1、IntroductionThere are laws of nature, so why shouldnt there be laws of marketing? You can build a great-looking airplane, but its not going to get off the ground unless it adheres to the laws of physics. It therefore follows that you can build a great looking marketing program, only to have one of t
2、he immutable laws of marketing knock you flat if you dont know what they are. And when a company makes a mistake today, footprints quickly show up on its back as competition runs off with its business. The laws of marketing are not difficult, in fact they are quite simple. Working things out in prac
3、tice, however, is another matter. It may look easy, but marketing is not a game for amateurs. 1) The Law of Leadership (Its better to be first, than it is to be better.)Many people believe that the basic issue in marketing is convincing prospects that you have a better product or service. Not true.
4、Marketing is a battle of perception, not products. If you have a small market share and you have to do battle with larger, better-financed competitors, then your marketing strategy was probably faulty in the first place. You violated the first law of marketing. The basic issue in marketing is creati
5、ng a category you can be first in. Its the law of leadership.In spite of the superiority of this approach, many dont follow it. They wait until a market develops and then jump in with a better product, often with their corporate name attached. In todays competitive environment, a me-to product with
6、a line extension name has little hope of becoming a big, profitable brand. (See also Law #12: Line Extension.)The leading brand in any category is almost always the first brand into the prospects mind, e.g., Hertz, IBM & Coke. Not only does the first brand usually become the leader, but the sales or
7、der of follow-up brands often matches the order of their introductions. Not every first is going to become successful, however. Timing is an issue your first could be too late e.g., in a television era, it may be too late for a national newspaper. Some firsts are just bad ideas that will never go an
8、ywhere, e.g., Frosty Paws, the first ice cream for dogs, is unlikely to make it.People tend to stick with what theyve got. If you meet someone a little better than your spouse, its not really worth making the switch, what with attorneys fees, dividing up the house and kids, etc.If youre second (or l
9、ess) in the prospects mind, are you doomed? Not necessarily. Fortunately, there are other laws.2) The Law of Category (If you cant be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.)If you didnt get into the prospects mind first, dont give up hope. Find a new category you can be firs
10、t in. Its not as difficult as you might think. When you launch a new product, the first question to ask yourself is not, “How is this new product better than the competition?” but “First what?” In other words, what category is this new product first in? This is counter to classic marketing thinking,
11、 which is brand oriented how do I get people to prefer my brand? Forget the brand, think categories. When youre the first in a new category, promote the category. In essence, you have no competition. Everyone is interested in whats new. Few people are interested in whats better. 3) The Law of the Mi
12、nd (Its better to be first in the mind, than to be first in the marketplace.)The worlds first personal computer was the MITS Altair 8800. Du Mont invented the first commercial television set. Duryea introduced the first automobile. Hurley introduced the first washing machine. All are gone. Is someth
13、ing wrong with the first law of leadership? No, but the law of the mind modifies it. Being first in the mind is everything in marketing. For example, IBM wasnt first in the marketplace with the mainframe computer, Remington Rand was with UNIVAC. But thanks to a massive marketing effort, IBM got into
14、 the mind first and won the computer battle early. The single most wasteful thing you can do in marketing is try to change a mind. You cant change a mind once a mind is made up. If you want to make a big impression on people, you cannot worm your way into their mind and then slowly build up a favora
15、ble opinion over a period of time. The mind doesnt work that way. You have to blast your way into the mind. You need to blast your way, rather than worm, because people dont like to change their minds. Once they perceive you one way, thats it. Getting into a prospects mind can be helped with a simpl
16、e, easy-to-remember name. In the early days, five personal computers were in position on the launching pad: Apple II, Commodore Pet, IMSAI 8080, MITS Altair 8800, and Radio Shack TRS-80. Which name is the simplest and easiest to remember?4) The Law of the Perception (Marketing is not a battle of pro
17、ducts, its a battle of perceptions.)Many people think marketing is a battle of products. In the long run, they figure the best product will win. Thats an illusion. There is no objective reality, there are no facts, and there are no best products. Most marketing mistakes stem from the assumption that
18、 youre fighting a product battle rooted in reality. What some marketing people see as the natural laws of marketing are based on a flawed premise that the product is the hero of the marketing program and that youll win or loose based on the merits of the product. Which is why the natural, logical wa
19、y to market a product is invariably wrong. All the laws presented here are derived from the exact opposite point of view.Only by studying how perceptions are formed in the mind and focusing your marketing programs on those perceptions can you overcome your basically incorrect marketing instincts. Tr
20、uth is nothing more or less than one experts perception. And whos the expert? Its anyone who is perceived to be an expert in the mind of somebody else. Why is Campbells soup No. 1 in the US and nowhere in the UK? Why is Heinz soup No. 1 in the UK and a failure in the US? Marketing is a battle of per
21、ceptions, not products. Marketing is the process of dealing with those perceptions. What makes the battle even more difficult is that customers frequently make buying decisions based on second-hand perceptions. Instead of using their own perceptions, they base their buying decisions on someone elses
22、 perception of reality. This is the “everybody knows” principle.5) The Law of Focus (The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospects mind.)Not a complicated word. Not an invented word. Simple words are the best, words taken right out of the dictionary. If youre not a leader,
23、 then your word has to have a narrow focus. Even more important, however, your word has to be available in your category. No one else can have a lock on it. The most effective words are simple and benefit oriented. No matter how complicated the product, no matter how complicated the needs of the mar
24、ket, its always better to focus on one word or benefit rather than two or three or four. (Some words, however, like Volkswagens fahrvergnugen, are not worth owning.) The essence of marketing is narrowing the focus. You become stronger when you reduce the scope of your operations. You cant stand for
25、something if you chase everything. Some companies accept the need to narrow the focus and try to accomplish this strategy in ways that are self-defeating, “Well focus on the quality end of the market.” This may be great stuff inside the corporation, but outside the corporation the message falls apar
26、t. Does any company proclaim itself as the “unquality” corporation? No, everybody stands for quality. As a result, nobody does. You cant narrow the focus with quality or any other idea that doesnt have proponents for the opposite point of view. You cant position yourself as an honest politician, bec
27、ause nobody is willing to take the opposite position (although there may be plenty of potential candidates). 6) The Law of Exclusivity (Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospects mind.)When a competitor owns a word or position in the prospects mind, its futile to attempt to own the same
28、 word. Plowing money into such an attempt is a waste. 7) The Law of the Ladder (The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.)While being first into the prospects mind ought to be your primary marketing objective, the battle isnt lost if you fail in this endeavor. There are str
29、ategies to use for No. 2 and No. 3 brands.For each category, there is a product ladder in the mind. On each rung is a brand name. Your marketing strategy should depend on how soon you got into the mind and consequently which rung of the ladder you occupy. The higher the better, of course. The mind i
30、s selective. Prospects use their ladders in deciding which information to accept and which information to reject. In general, a mind accepts only new data that is consistent with its product ladder in that category. Everything else is ignored.How many rungs are there on your ladder? It depends on wh
31、ether your product is a high-interest or low-interest product. Products that are purchased infrequently usually have few rungs on their ladders. Theres a relationship between market share and your position on the ladder in the prospects mind. You tend to have twice the market share of the brand belo
32、w you and half the market share of the brand above you. It might be better to be a small fish in a big pond that be a big fish in a small pond. In other words, its sometimes better to be No. 3 on a big ladder than No. 1 on a small ladder. Before starting any marketing program, ask yourself the following questions: Where are we on the ladder in the prospects mind? On the top rung? On the second rung? Or m
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