“Bob was instrumental in the growth of a number of our important brands at Nestle USA. The Inside Advantage gives entrepreneurs, business executives, and marketing folks at any size company a blueprint for a successful growth strategy. The book also gives you a process to find your most valuable consumer, and then the insight on how to interact with that consumer to accelerate growth. It’s a ‘must read’!”

Joe Weller, Former Chairman/CEO, Nestle USA

 

“Bob’s strategic focus and aggressive leadership helped Publicis achieve significant growth in the US. Bob has clearly identified the best way to grow—which is the ‘inside advantage’ that all companies have. Better still, he offers an approach, a method and steps to follow. The Inside Advantage is nothing less than a recipe for success.”                                 

Maurice Levy, Chairman/CEO, Publicis Groupe
SA

 

"Bob spent successful career advising business executives and entrepreneurs learn how to grow their companies and now he's sharing this advice with others. If you want to grow your business...read The Inside Advantage cover to cover".

Jack Mitchell, CEO, Mitchells/Richards/Marshs,
Author of Hug Your Customers (Hyperion 2003)
and Hug Your People (Hyperion 2008)

 

“If you are looking for practical wisdom from a battle-tested field general of business--look no further.  I arranged monthly meetings for years with Bob to uncover the practical wisdom he so effortlessly unfolds in the pages of The Inside Advantage.  This step-by-step guide unleashes the resident magic inside any organization that has the guts to put it to the test.   Here he shows that explosive growth and profitability is not just a noble ambition but a practical byproduct of strategic clarity that will emerge from your customers and your employees.  Hold on.  It is a great ride.”

 Robert Dotson, CEO T-Mobile USA

 

“Bloom’s strategic process helped our non-profit organization recognize our inside advantages and capitalize on them to better serve the changing needs of New York City’s underserved communities. The Inside Advantage will help any kind of enterprise develop strategies that promote growth from the inside.”

Donna Colonna, President & CEO, Services for the
UnderServed

 

"Private equity firms like ours "live" growth every day. With Bob's help our portfolio companies have grown revenues at three times the overall economy's growth, creating value the old fashioned way. The elegant simplicity of The Inside Advantage is what makes it work so well."

Rick Patterson, Partner, Spire Capital

 

“The Inside Advantage may be one of the best and it is certainly the most useful business book I have read.  In plain spoken, easy-to-read style, Bob Bloom outlines, step-by-step, his discipline for creating a growth strategy that works.  I know it works because he made it work for my company, more than once.  This book should be required reading for entrepreneurs, small business owners, brand managers and anyone else tasked with generating business growth.”

James A. Block, Former Chairman,
Block Drug Company, Inc. (Now part of
GlaxoSmithKline)

 

“Bob’s growth strategy sessions here at Highline Media gave us a focused sense of what our served market expects from us. He helped us understand how our products fulfill that expectation and how we should be ‘walking the walk and talking the talk’. Bob’s clearly articulated and well thought-out growth process is one of the keys to our success. I firmly believe that The Inside Advantage will benefit any business leader.”

Andrew L. Goodenough, President, Highline
Media and National Underwriter, units of
Summit  Business Media

 

“Bloom crystallizes your business and takes the mystery out of what it needs to grow.  In The Inside Advantage, he demonstrates his unique talent to get to the core of any organization, maximizing existing strengths to focus on what you do best.  Bob sees the path to growth for businesses poised for success; this book provides the roadmap.”

Peter Stern, President, STRATEGIC Sports and
Entertainment

 

“If I were asked today by someone who was starting a new business or growing an existing business how he or she could get the best advice about growth, I would recommend The Inside Advantage. I’ve known Bob for a long time, worked with him and benefited from his advice. His book is vintage Bloom – direct, simple, and focused on results.”

Donald Zale, CEO Capital Entertainment and
Former Chairman/CEO, Zale Corporation


“Bob has contributed to many of Toffler Associates’ roundtable discussions on the future chaired by Alvin Toffler and we've always found his insights valuable and provocative. The Inside Advantage reflects Bob's extensive business experience and sound strategic thinking - this book is certain to help businesses all over the world create growth strategies for the future for well into the future.”

