25 Top Quotes From Purple Cow
In Purple Cow, marketing guru Seth Godin challenges businesses and individuals to stand out in a crowded and competitive world. Godin argues that to succeed in today's marketplace, being remarkable is more important than ever. He introduces the concept of the "Purple Cow," a metaphor for a product, service, or idea that is so unique and remarkable that it naturally attracts attention and becomes remarkable in itself.
By embracing innovation, creativity, and authenticity, individuals and companies can break away from the sea of sameness and create a remarkable brand that captivates their target audience. The book is a wake-up call for businesses to abandon traditional marketing strategies and instead focus on creating exceptional products and experiences that customers can't help but talk about and share. Purple Cow is a compelling manifesto for the age of ideas, inspiring readers to be bold, daring, and extraordinary in every aspect of their endeavors, thus transforming their business and personal success. (Purple Cow Summary).
Purple Cow Quotes
"In your career, even more than for a brand, being safe is risky. The path to lifetime job security is to be remarkable.”
"The old rule was this: create safe ordinary products and combine them with great marketing. The new rule is: create remarkable products that the right people seek out.” "The opposite of remarkable is good."
"If you’re remarkable, it’s likely that some people won’t like you. That’s part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise–ever. The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out.” (Meaning)
"If a product’s future is unlikely to be remarkable – if you can’t imagine a future in which people are once again fascinated by your product – it’s time to realize that the game has changed. Instead of investing in a dying product, take profits and reinvest them in building something new.”
"Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” David Packard”
"As consumers, we’re too busy to pay attention to advertising, but we’re desperate to find good stuff that solves our problems.”
"In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.”
"If you travel on an airline and they get you there safely, you don’t tell anyone. That’s what’s supposed to happen. What makes it remarkable is if it’s horrible beyond belief or if the service is so unexpected (they were an hour early! they comped my ticket because I was cute! they served flaming crêpes suzette in first class!) that you need to share it.”
"Do you have the email addresses of the 20 percent of your customer base that loves what you do? If not, start getting them. If you do, what could you make for these customers that would be super special?”
"For the frequent user, the impact of a cooler, better, easier-to-use input device is profound – so profound that many users are happy to proselytize to their peers. More sneezing of a Purple Cow.”
"Consumers, we’re too busy to pay attention to advertising, but we’re desperate to find good stuff that solves our problems.”
"The purity of the message makes it even more remarkable. It’s easy to tell someone about the Leaning Tower. Much harder to tell them about the Pantheon in Rome. So, even though the Pantheon is beautiful, breathtaking, and important, it sees 1 percent of the crowds that the harder-to-get-to Tower in Pisa gets.”
"If times are tough, your peers and your boss may very well say that you can’t afford to be remarkable. After all, we have to conserve, to play it safe; we don’t have the money to make a mistake. In good times, however, those same people will tell you to relax, take it easy; we can afford to be conservative, to play it safe.”
"You do not equal the project. Criticism of the project is not criticism of you.”
"Just about every company forgot the lesson of the Cow. Instead of taking the money and using it to create a series of innovations that could lead to the next Cow (at a higher, bigger level), these companies took profits.”
"A slogan that accurately conveys the essence of your Purple Cow is a script. A script for the sneezer to use when she talks with her friends. The slogan reminds the user, “Here’s why it’s worth recommending us; here’s why your friends and colleagues will be glad you told them about us.” And best of all, the script guarantees that the word of mouth is passed on properly – that the prospect is coming to you for the right reason.”
"The hard work and big money you used to spend on frequent purchases of print and TV advertising now move to repeated engineering expenses and product failures. If anything, marketing is more time-consuming and expensive than it used to be. You’re just spending the money earlier in the process (and repeating the process more often). This is worth highlighting: The Purple Cow is not a cheap shortcut. It is, however, your best (perhaps only) strategy for growth.”
"The more crowded the marketplace, the busier your customers, the more you need the Purple Cow. Half-measures will fail. Overhauling the product with dramatic improvements in things the right customers care about, on the other hand, can have a huge payoff.”
"One way to figure out a great theory is to look at what’s working in the real world and figure out what the various successes have in common. With”
"The obvious winners are the mid-sized and smaller companies looking to increase market share. These are the companies that have nothing to lose, but more important, they realize that they have a lot to gain by changing the rules of the game.”
"Direct marketers, of course, realize that measurement is the key to success. Figure out what works, and do it more! Mass marketers have always resisted this temptation."
"Measurement means admitting what’s broken so you can fix it."
"We run our schools like factories. We line kids up in straight rows, put them in batches (called grades), and work very hard to make sure there are no defective parts. Nobody standing out, falling behind, running ahead, making a ruckus. Playing it safe. Following the rules. Those seem like the best ways to avoid failure.”
"If you have any comments at all about the store, please call me at home.”
"Instead of trying to use your technology and expertise to make a better product for your users’ standard behavior, experiment with inviting the users to change their behavior to make the product work dramatically better.”
― Quotes from the book Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Purple Cow Author
Seth Godin is a highly influential marketing guru and author known for his groundbreaking insights on modern business and leadership. With an uncanny ability to distill complex concepts into simple, actionable ideas, Godin has revolutionized the way people think about marketing and entrepreneurship. He emphasizes the importance of "permission marketing," encouraging businesses to build meaningful relationships with their audience rather than resorting to interruptive advertising tactics. Godin's thought-provoking books, such as "Purple Cow" and "The Dip," have become essential reads for aspiring entrepreneurs and established executives alike. Through his writing and public speaking engagements, Godin consistently challenges the status quo, urging individuals and organizations to embrace change, take risks, and create remarkable products that stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
