Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
In today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, traditional marketing methods are increasingly ineffective. With consumers bombarded by countless advertisements daily, standing out has never been more challenging—or more crucial. In Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin argues that the key to success is no longer in playing it safe but in daring to be remarkable. This blog post will delve deeply into the concepts introduced in the book, offering insights into how you can create your very own “Purple Cow” to revolutionize your business.
Understanding the Concept of the Purple Cow
In the past, businesses followed a traditional marketing approach, often referred to as the 5Ps of marketing: product, pricing, promotion, positioning, and packaging, among others. These elements served as a guiding framework for companies to strategize and market their offerings effectively. However, in today’s saturated market, these traditional strategies are no longer sufficient.
What is a Purple Cow?
The “Purple Cow” represents something truly remarkable—something that stands out in a field of monotonous brown cows. Imagine driving through the countryside, where you see countless brown cows grazing. At first, you might find them interesting, but as you continue, they all begin to blend together, losing their appeal. Suddenly, you spot a purple cow. It’s unexpected, unique, and grabs your attention. This is exactly what Godin argues businesses need to become in order to capture and retain customer interest in today’s market.
The New World of Marketing
The marketing landscape has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. The mass-advertising era, which dominated for much of the 20th century, is no longer effective. Consumers have grown immune to the barrage of advertising messages they encounter daily, making it harder for businesses to stand out.
The Decline of Traditional Marketing
In the earlier days of marketing, businesses could rely on mass media—such as TV, radio, and print ads—to reach a broad audience effectively. This approach worked well when consumers had limited choices and information. However, as markets became saturated with similar products and services, consumers learned to ignore these ads, rendering traditional marketing less effective.
Enter the Purple Cow
To break through the noise, businesses need to appeal to a select group of customers—particularly the Innovators and Early Adopters, as described by Geoff Moore in Crossing the Chasm. These individuals are the first to embrace new and remarkable products, and they play a crucial role in spreading the word to the broader market. In essence, creating a “Purple Cow” is about designing a product or service that is so unique and noteworthy that it compels these early adopters to take notice and share it with others.
Why You Need a Purple Cow
Playing it safe might seem like a prudent strategy, but in today’s crowded marketplace, it’s a surefire way to become invisible. The most successful companies today are those that take bold risks and create products that stand out as outliers. Examples include:
- JetBlue Airways: Revolutionized air travel by offering a high-end experience at affordable prices.
- Starbucks: Transformed coffee consumption into a lifestyle with its unique ambiance and premium offerings.
- Vanguard: Became a leader in the investment world by offering low-cost index funds, challenging the traditional high-fee model.
These companies succeeded because they didn’t just try to be better; they aimed to be different. They created “Purple Cows” that people couldn’t help but notice and talk about.
Creating Your Purple Cow
So, how do you go about creating your own Purple Cow? While there’s no foolproof formula, Seth Godin offers several principles and ideas to guide you in crafting something truly remarkable.
Exploring the Edges
The key to creating a Purple Cow is to constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible. This means exploring the fringes of your industry and testing new ways to make your products or services stand out.
- Product: Can you create something that is the most durable, the simplest, or the most complex in your industry?
- Pricing: Could you offer something at an unprecedented low or high price point?
- Promotion: How can you market your product in a way that’s never been done before?
- Positioning: Can you position your brand in a unique niche that no one else has claimed?
- Publicity: What unconventional methods can you use to generate buzz?
- Packaging: Is there a way to package your product that will make it irresistible?
- Pass-along: How can you encourage word-of-mouth and make your product shareable?
- Permission: How can you build a relationship with your customers so that they want to hear from you?
Testing and Iterating
Creating a Purple Cow is inherently risky, but it’s a necessary risk if you want to succeed in today’s market. Godin suggests embracing short, repeated development cycles to continually test and refine your ideas. This approach allows you to adapt quickly to market feedback and discover what truly resonates with your audience.
The Importance of “Otaku”
One of the key concepts introduced in the book is “otaku,” a Japanese term that refers to an intense passion or obsession. To create a Purple Cow, you need to find people who have an otaku for what you’re offering—those who will go out of their way to seek out and talk about your product. These are the individuals who will become your most vocal advocates and help spread your message to a wider audience.
Embrace Remarkability in Your Career
The principles of the Purple Cow don’t just apply to businesses—they can also be applied to your personal career. In a world where job markets are increasingly competitive, standing out is just as important. Whether you’re looking to advance in your current role or switch careers entirely, embracing remarkability can set you apart from the crowd.
Getting the Most from Purple Cow
Purple Cow is a treasure trove of ideas for anyone looking to stand out in today’s competitive market. The book is filled with short, digestible chapters, each packed with real-world examples of companies that have successfully created their own Purple Cows. Whether you’re in the business of selling products, services, or even yourself, the lessons in this book are highly applicable.
For those serious about making a remarkable impact, consider diving deeper into the book’s concepts. Seth Godin also offers a wealth of additional resources on his website, sethgodin.com, and his blog, seths.blog.
About the Author
Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a renowned American author and entrepreneur known for his work in marketing and leadership. He founded and later sold a book packaging business, launched Yoyodyne to promote permission marketing, and served as Yahoo’s vice president of direct marketing after selling Yoyodyne to Yahoo! for $30 million. In March 2006, Godin launched Squidoo, which was later sold to HubPages in 2014. He has authored over 20 books, many of which have become bestsellers, making him a leading voice in modern marketing.
6 Quotes from Purple Cow
- “Stop advertising and start innovating.”
- “Don’t try to make a product for everybody, because that is a product for nobody.”
- “The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out.”
- “You have to go where the competition is not. The farther the better.”
- “If you are a marketer who doesn’t know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you’re no longer a marketer. You’re deadwood.”
- “The path to lifetime job security is to be remarkable.”
The Book in Just 20 Words
A transformative guide to standing out in a crowded market by embracing the extraordinary and daring to be different.
Conclusion
In the modern marketplace, being ordinary is a recipe for invisibility. To truly succeed, you need to create something remarkable—something that captures attention and drives people to talk about it. Whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or individual looking to stand out, the principles in Purple Cow offer invaluable guidance on how to achieve just that.