Ralph Crosby's
Lessons Learned In A Lifetime Of Marketing
About
Ralph's Book
Businesses often are started by entrepreneurs with an idea, a product or service, or an expertise. Many of them fail, not because the idea or product isn’t good, but because their attention is overwhelmingly directed internally – e.g., what goes into the product – when they should focus externally, always reminding themselves:
“It’s The Customer, Stupid!”
That’s the premise of Ralph Crosby’s new book, “It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned in a Lifetime of Marketing.”
From the Preface To “It’s The Customer Stupid! Lessons Learned In A Lifetime Of Marketing.”
When the staff of my ad/PR agency, Crosby Marketing Communications, grew to more than 50, I realized that the newer members didn’t always have access to the concepts that had made us successful. So, I decided to pass along those ideas in short memos I called “Ralph’s Tips.” What evolved was a tapestry of best practices woven through years of experience and the wisdom learned from the masters of marketing. As I wrote these “Tips,” I recognized that in each there existed a common thread – the customer. Focus on the customer had driven our marketing communications since I founded the company in 1973. That focus is the theme of this book and the reason for its title:
It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned In A Lifetime Of Marketing
The title came to me in the shower one morning (ideas, like songs, always sound great in the shower) as I prepared to go to work. “I’m sorry but it’s the customer, stupid,” I said to myself. Of course, that phrase mimicked the words, “It’s the economy, stupid!,” that James Carville, Bill Clinton’s political strategist, used as a central theme to answer the question, “What is the presidential campaign about?” This book seeks to answer the question, “What is marketing really all about?”
