"The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Al Ries & Jack Trout

“The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” by Al Ries & Jack Trout · Law #1: The Law of Leadership · Law #2: The Law of Category. MainMenu Search SocialMediaMenu “The22ImmutableLawsofMarketing”byAlRies&JackTrout Justliketherearelawsofthermodynamicsandtheuniverseatlarge,therearelawsformarketing. Twenty-twotobeprecise. Intheirbook,“The22ImmutableLawsofMarketing”,AlRiesandJackTrout,outlineeachoftheselawsindistinctdetail. Let’slookateachofthese22lawsandsummarizethemforyou. Law#1:TheLawofLeadership It’sbettertobefirstthanitistobebetter. Ifyou’rethefirstoneinthemarketyou’realreadyastepaheadoftherest.Thelawofleadershipappliestoanyindustry,anyproductorserviceoranybrand. Theideaistocreateacategoryyoucanbefirstin,ratherthanconvincingpotentialprospectsyourofferingisthebetterchoice. Peoplealwaysrecognizetheproductthatgottherefirstastheleaderinthemarketandthebetterproduct—andmarketingisaclashofperceptions,notproductsandservices. Examples:Howmanytimeshaveyousaidifyoucouldmakea“Xerox”copy?Orgeta“Kleenex”?Orbuya“Coke”?EvenifthemachineisclearlynotaXerox,thetissuepaperjustagenericbrand,andthesoda,notCoca-Cola,thebrandsticksinyourmindasitgottherefirst. Law#2:TheLawofCategory Ifyoucan’tbefirstinacategory,setupanewcategoryyoucanbefirstin. Mostpeopleareinterestedinwhat’snewinthemarket,ratherthanwhat’sbetter.Iftheindustryyou’reinisalreadysaturatedandhasalotofcompetition,youneedtostartthinkingdifferently. Whenlaunchinganewproductorservice,don’tbefocusedonhowthisproductisbetterthanwhatthecompetitionhas,butratherwhatcategoryisthisproducta“first”in.Theideaistoalwaysbefirst. Andifyou’refirstina“new”category,youneedtopromotethatcategory,andnottheproduct.Then,youwon’thavetoworryaboutyourcompetitionasyou’realreadyfirstinthatcategory. Examples:AlthoughIBMwasthefirstcompanyincomputers,Dellwasthefirsttomarkettheircomputersbyphone.EventhoughMarieCuriewasnotthefirstwomanscientist,shewasthefirstwomantowinaNobelPrize. Law#3:TheLawofTheMind It’sbettertobefirstinthemindthanitistobefirstinthemarketplace. Onceyou’vemadeupyourmindaboutsomething,howdifficultisittochangeit? That’sexactlywhatthislawisabout.Inmarketing,beingfirstinthe“mind”iscriticalandprecedesbeingfirstinthemarket. Thislawmodifiesthefirstlaw,assertingthatbeingfirstinthemarketisonlyimportantifyoucangetintothemindoftheconsumerfirst. Onceamindismadeup,nomatterhowmuchyouspendinmarketing,it’sgoingtobedifficulttochangeit.Infact,it’soneofthemostwastefulthingsyoucando. However,onewaytoachievethisistohaveasimplebrandnamethatresonateswithprospects. Law#4:TheLawofPerception Marketingisnotabattleofproducts,it’sabattleofperception. Marketingisnothingbutamanipulationofperceptioninthemindoftheprospect.Everythingelseisjustanillusion.Thereareno“best”productsandservices. Ifyoumarketaproductthinkingthattheproductisthechampionofthemarketingplanandwillwinorlosebasedonitsmerits,you’vegotitallwrong. Marketingaproductorservicehasnothingtodowithitsqualityoritsfeatures,butabouthowpeopleperceivetheproductorservice.Thisperceptionistruereality. Example:IntheUnitedStateswhenyouthinkofHondayoumaythinkofahigh-qualityreliablecarmanufacturer,howeverinIndia,Hondaisbestknownforitsmotorcycles,withcarsalesnowhereclosetootherbrands.Ifqualitywasallthatmattered,thenHondawouldhavehadthesamepositioninallmarkets. Law#5:TheLawofFocus