The best books to help you understand how marketing has changed

Philip Kotler, “The Father of Modern Marketing,” credited with developing the 4 Ps of the marketing mix is still contributing to the field. In this book with his co-authors, he builds upon the foundations he helped to set up decades ago to show us how the practice of marketing has evolved and where it is headed. You’ll learn the challenges marketers face in a digital world, new strategies for tech-powered marketing, and new tactics for leveraging marketing tech. What I really learned from this book is the practice of human-centric marketing where brands behave like humans treating customers as friends. It’s all about POV where value proposition messages become useful and valuable content.

In this age of social media where the consumer has taken control, Seth Godin flips the marketing context. Go from paying to be seen to truly seeing your customers and you will earn their attention. Seth has a beautifully simple way of communicating big shifts in perspective. In this book, you’ll learn how to see marketing in a way that more aligns with the realities of today’s world. And you may feel better about your work realizing you don’t have to annoy, spam, and clickbait your way to success. Godin helped me understand how the social media marketing cycle helps to contribute beyond social media strategy. A brand community in social media helps a marketer be seen by customers who want to participate in multiple aspects of a business to help meet marketing objectives.

Marketing the old way took for granted that the company was in control. Now the consumer is in control. Mark Schaefer’s book will help you see the end of control and give you a manifesto for human-centered marketing. You’ll learn to see how your customers are part of your marketing department and how that is at the heart of success today. The good news for smaller brands is that winning in the rebellion doesn’t hinge on ad impressions, and big budgets, alone. Schaefer’s book helped me to see this new human-centered marketing from a more direct perspective. Instead of an evolution of the Four P’s he simply connects constant human truths to business success in “A Manifesto for Human-Centered Marketing” that ultimately leads to the new reality that your customers are your marketers.

Consumers have greater control today over what they read, what they watch, and what they buy. If you want to be successful, you need to understand how people decide what they see. Derek Thompson takes us through research and examples to help reveal the psychology behind why we like what we like. In an age of media distraction, this is more important than ever. No marketing strategy will succeed if you can’t get people’s attention. Studying what makes a hit can give us clues to how to be seen. Hit Makers really puts into perspective the real challenge today of reaching a mass audience. You can’t. There are no more mass audiences for advertising or public relations. We have become a society of niche audiences. Until you realize and accept this your strategies will fail.

A common theme I’ve noticed about companies that made a wrong turn or missed a trend and headed downhill is in a key moment they refused to rethink their perspective. It typically doesn’t come from ignorance but arrogance. They assume the formula they used to be successful in the past will always work in the future. Adam Grant wakes us up to the power of rethinking what we thought we learned. Only then will you be open enough to consider the type of new learning required to remain successful in our rapidly changing world. The main lesson I learned here is that too many of us feel there is only one answer and if we had success in the past, we think that is the only answer moving forward. Instead, ask questions that don’t have a single right answer. Consider different views and explore them to find new possibilities.