The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
L. Ries and J. Trout
One of many publications by these acknowledged experts on product positioning. (See also The New Positioning, Marketing Warfare, Bottom-Up Marketing, etc.) All are excellent airplane reads, full of short, punchy examples and conclusions. There's a heavy emphasis on consumer products, but many of the lessons are completely transferable. Our only criticism is that the sound bite style tends to make some very complex issues appear quite simple. How, for example, could leading companies like Coca-Cola and IBM go so wrong on occasion if it were really this easy? (HarperBusiness, 1993)

Crossing the Chasm
Geoff Moore
Deservedly a modern classic. Well-written and based on real world experience with a large number of Silicon Valley companies, this book popularized the idea of the Technology Adoption Lifecycle Curve and its importance on hi-tech marketing effectiveness. With its particular emphasis on challenges of the early market, a key message is the importance of segmentation when first attacking mainstream markets. If you read only one book on technology marketing, read this one. If nothing else, it will let you talk the talk like everyone else. (HarperBusiness, 1991)

Marketing High Technology: An Insider's View
William Davidow
One of our all-time favourites, by a former senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Intel who went on to become a Silicon Valley venture capitalist (Mohr Davidow Ventures). Almost 20 years old, this book still offers a very relevant discussion of issues like the OEwhole product', how OEdesign wins' can be critical objectives for component technology vendors, and how you have to plan what you do before you do it. Slightly more textbook feeling than some more recent titles, this book will appeal especially to the serious-minded reader and those with complex products that are likely to be embedded in some other product or service. (The Free Press, 1986)

The Discipline of Market Leaders
Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema
We like this book because of its three main tenets: choose your customers, narrow your focus, and dominate your market. The authors argue that to be a market leader you must decide what your strategic position is: operational excellence, product leadership, or customer intimacy. Focus on one, with the other two playing supporting roles. There are some useful case studies involving each of these scenarios. In all, a good read for companies trying to make tough choices about how to scale their business and dominate a market. (Addison-Wesley, 1995)