Themostpowerfulconceptinmarketingisowningawordintheprospect’smind. What’sthefirstwordthatcomestomindwhenyouthinkofIBM?Youmighthavesaid“computers.”WhataboutIntel?Youprobablysaid“computerchips.” Thetrueessenceofmarketingis“narrowing”yourfocusandwhatyoustandfor. Thepremisebeingthatifyouchaseaftereverything,youwon’tberememberedforanything. Thesimplerthisfocusorthis“word”,thebetter. Largecorporationswhoarealreadytheleadersintheirmarket(asperthelawofleadership)alreadyhaveawordintheircategory,suchasFedExownstheword“overnight.” Ifyou’renotaleaderinyourmarket,youneedtopickawordwithanarrow,benefit-orientedfocus—nomatterhowcomplicatedyourproductis. Onceyouhaveyourword,youmustdoeverythingyoucantoprotectitinthemarket. Law#6:TheLawofExclusivity Twocompaniescannotownthesamewordintheprospect’smind. Followingthelawoffocus,pickingauniquewordthatappliesonlytoyou,comesthelawofexclusivity:Don’ttrytotakeoverawordthatisalreadytaken. Ifthewordisalready“owned”byyourcompetition,andalreadyinthe“mind”ofprospects,itshighlyunproductivetotrytotakeoverthatword—nomatterwhateffortsyoutakeorhowmuchmoneyyouspend. Example:BurgerKingcouldnotcompetewiththeirmajorcompetitorMcDonald’swhentheytriedtotakeovertheword“fast.”FedExcouldnottakeovertheword“worldwide”fromtheircompetitorDHL. Law#7:TheLawofTheLadder Thestrategytousedependsonwhichrungyouoccupyontheladder. Yourmarketingstrategyshoulddependonwhichrungyouoccupyontheladder,orwhereyouruniquepositionisinthemarket. It’snosecretthatwhenaprospectmakesdecisionstheyhaveahierarchyinmind. Itcanbedisastroustoclaimsomethingthatyouareclearlynot,asyouhavetorememberasperLaw3,themindoftheprospectisalreadymadeup. Ifyou’reNo.2or3orfurtherdowntheladder,youneedtoacknowledgethatanduseadifferentmarketingstrategytoyouradvantage. Example:AlthoughMcDonald’sisfirstinfast-food,Wendy’sdidnotclaimtobe“fast”butadoptedthecampaign“fresh,neverfrozen,”tocarvetheirnicheandcompetewiththebigfast-foodchains. Law#8:TheLawofDuality Inthelongrun,everymarketbecomesatwo-horserace. Inthebeginning,whenyoucarveyourwayintoanewcategoryyoumaybeonaladderwithmanyrungs. Buteventually,theladderwillturnintoonethathastworungs,withthetoptwocompaniescompetingformarketshare.Thisistrueforeverymarket. Examples:MicrosoftandApple.Coca-ColaandPepsi.McDonald’sandBurgerKing.FedExandDHL. Law#9:TheLawofTheOpposite Ifyou’reshootingforsecondplace,yourstrategyisdeterminedbytheleader. Thislawstatesthatwhentheleaderisstrong,it’sagoodtimeforthecompetitorsecondinlinetocatchtheleaderoff-guardandturnthetables. Doingthismeanstwothings: First,No.2shouldnotemulatetheleader,butratherdotheexactoppositetostandout.It’snotaboutbeingbetter,butaboutbeingdifferent. Second,leveragingtheleader’sstrengthintoaweaknesstakescourage,soNo.2cannotaffordtogointothisbattlebeingcoyandfearful. Example:CompetingwithLevi’s,theestablishedfirstnameinjeans,Gapkickedoffacampaignadecadeagomarketingtheirdenimas“qualityjeansataninoffensiveprice.”Similarly,Coca-Cola’stime-honoredbrandwasmetbyPepsimarketingitselfasthechoiceoftheyounggeneration. Law#10:TheLawofDivision