BeTuitive Publishing


BeTuitive Newsletter

« The BI Marriage: Accuracy with Strategy | Main | But what if I just want a snack? »

Tonight is the night when you become a category of one

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

"Why strive to be a leader in your category when you can create a different category and be the only one in it?"  In this review of the Executive Book Summary, we examine Becoming a Category of One by Joe Calloway.

Joanna McKeon

Individuality is typically one of the most revered characteristics of a person, so it comes as no surprise that companies, too, benefit from developing a unique personality.  In Becoming a Category of One, Joe Calloway emphasizes the importance of finding your company's own niche.  Among his many tips, the author highlights an important lesson: Branding is not as simple as hiring an advertising and design
team.  Your company's brand "resides in the minds of your customers” and represents the ability and willingness of your company to follow through with promises.  Finding your company's own niche would garner positive results, but it demands equal parts belief and drive.

Jeff Sanchez

Becoming a Category of One speaks mostly of companies positioning themselves differently to be more appealing to their customers.  But there are no real outcomes of the summary’s suggestions. It reiterates the importance of customer relationships which practically every Executive Summary touches on, and it lays out strategies and plans without the back-up of concrete examples. It would be more interesting if it included facts and examples that show success.

Kevin Grant

With the reviews of these Executive Book Summaries, I always try communicate the positive overall message.  This review, however, seemed to regurgitate the same three steps: Know what your company is, keep the focus of what your company is, engage people (internally and externally) with that focus.  I completely agree with almost everything the summary offers, but it seems like it only touches the surface and hesitates to engage the reader with specific examples.  The summary is a good place to get your feet wet, but not enough to feed your interest in becoming a category of one.

Kathryn Regina

There seems to be an over-arching problem with business books, in that they often offer platitudes without specific procedures that a company can put to use in a tactical way. This summary shares that problem, but it does have a few useful insights. The point I found most interesting in the summary is the example of how LensCrafters has branded itself as a company and an employer. LensCrafters’ mission statement is “giving the gift of sight to those who have the least and need [LensCrafters] the most.” The idea is that customers see LensCrafters as more than a commodity, and employees feel like they have a purpose beyond a bottom line. I don’t know if LensCrafters has been successful, but that’s a smart strategy for any business.

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
What's a tag?

PROBLEM: So many great business books. So little time. SOLUTION: Read Less. Learn More. Subscribe to Soundview Executive Book Summaries!

October 26, 2007 in Brand enhancement, Building Customer Intuition, Corporate newsletter, Educating Clients, email tracking, Freelance newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to write a newsletter, Interactive Marketing, Newsletter complete outsourcing, newsletter layout, Newsletter ROI, Newsletter solution, outsource magazine, prospect newsletter, sample newsletter, self publish, Thought leadership newsletter, writing magazine | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c459653ef00e54eff1af58833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Tonight is the night when you become a category of one:

» 水商売 from 大阪ミナミキャバクラ遊び
大阪（キタ/ミナミ/十三/西中島/京橋/北新地）京都/祇園/神戸三宮・姫路でのキャバクラ夜遊びの日々・水商売ホステスキャバ嬢観察ブロ [Read More]

Tracked on Oct 10, 2009 12:38:05 PM

Comments

The comments to this entry are closed.