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If you’re introducing the first brand in a new category you should always try to
select a name that can work generically.
It’s better to be first than it is to better [product]
Benchmarking: comparing and evaluating your company’s products against
the best in the industry.
It doesn’t work
Marketing is a battle of perceptions not products
Because it is easier to get into the minds of your potential clients or costumers first,
than it is to convince them that you are a better choice than the one that did get there
first.
If you didn’t get into the prospect’s mind first… Find a new category you can
be first in.
Stop thinking “how is my product better”, but how is it different?
Prospects have an open mind when it comes to categories not who is better
When you’re first in a new category, promote the category.
• Don’t ask yourself how you are better than the competition; ask yourself in
what category you can be first. The example from the book is beer. A high priced
imported beer (Heineken) was a huge success. New category? High priced domestic
beer (Michelob), even greater success.
3 The Law of the Mind It’s better to be first in the mind than first in the
marketplace
All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the
customer
People project themselves into area they live or belong within their minds
Minds of customers or prospects are very difficult to change
Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products.
People base their own buying perceptions on someone else’s perception of
reality – “Everybody knows” perception
The point here is that there is no objective reality, at least not from a marketing point
of view. So what matters is not how things are, but how people believe things are. (I
don’t want this blog to be about politics, but misleading and lying to people are wrong.
Just really wanted that said. /F)
6 The Law of Exclusivity Two companies cannot own the same word
in the prospect’s mind
You can’t change people’s minds once they are made up – what you do is
reinforce your competitor’s position by making it’s concept more important.
What leads marketers down this lane is research. Researchers don’t tell you
that someone else already owns the idea.
And there is no reason to try to get your name to replace the name that is already in
the minds of the prospects, because you can’t change people’s minds once they are
made up. What is more, going for that word often ends up reinforcing the position of
your competitor as you show the importance of the word itself.
7 The Law of the Ladder The strategy to use depends on which rung
you occupy on the ladder
For each category, there is a product in the mind. On each rung is a brand
name
You can be successful by relating yourself to the position of other brands in
the mind
Prospects use their ladders in deciding which information to accept and which
to reject
There’s a relationship between market share and your position on the ladder.
What’s the maximum number of rungs on a ladder? There seems to be a rule
of 7 in the prospects mind
It’s sometimes better to be no.3 on a big ladder than no.1 on a small ladder.
Before starting any marketing program, deal realistically with your position on
the ladder.
If you are not on top, admit it to yourself and to your customers. And work that to
your advantage. Example: Avis was number two (beneath Hertz) in car rentals. They
acted like number one and lost money for 13 years. Then they switch advertising to
“Avis is No. 2 in rent-a-cars. So why go with us? We try harder” – this made them
(more than) profitable almost immediately.
8 The Law of Duality In the long run, every market becomes a two-
horse race
In realizing in what way the leader is strong – the essence of it – you can turn this
strength into a weakness. How? There are two types of people, those who want to
buy from the leader and those who don’t. Find a way to appeal to the latter by
highlighting how you are the opposite of the leader.
10 Law of Divisions Over time, a category will divide and become two
or more categories
Sales [seasonal] decrease business because they teach customers not to buy
at regular prices
Any sort of couponing, discounts or sales tends to educate customers to buy
only when they can get a deal
Big winners are companies that practice everyday low prices e.g. walmart,
Kmart
Unless you know what to look for, it’s hard to see the effects of line extension
especially for managers focused on their next quarterly report
The long term-effects of marketing are often the opposite of short-term effects, and
the example used to illustrate the point is the use of sales. In the short run, lowering
prices increase the business, but in the longer run it educates people into only buying
when there is a sale. Short-term gains mean long-term losses.
The reasoning here is that you can’t be all things to all people, and that it isn’t really
the brand name that is stuck in people’s minds, but the product itself. Which means
that when you put your name on another type of product, people will not
automatically buy it. But if you focus all your efforts into making one product fantastic,
you have a much better chance of building a position in the prospect’s mind.
