cover image Ice to the Eskimos: How to Market a Product Nobody Wants

Ice to the Eskimos: How to Market a Product Nobody Wants

Jon Spoelstra. HarperBusiness, $23.99 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-88730-851-2

To his credit, Spoelstra--former general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers and president of the New Jersey Nets--announces in the foreword to his how-to marketing book: ""At the beginning of each chapter [I'll] tell a little anecdote from my experiences in the NBA. Sometimes [it is] related to the chapter; sometimes it isn't."" The candor is appreciated; the approach is not. The problem with his stories about life in the National Basketball Association is that they invariably involve players and executives that the average fan has never heard of and they rarely return to the point Spoelstra is trying to make. That's unfortunate because he does have worthwhile ideas. He spends a lot of time discussing the markets that companies should not target when they're trying to move more product, and he's great at explaining how it's far easier to sell more to existing customers--whatever the business--than to find new ones. Those willing to wade through all the incidental stories will find their effort rewarded. (June)