The Accidental Marketer: Power Tools for People Who Find Themselves in Marketing Roles

Praise for The Accidental Marketer An essential read for scientists and engineers who want to bring their inventions to market. The Accidental Marketer presents a valuable toolkit that should lead to better partnerships with marketing colleagues and drive results with customers. Beth Comstock, CMO, GE Spitale and Abbazia have written a very useful book, chock–full of interesting case studies. Easy to read, insightful and thought–provoking. These first–time authors are obviously very experienced marketers. Don Peppers and Martha Rogers Ph.D., coauthors of Extreme Trust: Honesty as a Competitive Advantage As we look for ways to differentiate and grow the business, I believe it is critical that our marketing and commercial organization have strong strategic marketing skills. These tools provide them with the right level of structure and discipline, and help them have an outside in mind–set. Additionally, this sound process, if adopted as an organization, can enable marketers from different backgrounds and geographies to have a common approach and language to exchange ideas. Alejandro Bernal, Executive Vice President and Area President, Europe, Africa, and Middle East Region, Zoetis For the past 10 years, my work with the authors has centered on aligning leaders around common goals and developing winning strategies. I found the model to be highly successful. The Accidental Marketer contains a clear and concise agenda for businesses that want to thrive in a world experiencing constant change. Bryan C. Hanson, Group President, Medical Devices and U.S., Covidien Marketers cant rely on intuition to compete in todays dynamic markets. They need proven tools to lead their cross–functional teams in testing their assumptions, uncovering insights, and determining how to satisfy target customer needs better than anyone else. This book is an ideal resource for doing all of this and more. If you are an Accidental Marketer, this book is a must–read. Robert Baker, Marketing Excellence Team, Pfizer Inc. Tom Spitale and Mary Abbazia are marketing consulting veterans with a unique way of conveying sage marketing advice in a compelling and convincing manner. The Accidental Marketer provides an excellent and very applicable step–by–step framework for designing robust marketing strategies for any industry, whether B2B or B2C. To the point and easy to read, the book is filled with simple but powerful planning tools to help answer key strategic marketing questions. In addition, the authors discuss many memorable case studies from a variety of industries to drive their point home. A must–read for anyone with new marketing responsibilities. Michel Tuan Pham, Kravis Professor of Business, Columbia University

TOM SPITALE has spent the last 20 years studying and unlocking the mysteries of marketing success. As a speaker, consultant and trainer he has launched thousands of strategic initiatives and plans in the Americas, Europe, and Asia for Fortune 500 companies and for lesser–known organizations in highly–specialized markets. Tom creates tools and frameworks that his clients use in workshop settings, helping them uncover the keys to differentiating their products and services in as little as two days. His goal is to help elevate the role of marketers in the modern organization to be the orchestrators of company strategy. Prior to his consulting career, Tom held a variety of marketing, pricing, and actuarial positions for Walmart, General Electric, and Great American Insurance Company. He is a husband, father, entrepreneur, investor, musician, golfer, sports fan, spiritualist, and cook. MARY ABBAZIA is Managing Director of Impact Planning Group where she guides global clients to grow profitably. She focuses on developing their marketing skills and creating fresh dynamic strategies. Mary also teaches at Columbia University School of Business Executive Marketing Program and at the California Institute of Technology Mary started her career at Intel and was Vice President of The BASES Group, where she forecasted new products and services. Over the past 25 years, her passion has been maximizing clients potential. She has worked across virtually all industries as a speaker, executive educator, and business coach. Her practical approach and real–life experiences, combined with proven frameworks and tools, give clients real results. In addition, teams gain alignment and common language. Mary received her Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis and her MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA. She lives in Connecticut with her family and enjoys hiking and learning about different cultures.