The Best Marketing Books of All Time

«Small stones tip the cart over», the Bulgarians say when they stress the importance of details. Every language has a similar idiom.
The success of a marketing campaign also depends on the details. That is why strong specialists learn from their colleagues all their lives.
Our TOP 17 marketing books will help both beginners and battle-hardened gurus find the «small stones» that will speed up the promotion of their brand offline and online.
Read, apply your skills in practice and win new clients!

Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong «Principles of Marketing», 2017

The book by marketing guru P. Kotler has gone through 5 editions. Its theses, quotes and principles are as relevant today as the law of gravity.
The author teaches you how to make people buy a service or a product even without expensive advertising. And Kotler starts the book with the very basics. He does it without moralising or tedious terminology. There are definitions in the book. But the author wrote all the explanations in plain language, without unclear lengthy explanations. Every definition follows from the previous one.
The style of writing grips you from the very first pages. All the principles are illustrated with examples: by analysing the marketing moves of successful companies.
"Volkswagen", "Cadillac", "Calvin Klein" and "Procter & Gamble" become clear market players for the reader. The history of these companies turns into a series of cheat sheets on what to do when clients put you under pressure or a global crisis hits.
A special feature of the book is the author's own techniques that help you grasp marketing principles easily and quickly and remember the key ideas.
After reading it you will learn how to:

• spot profitable sales markets and those where no competitor has set foot;
• reduce advertising costs through smart market segmentation;
• create marketing plans that lead to profit even during a crisis.

Jay Conrad Levinson, Paul Hanley «Guerrilla Marketing», 2013

This book explains how to influence the unconscious part of the thinking of buyers and clients. The methods covered in the book are neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
Levinson and Hanley teach how to create the right images in the consumer's mind that encourage clients to pay money for a service or a product. If you follow the authors' methods exactly, these unconscious attitudes become long-term. Otherwise, next time the clients will go to your competitors.
You will get instructions on how to:

• edit the website so that it sells;
• run a message newsletter;
• make offline advertising bring in and keep clients.

Phil Barden «Decoded», 2019

The author describes in detail what influences a purchase. And he bases his conclusions on progressive scientific analysis of the neural activity of the human brain while choosing a product. The model of buyer behaviour proposed by Barden differs greatly from the postulates generally accepted in marketing.
The author will clearly explain to you:

• how to avoid mistakes when launching products;
• how colour, material and packaging shape affect sales in different market segments;
• how to write promo copy for products;
• how the design of a price tag helps sell a product fast;
• how Steve Jobs managed to sell so easily;
• how to raise the subjective value of a product in the buyer's eyes and lift net revenue up to 46%;
• how a marketer increased the number of clients by 20% and halved the cost of acquiring new buyers thanks to a method based on the analysis of neural brain activity.

Niraj Dawar «Tilt», 2015

The author teaches you to care not only about product quality or running advertising campaigns, but also to think,

• what the client wants to get and when,
• under which conditions a buyer is ready to pay more.

At the end of each part of the book the questions prompt practical marketing actions.
As you go through the book you will:

• you will analyse what it is time to change in the current business model in order to raise net income without investing in the product;
• you will understand why a consumer buys products that do not match their original goals;
• you will spot hidden competitors in order to take part of the market from them;
• adjust business processes to the needs of clients;
• you will learn to bring new products to market and extend the product line properly;
• you will create an uncontested advantage;
• you will forecast changes on the market.

Carl Sewell, Paul Brown «Customers for Life», 2016

The authors talk about their own 30 years of experience running a business:

• what became the growth points,
• how they found partners who brought in new clients and kept the old ones,
• how exactly they increased revenue 25 times thanks to attention to client needs.

The fun, engaging style of the book makes reading a useful rest for marketers
- salons,
- shops,
- restaurants,
- cafes,
- travel agencies.
After going through the book you will be able to:

• run psychological testing of future and current employees and pick those who will click with clients in 90% of cases;
• win the trust of clients;
• you will create new bonuses and a line of services that tie the consumers of the product to the company;
• you will come up with and introduce a service that attracts clients like a magnet;
• you will develop a system of training, motivation and control of employees that will raise the professional level of the team and the profitability of the business;

W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne «Blue Ocean Strategy», 2016

The book became the best-selling one in the first decade of the 21st century. This work is read in 43 languages. Chan Kim and Mauborgne explain how to find new uncontested niches and sub-niches, which they call blue oceans, free from the fight for the consumer's wallet.
The publication contains an analysis of the methods corporations in the USA, Europe and Asia use to create new markets. The authors spent 15 years collecting, researching, systematising and testing these strategies.
From the book you will understand:

• what a marketer should do when the sales market is fading;
• how to create new niches inside old ones;
• how to forecast the prospects of new lines of business;
• how to turn those previously considered a non-target audience into regular clients;
• how to build a team of devoted employees who will support the idea of working in a new business area.

