FROM MIND TO MARKET

This is a smart book for serious business people. Roger Blackwell, consultant to various Fortune 500 companies and Professor of Marketing at Ohio State University, prescribes what seems like a simple theory: Know who your customers are, know what they want, figure out how to give it to them faster and cheaper, and know how customers use your product. Blackwell stresses that the companies that learn how to collect information from their customers and then act upon that information by doing the right things right are the ones that will survive. "Don't just listen, really listen," Blackwell implores. The book’s case studies involve companies such as The Limited, Banc One, Kinko's, Max and Erma's, and Wal-Mart. Dennis McKee reads with enthusiasm, and Blackstone Audio's fine packaging deserves mention. One can proudly display Blackstone’s product on one’s bookshelf, as opposed to the cheap throw-away packaging so many bigger publishers cynically hoist upon their customers. M.D.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]