Overtime,acategorywilldivideandbecometwoormorecategories. Astimeprogresses,onecategorywillsplitintomorecategories. Ifyoutakecomputers,you’llfindtherearecategoryleadersineachseparatecategoryofwhatittakestomakeacomputer—fromtheprocessortotheRAM,tothegraphicscard. Similarly,ifyoutakeaircraft,whatstartedoutasasinglecategoryisnowdividedintopassengerairplanes,cargoplanes,helicopters,privatejetsandmore. Ifaleaderchoosestomaintaintheirdominance,whentheyenteranewcategory,theyneedtogointoitbyestablishinganewbrandname.Itrarelyworksifabrandnamethathasbeensuccessfulinonecategory,willbesuccessfulinanother. Example:WhenToyotawantedtocreateanewluxurycar,theycreatedandmarketeditunderanewbrand,Lexus. Law#11:TheLawofPerspective Marketingeffectstakeplaceoveranextendedperiodoftime. Inmarketing,long-termplanningshouldnotnecessarilybesacrificedforshort-termgains. Example:Whenacompanyholdsasaleitmayseeincreasestoitsbalancesheetintheshort-term,howeverinthelong-runwhatitisactuallydoingisindirectlytellingitscustomersthatthebesttimetobuyitsproductsiswhenthere’sasale,hurtingprofitsandtheirbottomlineinthelong-term. Law#12:TheLawofLineExtension There’sanirresistiblepressuretoextendtheequityofabrand. Whenacompanyisrunningsuccessfully,itmaydecidetotakealineextension. Thisistakingitsbrandnameandputtingitonanewproductthatitplanstoputoutinthemarket. Thiscouldeventuallyleadtoasuccessful,profitablebrandthatisfocusedononeflagshipproductorservicelosingmoneyovermoreofferings. Thekeyistobethebestinyourniche,andnottrytobeallthingstoallpeople. Lessisalwaysmore.Thenarrowerthefocus,thebetteryou’llbeabletofortifyyourpositioninthemindoftheprospect. Inordertoaddressnewmarkets,createanewbrand,ratherthanextendingtheequityofyourcurrentbrandintothenewmarket. Law#13:TheLawofSacrifice Youhavetogiveupsomethinginordertogetsomething.TheLawofSacrificeisactuallytheoppositeofLaw12,thelawoflineextension.WhattheLawofSacrificestatesisthatinordertobesuccessfulyouneedtogiveupsomething. Therearethreethingsthatyoucansacrificeifyouwanttokeepsucceedingdoingwhatyoudo: TargetmarketProductlineConstantchange Law#14:TheLawofAttributes Foreveryattribute,thereisanopposite,effectiveattribute. Manytimesacompanymaytrytofollow,belikeorimitatetheleaderorthecompetitionandfailmiserably. Inordertosucceed,youneedtofindyourown“word,”oryourownattribute. Thekeyistofindanattributethatisactuallyoppositetowhattheleaderisusing—asimilarattributewillnotwork. Youalsohavetorealizethatall“words”orattributesarenotcreatedequal.Somewillbemoreimportantintheeyesoftheprospect. Whencompeting,youmusttrytofindthemostsignificantattributethatwillholdvaluetothecustomer.Youneverknowwhichattributewillwork,soneverscoffatone. Law#15:TheLawofCandor Whenyouadmitanegative,theprospectwillgiveyouapositive. Itmightgoagainsteverythingyouthinkyouknowasamarketer,butoneofthebestwaystogetintothemindofaconsumeristoadmittoaproblem. Beingabletohonestlyadmitanegative,automaticallymakesitthetruth,asnoproofisneededforadmittingtosomethingthatisnegative. Thisimmediatelycatchesaprospect’sattentionandisagreatwaytogetintothemindofaprospect. Whenyouadmittosomethingnegative,itrequiresskill,andyouinstantlyhavetobackitupwithsomethingpositive—andtheprospecthastoagreetoit. Example:AvisopenlyadmittedthatitisNo.2afterHertzinrent-a-cars,byusingtheslogan“WeTryHarder.” Law#16:TheLawofSingularity