Tom Johnson, Co-founder Toffler Associates

THE NEW YORK TIMES
More Than One Way to Help a Business Grow
By PAUL B. BROWN
Published: November 13, 2007

FROM THE BOOKSHELF Robert H. Bloom, the former chairman in the United States and chief executive of the advertising agency Publicis Worldwide, is convinced that “every enterprise has at least one underutilized existing strength that can be the centerpiece of a powerful growth strategy.”

To find it, he argues in his book “The Inside Advantage” (written with Dave Conti, McGraw Hill, 2007), you need to follow this four-step process:

First you need to ask who is your core customer, the person “most likely to buy your product or service in the quantity required for optimal profit.”

Second, you need to decide what is the “uncommon offering your business will own and leverage?”

Knowing that, the question becomes how will you convince your core customer that your uncommon offering is better than anything else available?

And finally, how will you “own” this advantage in the minds of the customer?

Mr. Bloom suggests that you can figure all this out in a one-day brainstorming session. That may be overly ambitious. But clearly determining what makes you unique in the minds of your customers is the first step in creating a profitable growth strategy.

• Read the full article here.
• Read more reviews here

ABOUT.COM
Karen Schweitzer,
Business Majors.
Guide Rating -

The Bottom Line
If you are looking for a way to grow your business without using gimmicks and radical marketing, look no further than Bob Bloom's new book, The Inside Advantage.

...The Inside Advantage is well written and informative – one of the best books I have read for entrepreneurs and business professionals.

AdvertisingAge:
The Key to Success in Business Is to Find and Tap Your Hidden Strength
Agencies Would Be Smart to Gain an 'Inside Advantage'
By Rance Crain
Published: October 15, 2007

If agencies looked at themselves as brands, they would work hard to stand for something that resonates with their prospects. Agencies get famous for the company they keep.

DDB did it with Volkswagen; Deutsch did it with Ikea; Crispin Porter did it with Mini Cooper.

To get noticed by search consultants and potential talent, agencies must set their sights on acquiring a keystone account -- even before the account realizes it's a keystone. Agencies must understand a client's business better than its owners understand it themselves. They've got to seize on the one attribute that will make the client great and exploit that advantage continuously and outrageously in advertising and PR.

Even though Bob Bloom's new book, "The Inside Advantage," isn't aimed at agencies, his advice applies. Bob found a way to differentiate his shop's brand of integrated marketing when he ran Publicis USA. What he did was name co-presidents of each office, a creative guy and a strategic-planning guy.

...read more

A FIVE STAR REVIEW FOR
THE INSIDE ADVANTAGE
By Robert Morris
One of the highest-ranked reviewers of business books for the US and UK Web sites of both Amazon and Borders.

“This is one of the most thought-provoking business books I have read in recent years.”

“Bloom’s mission is to help decision-makers discover their company’s Inside Advantage”

“Bloom draws on several decades of direct and real-world experience”

“Bloom explains eloquently in this book that each company is a work in progress”

“The Growth Discovery Process will enable any company to sustain profitable growth, whatever its size or nature”

Pay Attention To Loyalty In Customer Relationships

Oct. 29, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex)

In the 1970s, Robert Bloom hitched his star to Southwest Airlines. (NYSE:LUV) His Texas-based regional ad agency helped create the fledging airline's brand identity.

"Southwest Airlines was born at our agency," recalled Bloom, who became U.S. chairman and chief executive of global advertising giant Publicis. "We developed the 'luv' campaign that shaped their whole culture."

After 10 successful years crafting Southwest's LUV advertising strategy, Bloom faced a decision. When Southwest's president, Howard Putnam, left to run Braniff International Airways, he invited Bloom's ad firm along for the ride.

Worried about resigning the Southwest account to jump to a rival, Bloom hesitated. But Braniff's bigger ad budget meant significantly more income for Bloom's firm. Braniff also enabled Bloom to make a splash with a high-profile global client at a time when Southwest still operated a regional airline.

...read more

ROTHACKER REVIEWS
THE INSIDE ADVANTAGE

Bob Bloom was once US Chairman and CEO of Publicis Worldwide, as in advertising firms, BIG advertising firms.  One might think, "how could Bob relate to my company and its whopping seventy-five thousand dollars in sales?"  Bob is of the age and comes from the era where folks from different class and management levels did not associate with each other.  After reading The Inside Advantage however, I get the feeling that Bob would be open and share with others - even if they migrated to the round-table from the levels of subterranean management.

