Rating: 
Summary: This book sucks.
Review: One of the worst books I ever read. I wish I
were kidding,
but this should be pulled off the shelves for
false marketing. Fresh perspective with proven
insights? More like a rant from an ad agency
reject.
Uses buzz words like ROI, Extreme Marketing
and alludes to Fortune 500 clientele - shows
not one iota of proof. My bet is this book is a
desperate PR ploy to get famous and get rich
quick, from an author with little substance to
back up his claims, or a person with absolutely
no experience trying to prove that anyone can
get into marketing. Most anyone with any
professional expertise will see right through
this garbage. Newsflash to the author: the ad
examples you provided would provide even
better than your heck-let's-take-
your-word-for-it incredible ROI had you ever
studied the craft of advertising. But hey,
kudos to the book jacket and title - it got me
to bite. For everyone else..PLEASE avoid this
snakeoil! Readers, head to the bargain section
of marketing books, close your eyes and pick
one. As long as its not Your Marketing Sucks,
chances are very good the ROI wil be much,
much higher.
Rating: 
Summary: A good marketing mantra book
Review: The author, Mark Stevens, must be doing something right to make so many reviewers here so mad. I'll give it 5 stars to offset the dubious single-star reviews. Actually, the slew of single-star reviews here are highly suspicious. They all sound like they have been written by the same very angry person. Well, let's reflect on some of the other reviews: this book is clearly not a textbook-style manual filled with loads of technical, detailed solutions, analysis and case studies. This is a book of principles; a re-orienter, a tool that makes marketers stop and re-think everything. It serves mainly to prepare people to start off on the right foot. There's a lot of indignant "no duh!" complaining going on by some reviewers here who feel that Stevens' main point - that marketing that doesn't more than pay for itself is a waste of money - is totally obvious to anyone doing business today. While it should be, it clearly isn't. All of us know of examples of companies, maybe even the ones we're working for, doing exactly the kinds of things Stevens singles out here as big no-nos. The question might be: if we all know this stuff already, if it's so obvious, why aren't we doing it? Or, as Stevens would say, "Why does our marketing still suck?" So I don't buy for a second the idea that Stevens is just wasting our time here. All in all I found the book a great way to start a marketing effort, something worth reading before any hard decisions are made. Having said that, I still have some reservations regarding the long-term implications on society that would result if American-style capitalists like Stevens got their way and we all started doing business as he suggests. For example, he talks at one point about how the majority of sales staff on any given company's sales team simply can't sell, and that this is obviously a problem faced by every business. He offers one solution: fire all the lousy salespeople on your team and go steal the best from your competitors. Not only is this not physically possible (remember, he is advocating all of his advice should be the norm in business, that we ALL should be doing this) since if all of our sales staff is mostly lousy, there aren't enough of these 'best' salespeople to go around if we all tried to hire them away from our competitors, so what's left as a solution? This book is filled with aggressive demands that we should accept nothing less than soaring sales, soaring profits - that every action we take should more than pay for itself. Nowhere does Stevens suggest that, since we are all on the same planet, and since there is only so much of everything to go around, we just might do well to be a little more realistic about the growth, and sustainability of growth, in business. Stevens' point of view is typical of the kind of shortsighted American madness that unfortunately has knock-on effects outside American soil. It isn't only an American problem to be certain, but Americans are simply best at this kind of selfishness, this narrow-minded attitude about why we are in business in the first place, as if it is simply a contest that we can all step away from when the game is over. But these concerns are outside the focus of the book. Anyway, a good mantra book for marketing!
