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I don't usually review marketing books, but this one is just too good for you to pass up. The Alpha Factor: A revolutionary new look at what really creates market dominance and self-sustaining success, by Wes Ball is worth your time if you're in business. Period.

You may not read many marketing books. I sure don't. But this one will give you insights and ideas you can use.

You may think all marketing books say pretty much the same thing. This one will make you get out your highlighter and start taking notes. Just make sure your Post-It Note supply is good.

What's the big deal? We know that market dominance and profitability go hand-in-hand. That's what was behind Jack Welch's "top one or two in the market" strategy.

And we know about some drivers of long term competitive advantage. Over a quarter century ago, the PIMS Principles pointed out that people, culture and relationships are keys.

The Alpha Factor adds another piece to the puzzle. It's based on a 15-year research project into what creates sustainable success and market dominance, including over 100,000 interviews and tests with over 70 companies.

The research looked at how we make decisions about value and about what to buy. Here are some key insights.

An alpha company or product is the one that influences how others act.

When there is an alpha in the market, everyone else tries to copy it or do something different. But all the strategies relate to what the alpha does. Think about how Coke and other soft drink makers operate.

There are very few alphas because companies have pursued cost-cutting strategies to gain market share. These can give you an advantage, but it's not sustainable.

There are low-level drivers of decisions such as price and convenience. Higher level drivers are described as things like "self-satisfaction" and "significance."

My take is that the lower level drivers tend to be economic and the higher level ones tend to be social or psychological. The economic drivers can be copied. The psychological ones cannot.

It's important to understand the current drivers of decision in your market and how they differ from what could be drivers of decision. From page 76: "Make customers feel smarter, bolder, braver, more influential, more knowledgeable, more admired, more fulfilled and customers will flock to your product."

If you follow the reasoning and research, you will concentrate your innovation on giving your customers satisfaction, significance, and fulfillment. You'll also build on your "alpha assets," the experiences that customers have with your brand that help increase their satisfaction or significance. An "alpha asset" is one that is capable of creating loyalty.

Ball builds on those insights with advice on how to analyze your situation and then develop a strategy based on your alpha assets. He finishes the book with a chapter titled: "The Big Ah-Has!" It's full of surprises from the research.

If marketing your business is all or part of your job, the Alpha Factor is a book you should read. If you want to understand some things about the rise and fall of businesses, it is a book you should read.

Boss's Bottom Line

The Alpha Factor is not a management book, but it's chock full of management lessons. Set the competitive advantage and market dynamics stuff aside for when you don your marketing hat.

But pay attention to the things that make a difference for people. They aren't the economic things like pay. They are social things like feeling "smarter, bolder, braver, more influential, more knowledgeable, more admired, more fulfilled." Help your people feel that way and your team will be great.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.