This point is important to me.  If the author is an arrogant snob, I don't care how poignant his message is, I have no use for him.  And I suspect that nearly all Gen X and Y'ers along with a few Boomers feel the same way.

This book is about growing your business.  Bob hooks me on page one.  He says that it is likely every company has at least one underutilized strength that can be the centerpiece of a powerful growth strategy.  This fact so resonates with me.

The Growth Discovery Process.  It is very simple, clear and not only pertains to both large and small companies, it pertains to the individual entrepreneur.  Basically it involves identifying:

...read more

New Tips on Strategy

I've had two invitations in the past few weeks to hear Robert Bloom speak and introduce his new book, written with Dave Conit, The Inside Advantage. Mr Bloom is an entrepreneur and advertising executive who now specializes in helping other companies grow their business. I heard his presentation this week at an SMU breakfast hosted by the Cox School of Business.

Over breakfast, one of my table-mates, who is pursuing a master's in marketing, asked why I wanted to hear a presentation on advertising. I admit that I had not really thought that the presentation might be solely focused on advertising. My best, and top of the mind, answer was that I am very interested in marketing, branding and their underutilization in business. At that point, I hoped that I was not in for a presentation that was full of advertising tales.

...read more

THIS IS NOT A BOOK REVIEW
By Richard Baker

This is not a book review. It's a review of reactions to a book, The Inside Advantage.
The reactions came from an audience I had assembled: Business owners, CEO's and marketing professionals. (The mix is important because The Inside Advantage is about business strategy not just marketing or advertising strategy.). My hyper critical colleagues come from a variety of industries including real estate development, private jet sales, home furnishings manufacturing, and luxury retailing to mention a few. They expect an unequivocal return on their investment of time and money in meetings I arrange. They want information that will make a difference in their businesses, insights they can use in their jobs, and tools they can put in their managers' hands. They want steak not just sizzle.
This evening they got both. The presentation of The Inside Advantage had the impact of lightning striking a near-by tree. It quickly split the subject of growth open so the audience could touch and see the rings required for rapid success. Four growth rings to be exact:
* Core Customers: Develop a clear, intimate grasp of their needs in the context of their life * Uncommon Offerings: Identify the tangible and emotional benefits you offer that customer.
* Persuasive Strategies: State the benefits in a way you and not your competitors can own. * Imaginative Acts: Deliver the benefits at touch points and in "explosive" public communications
The audience response to the facts behind each of the four points was positive not only because the information was presented succinctly but also because it was packaged with practical examples drawn from real-life successes. My skeptical group grew increasing enthusiastic and appreciative. At the conclusion each wasted no time getting his personal copy of The Inside Advantage signed by the author and presenter, Bob Bloom. (Three companies that attended the meeting as guests asked to join as full time members!) Having read The Inside Advantage I know the book has bottled this same lightning that we felt in the live presentation. It's more than a good read: it's a Frommer's for the terra incognita called Rapid Growth.
The book has four main parts; each delivers its own jolt of insight. (For example in Part 2 why being "uncommon" is for most business a more manageable positioning for long-term growth than trying to be "unique." ) This is a book in which individual words are carefully chosen because each word signifies a different thought. This choice-fullness of language demonstrates the disciplined mental process required to successfully execute the four steps in the Growth Discovery Process.
Most importantly, all four parts are unified into (if I'm not overusing the metaphor) an overall bolt. Taken together, sequentially and systematically, these steps create a great deal more energy than if they are performed selectively or randomly. Most astonishingly, the book demonstrates how all four steps can be completed in one action-packed day. This is a critical point. Each part of the book ends with the specific agenda for holding the portion of the day-long session that produces one of the "growth rings." And this medium (the organized, off-site leadership team meeting) is essential to achieve the top management commitment required for seamless implementation.
I began by saying this is not a book review. It's a reaction review. Here's the bottom line: If you, your management team and/or your shareholders are looking for the shortest, most prudent path to doubling your growth, you want more than a book. You want an action that will cause a reaction. And chances are you and they will react the way my associates and I did to The Inside Advantage. You don't want a book. You want lightning bottled in a book.