Too often a company attempts to emulate the leader. “They must know what
work” goes the rationale, “so lets do something similar.” Not good thinking
You must have an idea or attribute of your own to focus your efforts around.
Without one you had batter have a low price. A very low price.
You must try and own the most important attribute
Your job is to seize a different attribute (to leader), dramatize the value of
attribute and thus increase your share
You can’t predict the size of a new attributes share, so never laugh (Case
study p.86)
This is basically law #1, #2, #5, #6 and #9, but framed around the selling point of
your product. Or “the attribute” as the authors call it. The goal is to own the selling
point, and if your specific selling point is already taken, the advice from the authors
is to find a new one (just as with law #2, where you invent a new category to be first
in), or have a really, really, low price.
15 The Law of Cander When you admit a negative, the prospect will
give you a positive
When you admit a negative, your prospect will give you a positive.
Every negative statement you make about yourself is instantly accepted as a
truth
Marketing is often a search for the obvious
When a company starts a message by admitting a problem. People tend to
almost instinctively open their minds. [Case study p91 on Listerine]
The Law of Cander must be used carefully and with great skill. Your
“Negative” must be widely perceived as a negative. Then, quickly shift to a
positive
The idea here is to first admit something negative, and then spin that into something
positive. The reason why it works is because it is so unexpected, and therefor very
disarming. And since you were so honest people are likely to believe what you say
next. But keep in mind that it has to be something that is generally viewed as
negative, otherwise people will just think that you are weird.
They seem to think that the best way to grow is the puppy approach – get into
everything
There is only one place where a competitor is vulnerable. And That place
should be the focus of the entire invading force. What works in marketing is
the same as what works in the military: the unexpected.
There is an idea floating around that if you just put enough work into something it
will work out eventually. This is wrong, according to the authors. At least when it
comes to marketing and war (which for some reason is mentioned quite a lot in this
chapter). The reasoning here is that there is always something that your competitor
is expecting the least, and that this is your opportunity for one single, bold stroke. In
other words, be strong where the competition is weak.
Too many companies try to fix things rather than drop things
Recognise failure early and cut your losses
Teams: It’s a lot easier to live with “We were all wrong” than the devastating
“I was wrong.”
Marketing decisions are often made first with the decision maker’s career in
mind and second with the impact on the competition or the enemy in mind.
It’s hard to be first in a new category without sticking your neck out
You will fail, and when you do, realize it and accept it quickly. And move on to the
next approach. But why engage in crazy risk-taking? Why not just play everything
safe? Because in marketing and business, it’s hard to be the first without sticking
your neck out. And being the first in one way or another is, as mentioned in the first
couple of laws, a good thing.
20 The Law of Hype The situation is often the opposite of what it
appears in the press
When things are going well, a company doesn’t need the hype, it usually
means you’re in a trouble.
Capturing the imagination of the market is not the same as revolutionising the
market
The situation is often the opposite it appears in the press
Although I don’t really understand the message here, what the authors state is that
when there is a big press coverage of something, that something is likely in need of
a big press coverage. Does that mean that you shouldn’t get a lot of press coverage
for your launch? Or your new product? Not sure. (Btw, it’s in this chapter where they
explicitly predict the failure of Steve Job’s NeXT computer/business: “Will NeXT be
a winner? Of course not. Where is the opening? NeXT is the first in the category of
what?”)
23 Warnings
Many companies are “benchmarking” the leader in the category and setting
out to “beat their specs”
So… Management won’t take kindly to any suggestions that will take the
emphasis off their better product strategy
Don’t do any product tinkering (law of sacrifice)
What word does your company own?
Accountants will give you a hard time short term
Line extension is biggest company killer, remain focused
Management will not take kindly to any efforts to curtail their equity
expansions
If you violate the immutable laws, you run the risk of failure. If you apply the
immutable laws, you run the risk of being bad-mouthed, ignored or even
ostracized.