Martin Lindstrom «Buyology. Truth and Lies About Why We Buy», 2012

The book contains a description and analysis of experiments in the field of neuromarketing. The research was carried out using an MRI scanner and an electroencephalograph.
The object of the observations was the physiological reaction of the brains of people who were shown commercials and product packaging. Research and analysis of the neural activity of the test subjects' brains helped Lindstrom draw conclusions about what makes consumers pay money for a product or a service.
As you go through the book you will learn:

• evidence of which marketing moves create the desire to buy;
• the reason why consumers act contrary to the calls of advertising;
• why 52% of young brands fail;
• why 75% of new products are taken out of production;
• whether advertising needs sexual subtext.

Seth Godin «Purple Cow», 2019

A book about why the old methods of advertising do not work. Godin gives arguments in favour of

• creating only extraordinary products;
• the unavoidable risks when launching a brand or a product;
• a design that provokes criticism;
• the participation of marketers in developing a new product or service;
• global changes in business processes;
• marketing education for engineers, technologists and head chefs.

With this book you will be able to build up the skills of:

• coming up with outstanding products;
• creating viral advertising;
• choosing the target audience correctly;
• developing a unique selling proposition;
• starting word of mouth;
• cutting advertising costs.

Philip Kotler «Marketing 4.0. Moving from Traditional to Digital», 2019

Kotler describes and analyses the latest changes in the global economy and the influence of digital technologies on marketing. He gives fresh examples of how brands use social media to improve product quality and promotion. He explains why a company must have clients who criticise it.
teaches marketers

• use the paradoxes of the market to promote the brand;
• concentrate the effort on only three market segments.

The conclusions and questions for reflection after each chapter make it easier to remember and suggest how to apply the knowledge in an existing business.
After reading the book you will be able to:

• find new growth points for profit;
• get selling content for free;
• surround the brand with loyal client advocates;
• create communities that will promote the trademark or brand;
• identify the key success factors in a particular business.

Yan Brody "Selling email campaigns", 2014

Brody describes in detail how introducing an e-mail newsletter helped increase income. He explains in every detail how to build a selling funnel: from creating a subscription page and retaining clients to receiving payments. The book contains

• clear diagrams and drawings that explain the key points;
• formulas that demonstrate the patterns of e-mail newsletters;
• examples of applying Yan Brody's advice.

As a result of reading the book you will build up the ability to:

• create a portrait of the ideal client;
• identify the needs of the target audience;
• come up with magnet products for clients;
• avoid emails landing in spam;
• build a base of interested recipients;
• create a series of emails that are read from beginning to end;
• get clicks from emails to selling pages;
• develop a line of products and services that bring profit.

Philip Kotler «Marketing from A to Z», 2020

The marketing guru concisely demonstrates and explains the practical value of 80 models for promoting products and services. He teaches how to work rationally in a hyper-competitive market. He explains what can be outsourced and what cannot. He analyses how IKEA, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Sony, Xerox and Nike adapted to changes on the market.
With this book Kotler teaches you how to:

• when capturing new markets, avoid the mistakes that cut a company's income in half;
• adjust the design of products and packaging so as to increase the number of regular consumers;
• develop storytelling that builds trust;
• introduce branding into business processes consistently;
• word the company's guarantees so that consumers forget the company's competitors exist;
• use emotional marketing techniques to keep the client base even during a crisis.

Philip Kotler, Milton Kotler «Winning Global Markets», 2015

The book's theses are the results of international research and the exchange of experience between the Kotler brothers and
- marketers from the USA, Asia, Indonesia, Europe,
- mayors and officials of megacities and cities in China.
Kotler explains how to promote a business in the cities of the Far and Middle East, India and Latin America. In the book the brothers looked at

• the strategic decisions of the international corporations Huawei, Lenovo, McDonald's and Apple;
• the level of demand for particular services and products in China, Africa, the Arab Emirates and India;
• ways to identify strong rivals;
• the reasons for reduced investment in foreign branches;
• criteria for choosing the location of a new branch;
• the factors that influence a marketing strategy.

