The full title of this book by Udi Ledergor is “Courageous Marketing: A B2B Marketer’s Playbook for Career Success.”
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest Amazon review.
I was drawn to this book, not just because I love marketing and I’m always looking to learn something new about my industry, but because of the focus on B2B marketing.
Because I work primarily with lawyers and financial planners, I like to say that I work with companies that are technically B2C, but operate more like B2B companies, especially when it comes to their marketing.
This is because they tend to have a long buyer journey, a high price point, and there’s often more than one person involved in the hiring decision.
So, while I’m not technically a B2B marketer, I consider myself a B2B marketer, and I’m fascinated by the strategies and tactics used by other B2B marketers.
Not to argue with the subtitle of this book, but I’m not sure it qualifies as a “playbook for career success.”
It’s more like a playbook for outside-the-box marketing plans, but I think that title was already taken.
Throughout the book, Ledergor provides various examples of when he took risks as a B2B marketer, pulling off stunts that sound crazy when first introduced.
But his stunts tended to pay off because they were calculated risks and he (usually) came up with ways to make them successful.
To be clear, his stunts didn’t always pay off, and I appreciate that he included a few of his flops alongside his successes. It provided an opportunity for him to explain why the flops didn’t work and it humanized him instead of giving the impression he’s some sort of supermarketer.
I appreciate a lot about this book.
I appreciate that each chapter focuses on a different aspect of marketing.
And, because I’m biased towards content marketing, I appreciate that the longest chapter in this book is about content marketing. I’ve noticed that tends to be a theme in books about marketing and SEO. Coincidence…?
Ledergor even devotes a chapter to exploring some of the pros and cons of choosing to go deep (become a specialist) or go wide in marketing (become a CMO.)
I especially appreciated this section because I’ve been considering getting into the CMO market myself, but this book talked me out of it. I have no interest in spending all my time in meetings. And I love writing too much to hand it all off to someone else.
Last, but certainly not least, I appreciate how well written this book is. Ledergor explores each aspect of marketing and has a story that exemplifies each one. It keeps the book engaging and, combined with the fact that it’s not very long, made it a quick read.
My only real complaint about this book is that it felt at times like an ad for the company Ledergor works for (or was working for at the time.) I won’t even name the company here because it gets enough mentions in the book. If you decide to read the book yourself, you’ll get to know all about it.
And if you want to grab a copy of my marketing book, you can do so here.
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