Secrets revealed with powerful evidence
By Valerie Atkinson Brown

Growing a business takes unique strategies. This book breaks down each strategy - by focusing on who and what is involved in every step to success.

One of the best examples in this book is that of Faber-Castell, pencil manufacturer. The company stayed with its line of expertise - and did not try to outdo itself or burn itself out in an unrelated field. It stayed with what it knows and does best. Even Vincent Van Gogh has commented on their product (a quote offered in the text - taken from The Economist). The timeless strategies and endurance of Faber-Castell shows that they know what they are doing and have refined their craft to its perfection.

This and similar examples in the book show a small business person what it takes to make it in the competitive business world.

Another interesting example is that of Proctor and Gamble. P & G managers found that Italian women cleaned their homes more often then American women. Specifically, Italian women washed the floors more often each week. To go into this market with this valuable information made all the difference. But even further, Italian women wanted tough cleaners, not just convenient ones. The marketing strategy for Italian consumers obviously had to be different than the strategy for American consumers - who value convenience (such as Swiffer Wet Mop) over tough cleaners.

This book is filled with tips and examples such as these. The main point of the book is that the 'who', 'what', and 'how' create the inside advantage. Clear examples prove this - throughout the text.


The Inside Advantage
BookPleasures.com

In this age of globalization, Robert Bloom asserts that remaining a niche player is not an option for businesses worldwide. Businesses, both small and large, have to adopt growth strategies in order to remain profitable and remain relevant in an ever changing world.

In The Inside Advantage, Mr. Bloom sets out with the premise that the road to achieving sustainable growth does not require a dramatic change in an organization through a re-organization or via costly acquisitions. Rather, such steps might prove to be ineffective and detrimental to the firm.

It is preferable to adopt a simple strategy that focuses on using the organization's extant resources in identifying its customer and addressing their needs effectively.

...read more


Growing on the 'Inside'
The Green Sheet

Do you know who is most likely to buy your product or service in the quantity required for optimal profit? Can you articulate the sustainable uncommon offering you can leverage to attract more business? If not, maybe it's time to discover your company's inside advantage.

With so many enterprises competing to get a piece of the pie, it's essential to set your business apart from the pack. The Inside Advantage: The Strategy That Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business by Robert H. Bloom with Dave Conti helps simplify the task of growing a business through a step by step process.

Whether you are just starting in this industry or are a seasoned pro, this book shares knowledge that can help your business reach the next level. It will also lend you the edge in getting merchants to select you and your services over those of your competitors.

...read more

O'Dwyer PR Review

Reading "The Inside Advantage: The Strategy That Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business” is like having a one-on-one consulting session with author Robert Bloom, former U.S. Chairman and CEO of Publicis Worldwide. It’s an excellent read on how companies can tap their own unique resources to grow, providing case studies along with the expertise Bloom has acquired during his 45-year career.

Bloom clearly and concisely lays out how companies can use their “Inside Advantage” to grow their business. He says that in order for a business to be successful, it must grow or double in size every five years. While he admits this is a daunting goal, he feels that all companies have at least one existing under used strength that can serve as the centerpiece of a growth strategy. He believes this strength is often hidden inside a company, waiting to be discovered and that is a company’s “Inside Advantage.”

Bloom says the key is in his four-step method, the “Growth Discovery Process,” which he created during his years helping corporations, famous brands and entrepreneurial firms. He states that it is a practical, systematic approach to business growth.

The book is written in an up-front, straightforward manner and is designed to help busy executives grow their companies. Right away, Bloom explains what makes up his Growth Discovery Process.

The process is made up of these four parts: “who,” “what,” “how” and “own it!” “Who” is the core customer most likely to buy your product or service in the quantity required for optimal profit. “What” is the uncommon offering that your business will own and leverage. “How” is the persuasive strategy that will convince your core customer to buy your uncommon offering versus all competitive offerings. “Own it!” is imaginative acts that will celebrate your uncommon offering and make it well known to your core customer. The four parts of the book delve into these processes.

Bloom sums up his growth principle by saying “The best way to expand the size, scope, and profit of your business is to grow it from the inside, capitalizing on hidden strengths that already exist within the company or brand.”