Ineachsituation,onlyonemovewillproducesubstantialresults. Asamarketer,youmaythinkthatsuccessinmarketingwillbeachievedafteralongjourneyofwell-executedmarketingefforts,butthetruthisthatallittakesisonegoodshot. Justlikethe80/20rule,theLawofSingularitystatesthatinmarketing,onlyonemovecangeneratesizableresults. Formarketers,thekeyistoalwaysknowwhatisgoingoninthemarketplaceandtostrikewherethecompetitorismostvulnerable. Law#17:TheLawofUnpredictability Unlessyouwriteyourcompetitor’splans,youcan’tpredictthefuture. Oneofthemostfutilethingsacompanycandoistopredictwhattheircompetitionmightdoanddrawouttheirmarketingplansbasedonthisassumption. Nobodycanpredictthefuture,sothebestthingyoucandoistobuildenoughflexibilityintoyourcompanyandyourmarketingstrategysothatyoucanrespondquicklytoanysituationyoumaybefacedwith. Law#18:TheLawofSuccess Successoftenleadstoarrogance,andarrogancetofailure. Whenitcomestosuccessfulmarketing,there’sonemajorenemy—ego. Often,whenpeopletastesuccesstheybecomelessobjective,replacingtheirownjudgmentforwhatthemarketdemands. Inordertobeaneffectivemarketer,youneedtobeobjectiveandnotletyouregogetintheway.Dropyourarrogance,andbeobjective. Law#19:TheLawofFailure Failureistobeexpectedandaccepted. There’snoeasywaytoputthis—butdropthingsthatdon’twork.Whatmostcompanieswilldoistotryandfixthingsor“reorganize”tofixthesituation,whichrarelyeverworks. Whatthislawstatesisthatitisbettertorecognizefailureforwhatitisandcutyourlossesearly. Law#20:TheLawofHype Thesituationisoftentheoppositeofthewayitappearsinthepress. Oftenwhenthingsaregoingwell,acompanyrarelyneedshypeorattention.Whenitdoesneedit,however,iswhenthingsarenotgoingitsway,anddefinitelywhenthecompanyisintrouble. It’salsoimportanttorememberthathypeisnotdirectlyproportionaltothesuccessofaproductorservice. Example:GoogleGlasswasheavilyhyped,withmillionsitchingtotryit,however,itdidn’tliveuptoconsumerexpectations. Law#21:TheLawofAcceleration Successfulprogramsarenotbuiltonfads,theyarebuiltontrends. Afadisabriefsurgeinfameforanyproduct,thathasashortlifespan.Thinkoffaddiets,clothes,andtoys.Oncethenoveltyisgone,thefadquicklygoesoutofmind,fortheprospect. Trends,ontheotherhand,cangoonforyears.Forexample,insteadofafaddiet,thetrendofeatinghealthyorganicfoodissuretogoonformuchlonger. So,ifyou’refacedwithabusinessthatseemsmorelikeafad,thebestthingtodoistodampenitoutandstretchit,tomakeitmoreofatrend. Law#22:TheLawofResources Withoutadequatefunding,anideawon’tgetofftheground. It’snosecretthatallmarketingrequiresadequateresources.Ittakesmoneytogetintothemindofaprospect.Anditmaytakeevenmoremoneytokeepthatplace. Onceyouhaveanidea,youwillneedtheresourcestodevelopit.Don’texpectyourideatotakeoffwithoutsufficientfunding. HowToUse“The22ImmutableLawsofMarketing”ToGetLeads&MakeSales Hereareafewguidelinestowrapup: Comeupwithonefocus“word”foryourproductorservice,oracategorythatyoucanbethe“first”in.ThinkaboutwhichrungyouoccupyontheladderalongwithyourcompetitionandthencraftoutyourmarketingplanaccordinglyIfyoualreadyhaveasuccessfulbrandandarelookingtoexpand,consideranewbrandnametoenteranewcategoryAskyourselfhowyoucangaininthelong-termratherthanlookingatonlyshort-termgainsIfyouneedtosacrificeanewproductlinetobetheleaderinyourindustry–doit.Don’ttrytoemulatetheleader,dosomethingdifferenttostandout.Executeyourmarketingeffortswithoneboldstrokeinsteadofsmallerweakerones.Beflexiblewithyourmarketingplans,andwillingtochangewhenneeded.Ifsomethingdoesnotwork,dropit. 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