟示：有時候人們就是會希望自己與眾不同，因此某種程度上我們都「需要」敵意品牌的存在。

本書中文版《哈佛最受歡迎的行銷課》由先覺出版

Why trying to be the best … competing like crazy … makes you mediocre

Every few years a book—through a combination of the author’s unique voice, storytelling ability, wit, and insight—simply breaks the mold. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is one example. Richard Feynman’s “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” is another.

Now comes Youngme Moon’s Different, a book for “people who don’t read business books.” Actually, it’s more like a personal conversation with a friend who has thought deeply about how the world works … and who gets you to see that world in a completely new light.

If there is one strain of conventional wisdom pervading every company in every industry, it’s the absolute importance of “competing like crazy.” Youngme Moon’s message is simply “Get off this treadmill that’s taking you nowhere. Going tit for tat and adding features, augmentations, and gimmicks to beat the competition has the perverse result of making you like everyone else.” Different provides a highly original perspective on what it means to offer something that is meaningfully different—different in a manner that is both fundamental and comprehensive.

Youngme Moon identifies the outliers, the mavericks, the iconoclasts—the players who have thoughtfully rejected orthodoxy in favor of an approach that is more adventurous. Some are even “hostile,” almost daring you to buy what they are selling. The MINI Cooper was launched with fearless abandon: “Worried that this car is too small? Look here. It’s even smaller than you think.”

These are players that strike a genuine chord with even the most jaded consumers. In fact, almost every success story of the past two decades has been an exception to the rule. Simply go to your computer and compare AOL and Yahoo! with Google. The former pile on feature upon feature to their home pages, while Google is like an austere boutique, dominating a category filled with “extras.”

Different shows how to succeed in a world where conformity reigns…but exceptions rule.


From the Hardcover edition.