The 22 immutable laws of marketing — Al Ries and Jack Trout

Before starting, I want to thank the authors of this wonderful and amazing book Al Ries and Jack Trout. They are just inspirational.

In this book the authors talked about 22 immutable laws of marketing which makes a firm great and sustainable in the long run.

Law number 1: It’s better to be the first in the market than being 2nd and have a better product.

Example 1: Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the moon but many of us don’t know who was the second person.

Example 2: Coco cola was first in the cola category and now dominates the market likewise Apple was the first in the smartphone category and now dominates the smartphone industry.

Law number 2: If you can’t be the first, create a new category and be the first in that.

Example: If there is a dominant player in the market in imported beer industry, you can be the first one in the light beer industry. The only thing matter here is becoming first in the category.

Law number 3: It’s better to be first in the mind of consumers than in the marketplace.

Marketing is not about product features or quality, but it’s about how people perceive your product.

Example: Honda is the leading car manufacturer in US but only third in Japan. If quality of car was the most important factor, Honda should have the same position in all market.

Law number 4: Focusing on changing the perception of people

People don’t care about your product; they care about what they do to them.

Example: People don’t want your weight loss supplement, people just want to be slimmer and feel good.

Law number 5: Own a word in the mind your customer

Example: When you hear about Coca Cola, the word comes to mind is cola, when you hear about Dominos, the word comes to mind is home delivery.

Law number 6: No two companies can hold the same word in prospect’s mind.

Example: Burger King tried to own the word “fast” which was already owned by McDonalds — the former failed miserably.

Law number 7: Market strategy depends on your position in the market

Example: In US, Avis was no.2 in car rental market. So they aligned their slogan being number 2 — “Avis is only no. 2 in rent-a-cars. So why go with us? We try harder”

Law number 8: In long run, every market becomes a two horse race

Example: Coca-Cola — Pepsi, Nike — Reebok, Crest — Colgate

Law number 9: If you are trying for a second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.

Example: Pepsi marketed themselves as “choice of new generation” when faced with Coco-cola.

Law number 10: Over a certain period of time, the category will split into two or more categories.

Example: Computer started with a single category but later it got split into mainframes, laptops, workstations etc.

Law number 11: Believe in synergy of category not combination

Example: Honda wanted to go up the market so it created a new brand Acura.

Law number 12: Never sacrifice long term planning for short term profits

Example: A sale can increase your profits in short time but in long run people will be educated not to buy that which will decrease your long term profits.

Law number 13: Creating new brands to address new market/product

Law number 14: You have to give up something to get something.

There are 3 things to sacrifice:

· Product line

· Target Market

· Constant change

Law number 15: When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.

Example: It’s OK to admit, as Avis did “Avis is only №2 in rent-a-cars”.

Law number 16: In each situation, only one move will produce the outcome you wanted.

Law number 17: Unless you write your competitors’ plan, you can’t predict the future.

Law number 18: Arrogance is Dark and leads to failure

Many companies tend to lower their quality of product or services when they are at the top. That’s the biggest bad move for a company which can harm the entire firm.

Law number 19: If something is not working, don’t fix them — drop them

Law number 20: Fads are short term; trend is long term — yours for the choosing.

Example: Ice bucket challenge was a fad, but taking selfies is a trend.

Law number 21: Without adequate funding an idea won’t get off the ground

Law number 22: Failure is to be expected and accepted.

Example: Founder of Walmart want their employees to fail and learn from those experience because it makes you smarter.

What do you think? Which strategy works best for your company?

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