There’s a section at the end of each of the four parts featuring information from a consulting session held by Bloom showing how he goes in and works directly with a firm. There are step-by-step instructions on how companies can uncover each of the four parts of their own growth process, as well as a FAQ section, where Bloom provides additional questions and answers regarding these principles.

Bloom asserts that the “customer is the most important word in the vocabulary of business” and believes the core customer must be the target for future growth. He cites an example of how Procter & Gamble’s Swiffer Wet Mop did not sell well in Italy, despite the fact that P&G research revealed that Italian clients wash their floors four times a week. The company eventually found out that promoting the product as a “labor-saving convenience” was turning customers away as they did not want a “timesaver,” they wanted a good, strong cleaner. So P&G offered the Swiffer Duster, which did a light cleaning job and was not promoted as a timesaving “convenience”, and that became a bestseller in Italy.

Bloom explains that businesses need to have an understanding of who their most valuable customer is and why they buy from them. The way to growth remains to add customers that are like a company’s most valuable clients. He adds: “Your most valuable customer is particularly attracted to your product or service offering. It’s probable that new customers very much like this valuable customer will also become well-satisfied customers of your firm.”

Bloom wants companies to ask what their uncommon offerings are, and how they fit into their growth strategy. He says there is at least one successful local burger place in every city that succeeds against all the other large fast-food burger restaurants because of this uncommon offering, a burger with unique ingredients and toppings and an interesting décor. “Hidden in every business, including yours, is an uncommon offering, waiting to be revealed and turned into an Inside Advantage with a persuasive strategy and series of imaginative acts.”

Bloom believes firms must continually refresh this uncommon offering. He mentions how BMW reconfigures the designs of its cars, L’Oreal launches new products, T.G.I. Friday’s introduces new dishes and Starbucks offers new beverages and snacks each season. He adds that FedEx introduced FedEx Ground and added new services when it acquired Kinko’s, now called FedEx Kinko’s.

Through imaginative acts your company can stand for the uncommon offering defined in the Growth Discovery Process, said Bloom. He adds: “Through these acts, you will become well known to your core customer for your uncommon offering and you will unlock your Inside Advantage.” For instance he explains how TNT promotes its slogan “We Know Drama” heavily and as a result stands out among the hundreds of TV channels available to viewers.

Bloom offers tremendous advice, which can be used by reading and studying the book. At the end of the book, he offers a way for companies to host their own one-day Growth Discovery Process session. He outlines exactly what to do and provides a timeline of how to proceed during the day. While he acknowledges that organizing such a session may be difficult for some companies, he adds that the rewards of such a session can be dramatic and a great way for companies to come up with unique ideas to grow a business.

Bloom currently advises companies of all sizes on their growth strategies. While at Publicis, Bloom managed more than 1,000 employees, 12 U.S. offices and clients such as BMW, L’Oreal, Nestle, T.G.I. Friday’s, Whirlpool, Zales jewelers and T-Mobile. He also directed the launch of numerous brands including Southwest Airlines, Nestle Juicy Juice and T-Mobile U.S.

— Christine O'Dwyer

I Highly Recommend the Book and Process
Efficience LLC Gregory D'Amico


I have read the book, seen Mr. Bloom speak and I have taken my team through the growth discovery process that Mr. Bloom has outlined in The Inside Advantage. His process has been an incredible insite for myself, my team, and our company. The process he describes helps a company discover WHO their core customer really is that they should target. This really helped us gain a more laser like focus for the customers of our software company that we did not have before. The WHAT and the HOW raised our awareness so that we could understand clearly what it is we have to offer and how we do it. The OWN IT is a key because it allowed us to define items that would ensure we executed.

Any of you that are big fans of Jim Collins book "Good to Great" and the hedgehog principle, will love this book. Why? Because discovering your hedgehog is not easy and "The Inside Advantage" gives you a process to look inside your company and gain insight and discovery that is hard to do. Mr. Bloom's process is so well described that you will not need a facilitator to follow it. It may not take you fully up to the mountain top to your Hedgehog but will get you high up the mountain so you see the top and find the rest of the way yourself.

The best reward for me as a CEO has been the many experiences in meetings and documentation that team members have referred to our WHO, WHAT, HOW and OWN IT that we learned from the process. The impact it is having is very apparent!