Jack Trout conducted a master class as part of the II Forum “Advertising Matrix”. Marketing and branding guru, practitioner, strategist, philosopher. Author of such holy scriptures for marketers as “Big Brands - Big Problems”, “Differentiate or Die”, “Marketing Wars”, “Positioning: The Battle for Minds”. It was he who came up with the fundamental concepts of positioning and differentiation. His works have been reference books for many successful advertisers for decades.
Marketing Wars: Attack Strategy
Strategy is competition. In other words, what strategy should you choose to be competitive? You need to start by identifying your strengths and weaknesses. The parallels between marketing and military warfare are obvious. During military operations, your army fights for territory against a hostile army. In marketing wars, your company fights with competitors for the client. Therefore, the parallel of military principles is obvious.
Jack Trout divides the marketing field into four categories: defense, offense, outflanking, and guerrilla warfare.
The primary task is to determine the place of your company, in which square you are located. And choose your strategy of behavior: are you leading an offensive or defensive company, are you going around the flanks or conducting guerrilla operations.
Defense
- Only a marketing leader can afford to be defensive. This is the prerogative of the leader. If you are number one in your category, you are a leader. The best strategy for defense is to be able to attack yourself.
- If you have good ideas, use them to attack your company. Don't wait for your competitor to come up with the same idea. And this is always a big problem in large successful companies because they don't want to attack themselves. Typically, they say they don't want to change anything because everything is fine and they like what they have, which opens the door for competitors.
- Decisive competitive actions must always be blocked. Those. when a competitor makes a move, you must block it immediately. Overall, you should take advantage of his momentum, his success, and turn it to your advantage as quickly as possible. Many companies don't do this because they don't pay enough attention to competition. They believe that since it didn’t come to their minds, it can’t be good. Absolutely wrong approach! You must be able to quickly block a competitor.
Offensive
1. Who implements the offensive strategy? Again, principle No. 1 is the destiny of a leader. This consolidates the leadership position.
3. You must focus all your forces to strike this weak point. Don't try to offer everything to everyone. Try to be intentional about your offensive campaign if you want to succeed against the leader.
Flanking
- This operation is carried out in relation to markets in which no one does anything.
- Surprise. When you start flanking, you have to do it unexpectedly. Remember that you have competitors. So you need an element of surprise so you don't get copied very quickly. But pursuit is just as important as attack. After you have chosen a flank attack, when the enemy runs, you need to pursue him as quickly as possible. If you have achieved success, in this case you can fight with many competitors. Keep chasing as far as you can, as hard as you can.
Guerrilla warfare
- If you are a small player, you may find a small segment that you can protect.
- Is this segment sufficient for me to have a lot of strength to defend. A serious mistake is often made here. It doesn't matter how successful they are, but if they are successful in a particular segment, then they begin to think that they can act as one big army, but this is far from the case.
- Flexibility. You need to be ready to leave at the right time. This is what flexibility means, when large companies come into your sector in your market segment - it will crush you. So be prepared with an exit strategy. And this needs to be done very quickly. It takes a lot of courage to get out of a business like this.
Weapons that a specialist should use
- Focus on one product, one achievement, one information message. It doesn't need to be complicated.
- You can become an expert or the best in this category.
- The specialist must also have general knowledge in this category. For example, Google is a special search engine that gives us the opportunity to find a lot, but also goes beyond the search business. This has led to it becoming a general concept.
Also, if you analyze the categories, general categories that have a wide range of products often have weak products, weak brands.
It's better to be exceptional at one thing than to do business in all sectors. Be exceptional in one area, keep improving your product, improve it instead of chasing other markets. This can cloud the client's vision and perception of you.
If you want to be a leader, you have to have the intellectual courage and you have to say this is what we're going to do, this is the direction we're going to go. There are few such examples in the Russian business community. There is no need to be paranoid, you need to choose a direction and move in it. You also need to be flexible and change-oriented. Everything changes. You must feel what is happening in the market now, then you will be successful.
Jack Trout was the world's leading business consultant and the father of a number of popular concepts that dominate modern marketing.
His books have been translated into dozens of languages. Trout's ideas are extremely simple, understandable and require knowledge of only the basics of marketing theory. In addition to books, Trout owns many articles, he consults for dozens of companies, and his theories are followed by many specialists.
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
What are the laws of leadership and exclusive rights?
What is the most effective way to expand your assortment?
What can you sacrifice and what should you prioritize when conquering the market?
How to create rush demand and calculate the commercial success of a new project?
