F2F Class Notes 4th December (Tanya)

Vocabulary

flexibility – this means there’s no strict rules, things are open to change

e.g. Being able to speak English, will usually give people a bit more flexibility on the job market.

similarities – things that are similar, have similarities.

e.g. Shanghainese and Japanese show a lot of similarities. They’re similar.

gardening – working in a garden, taking care of the plants and flowers

e.g. Tanya’s mom loves gardening.

Grammar

as opposed to – “opposite”

e.g. Candy is something most children like to eat, as opposed to vegetables.

Corrections

whoever they think you are, they’ll speak Shanghainese with you – no matter who they think you are, they’ll speak Shanghainese with you

Book recommendations for Jerry 

Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

Guerrilla Marketing by Levinson

Buy-ology by Lindstrom

correction

Position

I read a book called “Position” recently, which is said to be the most influential marketing book in the history. However, I was a little bit of disappointed after I finished it. Maybe the “Position” theory is too famous to learn more from. The other problem is that the book just tells us “why” instead of “how”.

I still learned something from this book. The most critical thing is that “don’t try to find a position in your product, but in the customers’ mind”. There is only one position for one category in people’s mind, so you have to try your best to occupy the position. But if you can’t get it or there is already a brand there, you should try to “create” another segment and try to persuade customers that you are the best in this segment.

However, this point is debated by people. Some people think this theory is based on “competition ” instead of “customers’ needs”. We should balance the competition and customer.

Central thought: “be the best in your category or reinvent your category”

original

Position

I read a book called “Position” lately, which is said the most influential marketing book in the history. However, I was a little bit of disappointed after I finished it. Maybe the “Position” theory is too famous to learn more from books and the other problem is that the book just tell us “why” instead of “How”.

I still learned something from this book. The most critical thing is that “don’t try to find a position in your product, but in customers’ mind”. There is only one position for one category in people’s mind, so you have to try your best to occupy the position. But if you can’t get it or there has been a brand be there, you should try to “create” another segment and try to persuade customers that you are the best in this segment.

However, this point is argued mostly by people. Some people think this theory is based on “competition ” instead of “customers’ needs”. We should balance the competition and customer.