Rating:
Summary: Total and absolute waste of time
Review: I wish it was worth my time to claim my money back. I don't think this book contains anything of value whatsoever. It annoys me endlessly that 1) the author managed to get this fluff published, 2) he is probably making a bundle while giving nothing back, and 3) it is possible to sell a book based only on a great title.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing special
Review: A lot of the reviews for this book seem very polarized (either 1 or 5 stars) and quite honestly, it kept me from opening the copy I had bought a couple of months ago. Many of the negative reviews seem very vituperative and contain a lot of personal attacks on the author. I don't know him to judge him except by his book, which, staying focused purely on that, is pretty much a blah rendition of themes and ideas that we've all seen before. There are some very good generalities that someone with the know-how and initiative might be able to turn into something valuable, but quite honestly, anyone with a modest amount of common sense could draw the same conclusions about marketing that this book does. I found myself saying "Duh!" out loud. A lot. This is not to say that it's any worse than a number of other books that seem to be glutting the market right now, but at least those books provide some value in the form of case studies or other applications that could be interpolated into a marketing strategy. Maybe a selling point of this book is that it helps point out the obvious, but I would think that could hardly have been the point, especially when given such a provocative title. Maybe that alone was the lesson - most marketing sucks and let me illustrate that for you by throwing a catchy title on a bunch of well-worn platitudes and watch it climb the best-seller list. Stevens obviously anticipates this thought because he poses the question himself - "How the hell does HE know?" Unfortunately, the book doesn't answer that. If anything, it just reinforces it. I don't pretend to be the smartest business owner or marketer - that's why I continue to read books like this in the search for "the answer". However, I do think I am competent enough to understand what works and what doesn't. The somewhat condescending tone of the book doesn't achieve what I think it was meant to - to demonstrate how common mistakes are rampant in the business world when it comes to marketing. Clearly, the message is resonating with somebody, but it sure isn't me. I would have to recommend passing on it, unless you have a couple of days to kill and are morbidly curious.
Rating:
Summary: Too many red flags
Review: Just so you understand where I'm coming from, let me lay some background. I'm a small business owner. I provide a professional service to both consumers and businesses. I do okay, holding my own, looking to improve. I have a decent background in direct marketing and publicity that has served me pretty well up until now but I could use some help. I often read books of this type looking for an idea or two that I can apply to my own situation. I very, very rarely find one that is applicable, simply because I think most of these "how-to" marketing books speak way to much in generalities. So it's not necessarily a knock against the book that it doesn't really deliver because it's just one of many that are like that. Okay, that being said, I found a lot of problems with the book, mostly in terms of how it was written and the tone some of the chapters take, but I was still interested enough to contact Mr. Stevens's firm and see if perhaps I could benefit from a direct consultation. That's where my experience went down the tubes and although I am sure it colored my perception of the book, I think it's only fair to mention it here because, after all, the book is really just one large marketing gimmick for his firm's services and his business practices, I guess not surprisingly, don't completely mirror the things he stresses in the book. He doesn't necessarily practice what he preaches. That's red flag number one. During the initial conversation I had with his representative, I was told that there was a fee involved (somewhat exhorbitant for a small business owner, I felt) for me to come in, tell Mr. Stevens about my business, and have him tell me what was wrong with it. I may be wrong, but it seems to me I shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of deciding whether or not I want the firm to represent me (or whether or not they want to represent me). Then I was told that I could have a private one-on-one session with Mr. Stevens to "pick his brain" in whatever way I chose. Again, I am not well-versed in what a nominal fee for such a service is but it still seemed somewhat high. Red flag number two. Second, in researching his firm through his web site, it seems that the site goes against some of the basic tenets of what he indicates a web site should do for a business. I found the site not very user-friendly and more prone to promote the book than the firm. Red flag number three. Lastly, I just got a bad vibe that, although the book appears to have been written for businesses like mine, unless you are a multi-million dollar corporation Mr. Stevens doesn't want to talk to you. In that regard, I have to agree with one of the previous reviewers who stated that Mr. Stevens cares more about the dollars than the marketing principles he espouses in this book. Check it out of the library if you feel you should read it for yourself but I wouldn't purchase it.
Rating:
Summary: No worth your time
Review: I thought perhaps this book would offer some insight as to best marketing practices. What I discovered was a book targeted to individuals who know nothing about marketing. If you are not a marketing expert, I highly suggest that you read other marketing books as well. Especially one with real case stuies. How can you recommend marketing tactics without actually having some experience?
Rating: 
Summary: Playing it safe...3 stars...