With this book you will build up the skills of:

• choose the city for a branch so that net revenue keeps growing;
• take the mentality of consumers into account in pricing and in running an advertising campaign;
• build relationships with city officials in order to improve marketing indicators.

David Lewis «Neuromarketing in Action. How to get into the buyer's brain», 2015

For 30 years the author studied the brain's reactions to marketing techniques. He meticulously collected and analysed research results. In the book Lewis shares the conclusions he drew after the experiments. he tells the reader
6 methods to turn a small desire into a driving force that leads to a purchase,

• what kinds of hidden advertising exist;
• how right-handed and left-handed people decide to buy;
• how posture, stance and gestures give away a buyer's thoughts;
• how new technologies deliver an advertising message to the consumer's brain without an image or sound;
• which font on a price tag raises profit;
• how the furniture in an office or a salon affects a company's revenue;
• which store design makes a business profitable;
• how a small change in the shape and colour of a product raises sales by 40%.

Lewis teaches you:

• fix annoying mistakes in the placement of products on the shelf;
• influence consumers' desires in a hidden way during rest and travel;
• drive revenue growth with lighting, music and scents;
• increase sales through the website by 20%.

Emanuel Rosen «The Anatomy of Buzz», 2013

The author took apart the components of word-of-mouth marketing bone by bone. This work was highly rated by Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and Robert Cialdini. In the book Rosen explains

• stories from the practice of launching word-of-mouth marketing;
• which information people willingly share with others;
• why you cannot start word of mouth only through social media;
• which products advertise themselves;
• how to work with opinion leaders;
• by which criteria viral marketing is judged;
• what to do when competitors slander the brand;
• which methods start word of mouth on social media.

What you will be able to do by applying Rosen's advice:

• create a trigger that starts a discussion of the brand;
• use the habits of the target audience to raise revenue;
• make consumers talk about the product you need;
• turn a brand's critic into its advocate;
• reduce the share of negative reviews;
• double the brand's sales.

Simon Kingsnorth «Digital Marketing Strategy», 2019

The author looks at 6 strategic marketing models. He describes tactical approaches to using

• seo optimisation;
• branding;
• CRM as a marketing tool;
• presenting the brand on social media, on review sites and forums.

Kingsnorth lists and discusses the criteria and principles of marketing campaign analytics. The analysis of company cases points to the key mistakes and the reasons for success in promotion.
The structure of the book helps you find the information you need selectively. The checklists at the end of each chapter recap the principles.
After reading the book you will:

• choose rationally how much to invest in each promotion channel;
• use the budget of an advertising campaign sparingly;
• convince an investor or the director of the firm to allocate extra funds to a marketing campaign;
• expand the base of regular clients with internal marketing techniques;
• develop a strategy for long-term retention of even disloyal clients;
• coordinate the marketing strategy with the company's overall strategy.

Roger Best «Market-Based Management», 2018

The author analyses company cases in depth, examining the dynamics of their economic indicators. He teaches you to compare them with the situation on the market in order to build marketing strategies correctly. He looks at branding strategies and questions of rational pricing. He gives a method for assessing market potential.
It teaches you to predict when a company will start losing customers and which steps will stop the loss of the client base. It suggests how to achieve satisfaction and retention of 90% of clients.
It offers readers exercises with online marketing tools.
The main message of the book: once you have learned something, apply it in practice right now to make marketing tools profitable.
The skills Best builds up:

• create product concepts whose value is higher than that of competitors;
• build a product line that brings a 50% increase in the company's profit;
• build a positive brand reputation through interaction with loyal and dissatisfied clients.

Jack Trout, Al Ries «Marketing Warfare», 2019

The authors joke from the very first pages. Their humour borders on sarcasm when they mock false marketing theories.
Trout and Ries argue that promoting a product or service is above all a war, not an effort to satisfy client needs. That is why marketing is run on the principles formulated in the 19th century by the military commander Carl Clausewitz.
The authors reveal the truth about what really causes big advertising budgets to be wasted. They describe 4 military strategies of marketing. They explain under which conditions each of them is chosen. They look at examples of marketing wars of well-known and small brands.
After going through the book you will be able to:

• spot the weaknesses of competitors and use them;
• create concepts for advertising campaigns depending on the chosen military strategy;
• position the brand on the market so as to cut the costs of an advertising campaign;
• take market share from the leaders;
• develop a slogan that raises sales by 26%.

So? How many useful «thought-pebbles» did our selection of marketing books give you? 1-2 or a whole cartload? There is no limit to perfection. Now go ahead, apply them and get better results than yesterday!