The fundamentals of marketing and how to comply with these laws are the book’s main topics. An essential read for business owners.
The law of focus
The best marketing tactic is to influence a thought that a potential customer has.
The word should not be complicated or invented. Simple words are the best. The leader owns the word that stands for the category.
Once you have narrowed your focus and developed your message, you have to go out of your way to protect it in the marketplace.
The law of the mind
It’s better to be first in your mind than it is to be first in the marketplace. The conflict in marketing is over perception, not the actual product.
People don’t like to change their minds, so put yourself first in their minds. The mind rarely changes once it has made up its mind.
The law of perception marketing
Perception is everything. Marketing is a strategy for achieving a particular perception rather than selling a product.
The best products don’t exist. It’s all an illusion. What actually exists are the customers’ perceptions.
Studying how perceptions are formed in the mind and focusing your marketing initiatives on those perceptions are preferable to emphasizing the merits of your products. Customers frequently base their purchasing decisions on how they believe the world should be.
The Law Of Candor
When you admit a flaw, the prospect will respond with a positive attitude.
The most effective way to get into the mind of a prospect is to admit a negative and then turn it into a positive.
In the marketing process, honesty works well:
People tend to open their minds when a company begins to admit a problem. The goal of candor, then, is to persuade rather than to apologize.
The Law of Attributes
There is an opposite, effective attribute for every attribute.
Instead of being the same, look for an opposite trait that will allow you to play off against the leader.
You must have your own characteristic or idea on which to concentrate your efforts. Try to possess the most important characteristic. If your competitor successfully steals your attribute, find another and emphasize its importance.
The Law of Exclusivity
In the prospect’s mind, two companies cannot own the same word.
Trying to own the same word as a competitor is pointless. Nonetheless, many businesses continue to defy the law of exclusivity, often reinforcing the competitor’s position.
The Law Of Failure
Failure is something to be expected and accepted. Admitting a mistake and failing to address it is detrimental to your career. Instead, recognize failure and cut your losses early.
Too many businesses try to save the situation rather than abandon it.
The Law of the Ladder
The strategy you employ is determined by the position you hold on the ladder.
Not all products are created equal. Your marketing strategy should be based on how quickly you can get into the prospect’s head and which rung of the ladder you are on.
The law of the category
Create a new category if you can’t be first in the one you’re in.
When you launch a new product, ask what category this new product will be first in. This is contrary to classic marketing thinking, which is about getting people to prefer your brand. Don’t think brand. Think categories. Everyone’s interest is piqued when there is something new.
The Law of Acceleration
Successful programs are built on trends rather than fads.
- A fad is like a wave, but a trend is like a tide.
- A fad is highly visible and widely publicized, whereas a trend is almost invisible and powerful in the long run.
If your business has all of the characteristics of a fad, dampen the fad to make it more like a trend.
The Law of Leadership
It is preferable to be first than better.
In marketing, the fundamental issue is creating a category you can be first in. It’s simpler to influence someone’s thinking without first trying to convince them that your product is superior.
Try to choose a name for your new category that can be applied universally.
The Law of Singularity
In each case, only one action will yield significant results.
The only thing that works in marketing is a single, bold stroke, not the sum of a lot of small efforts.
In marketing, a competitor is only vulnerable in one place. And that location should be the sole focus. Marketing executives must be involved in order to find that one-of-a-kind idea.
The Law Of Success
Success frequently breeds arrogance, and arrogance breeds failure.
Objectivity is essential. When an organization becomes successful, it loses its objectivity and frequently substitutes its own judgment for what the market wants.
Ego is helpful as a driving force in building a business, but it becomes problematic when the ego is injected into the marketing process.
The Law of Division
A category will split into two or more categories over time. Categories never mix.
A category begins as a single entity and then divides into other parts. A company may incorrectly attempt to use a well-known brand name in one category and the same brand name in another.
Utilize a new category early in its development to get into the prospect’s mind while waiting for it to develop.
The Law of Perspective
Marketing effects occur over a long period of time.
Marketing moves frequently exhibit the same phenomenon: long-term effects are frequently the polar opposite of short-term effects.
A sale increases business in the short term, but in the long run, sales educate customers not to buy at “regular” prices. Periodic couponing may keep sales
The Law of Resources
An idea will die if it is not adequately funded.
Marketing is a game played in the prospect’s mind. Money is required to enter a mind and to remain in a mind.
Without money, ideas are almost worthless. Use your creativity to find the funds. Marketing should come later.
The Law of Hype
The reality is frequently diametrically opposed to what is reported in the media.
Only when you’re in trouble do you need hype. The only revolutions that can be predicted are those that have already begun.
The front page will not reveal any future predictions. You’ll have to look for harmless stories in the back of the newspaper for that. Hype is just that: hype. True revolutions occur when they are least expected.
The law of line extension
There is an irresistible pressure to expand a brand’s equity and diversify into new products.
Marketing is a war of perception, not of product. In the mind’s eye, the product and the brand name are interchangeable.
Line extensions are rarely successful in the long run. The brand that is not line extended is the leader in any category.
The law of sacrifice
If you want to be successful, you must make the following sacrifices:
Product line. You must reduce your product line if you want to be successful.
Target market. Should you appeal to everyone? Not really.
Constant change. Do you have to change your strategy every year? The best way to maintain a consistent position is to avoid following the market’s twists and turns.
The Law of Unpredictability
The future is impossible to predict.
Failure to forecast competitive reactions is one cause of marketing failure.
A short-term strategy is to develop an angle or word that distinguishes your product or business. Then, create a long-term marketing strategy that capitalizes on that concept.
Build a lot of flexibility into your organization, and be ready to change quickly.
It’s Just Coke and Pepsi, According to the Law of Duality
Over time, every market devolves into a two-horse race.
When you take a long view of marketing, you’ll notice that the battle is frequently fought between two major players: the trusted brand and the upstart.
The customer perceives marketing as a product battle. They believe that because they are the leaders, the two brands must be the best. This keeps the two brands on top.
The Law of the Opposite
The leader determines your strategy if you’re aiming for second place.
Trying to establish a firm foothold on the second rung necessitates research into the firm above you. Where is its strength? Can you turn it into a weakness? Discover the essence of the leader first, then show the prospect the polar opposite. In other words, strive to be unique rather than superior.