Review: Wow. I have never seen such bitterness about an Amazon product. There are some truly horrible products out there, I admit, but it looks like anyone who gives a positive review will get shot down 0 to 5 in the voting. It makes one think... As for my review, I'll play it safe with 3 stars. I rated Mosquito Coast 3 stars too. What does it mean? It means I wouldn't go out of my way for it & I didn't get a ton from it, but there was something about it to justify it's existence. For those of you who haven't read and who haven't been prejudiced to a negative review, the author's basic concept is that marketing should fall under the business domain and not the "artsy, creative domain" that it usually does. He makes a good point that your marketing should not be out there to win awards, and that more expensive (a la Super Bowl spots) doesn't mean better. Instead, everything you do to promote a product or service - and it can be at a grass roots level - should reinforce each other. I.e., your ads should tie to your website should tie to your publicity, etc. And all this should increase sales. If you don't increase your sales, your marketing sucks. Now, it is true that the book is not an academic or even an intellectual book. Do not come here to learn about marketing. It's not even marketing 101. It's basically written to people in marketing who are doing it wrong. And, even if you think that this book is really simple, the reality that I've found is that most people in marketing really ARE doing it wrong. So, if you are in marketing - especially if you haven't had much business exposure - then this may be a helpful read. Now, I will say that this book is INCREDIBLY poorly written. I think he spent 3 chapters winding you up to tell you what was inside. While inside, he meandered through countless examples where he identified poor marketing. And then he propels you to a final chapter that is fairly shallow & unhelpful. His advice that you should go on a retreat to absorb everything before you return to the office is a cute touch to make you think that there was alot to absorb. I will say this though. At the end of the book, you wonder how much of a marketing tool this book is for Stevens' company. And you wonder what marketing tools he used to get so much hype for a book that isn't really worth it. And you think perhaps he really does know what he's talking about even though he can't write very well. It's kinda like looking at your reflection via 2 mirrors and seeing you look at your reflection via 2 mirrors who is looking at your reflection via...you get the picture. My final word is that, in the long run, Stevens will be the big loser long-term whether the books sells well or not(unless he's exceedingly brilliant, which I am doubting at the moment). He's a one-trick pony. He may actually be a whiz at marketing consulting. But with his shameless use of a crude title & slogan to catch people's attention, he has also lowered himself on classiness pole enough that he probably will never be taken as a serious player in the business world. He will never rule the roost. He'll just help the rulers get more money...until some other irreverent upstart can do it better than he.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Sucks
Review: The general idea of using ROI methods for determing marketing budgets and activities is good, but nowhere to be found. The entire book is generally a plug for Mr. Stevens and his company. Frankly I would not hire his firm based on the examples of his own firm. Congratulations to Mr. Stevens for convincing the publisher to publish this self promoting book.
Rating:
Summary: Two stars is being kind
Review: I give the author credit for two things - 1) he came up with a catchy title and enticed me into buying the book and 2) he had me convinced after the first chapter that this was finally going to be one of those books that actually proved useful to me in helping me grow my business. Boy, was I wrong. I own a small start-up company that I founded after many years in the marketing industry so I have some background on this sort of material and while I am always open to new ideas, I didn't really get any. Yes, the general platitudes are correct but they are the same that you would get from any college course in marketing. As we all know, it's one thing to absorb information and knowledge in a classroom or through a book and it's quite another to put it into practice. I didn't feel like this book helped implement anything. Moreover, the writing was so incredibly poor I felt like writing a letter to the editor or the publisher or whoever to tell them to go back and have another pass at it. It was also repetitive to the point where it felt like Mr. Stevens was padding - did he get paid by the word? Lastly, although the book is clearly a direct plug for Mr. Stevens's firm, I gave the benefit of the doubt and thought I would visit his web site and contact them with the potential for hiring them to help me. In that regard, I have to echo some of the other reviewers who posted that dollars appear to be more of a concern to Mr. Stevens than actual best practices. It would seem to me that Your Marketing Sucks is more in tune with the small business owner's needs than with the IBMs and Coca-Colas of the world to whom $20,000 (my marketing budget) is bubble-gum money, but Mr. Stevens does not appear interested in working with anyone who can't generate big bucks. That's his right but it strikes me as disingenuous. In addition, at a local business networking event in Connecticut I met someone who had actually had some contact with Mr. Stevens and his firm and came away very unimpressed. His take was that they toss around big concepts and ideas, take your money, and ultimately fall back on the same old thing you find in almost any other agency. I don't know whether that assessment is true or not but reading this book seems to reinforce it. I helped line his pockets by purchasing the book but that's the limit for me.
Rating:
Summary: Great place to start
Review: What a fun read! It helped us getout of the marketing rut and begin rethinking our goals and marketing vehicles. It's short, entertaining and quite thought provoking. I think it's the kick in the pants most of us small business owners need to stop marketing the same way we always have. Some good ideas, some great coaching and glad i bought it. I've recommended this to others and have gotten similar feedback from them. Give it a chance, unless you're already an MBA or employed in the field, this book will certainly help you start asking the right questions of yourself and zero in on what makes your company distinctively different.
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