Big brands - big problems
The author of this undoubtedly significant and in many ways unusual book is confident that the statement “Little children are small problems, big children are big problems” is also true in relation to trademarks. Well-known and popular brands have not only positive aspects, but also many pitfalls.
"King of Positioning" Jack Trout talks about the catastrophic marketing and strategic mistakes that have crippled long-time market leaders and shows objectively, impartially how the problems could have been avoided.
Horse feeling
Working harder, believing in yourself, and thinking positively will not take you higher on the ladder of success. The point is that success no longer comes from within you.
Success is something that is handed to you by others. How to get others to lead you to success is the theme of this book. In other words, you have to go out into the market and sell yourself.
Differentiate or die!
Differentiate or Die!, written by Jack Trout and co-authored by Steve Rivkin, is aimed at business people and senior executives.
The authors talk about how to create for yourself (your brand) irresistibly attractive and profitable differences in the minds of the consumer. It is differentiation that allows you to take an advantageous position in the minds of the consumer and thus gain a real competitive advantage in the market.
Marketing Wars
“Marketing Wars” has been published and popular for 20 years. Almost from the first day of its publication (in 1986), the book became a reference tool for hundreds of thousands of professionals around the world.
Today it is impossible to find a marketing specialist, company leader or manager who has not studied it. How can you not find a serious work on marketing in which the authors do not refer to “Marketing Wars”.
The power of simplicity
A guide to creating effective marketing strategies.
Everything ingenious is simple! That this statement applies not only to great scientific discoveries, but also to the business sphere, is convincingly proven by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin in their work.
From the book you will learn that such industry giants as General Electric, Intel, Procter & Gamble, having chosen as their motto “The simpler the better!”, managed to achieve outstanding success, while other equally well-known companies suffered significant financial losses only because that the problems facing them were too complicated. Read this book - and you too will understand the power of simplicity and the usefulness of common sense!
Reader comments
dia/ 01/15/2016 a u vas est eti knigi na angliiskom iazike?
Vadim Stanislavovich./ 07/26/2015 Expert in bringing companies to the position of market leader.
Trout's books, especially The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, are extremely valuable for people in business. Study and implement it in your companies, colleagues.
Lilith/ 04/23/2015 22 immutable laws of marketing - actually the bible!
Aizat/ 11/7/2014 Alfred Adler - practice and theory of individual psychology (audiobook)
http://turbobit.net/sfhlz2t8pe6q.html
Boris Kononov/ 09/27/2014 Dear John, if “any practicing marketer” had read at least one book on marketing, then in “real life” they wouldn’t flog “nonsense” and everything would happen completely differently!
Nut/ 09.12.2013 My friend from a large consulting firm advised the 22 laws of marketing, saying that this is the bible for a marketer
John/ 08/30/2013 To be honest, all of his works evoke a certain unpleasant feeling, as if sand would stick to your teeth. Any practicing marketer will tell you that everything written in such books is nonsense, and in real life everything happens completely differently.
/ 08/31/2012 Thanks for the site! It is especially necessary, I think, for people my age... I have always lived and live, confident in the fact that I need to do and live for someone, but it’s good enough for myself! Life passes, and you still think that business is good, but not for me, although I work in this direction - the trainings are successful... These books brilliantly open your eyes, remove fear!!!
Andreev A/ 07/25/2012 I’ve heard a lot of flattering recommendations about “The Power of Simplicity.” It’s good that you can download and read it and then decide whether the book is worth buying. Thank you KUB!!!
By the way, soon there will be an opportunity to attend Trout’s master class online. Here is a link to the event where he is among the speakers. http://bit.ly/MGmQcs
Alex Soup/ 03/28/2012 Trout is the best, bravo for the marketing wars!
Reader/ 12/24/2011 “In Search of the Obvious” I want to read!!!
Guest/ 12/28/2010 Marketing wars - a superbook.
Now I’m re-reading it and I think I’ll read it at least 3 times.
Evgeniya/ 11/25/2010 I read “Marketing Wars” and liked it so much that I wanted to read all the other books. Thanks for the site.
Elena/ 10.23.2010 Thank you!!!
Aydin/ 10/12/2010 Jack Trout is a professional who gave me answers to many questions that were hanging in my head. I’m reading his book “Differentiate or Die”, very interesting, it leads to new ideas, thoughts, unties the knots in my head))) in general, the author is super.
The founder of the approach to marketing known as positioning, Jack Trout, literally transformed the world's marketing thinking. We are interested in his vision of what strategy is and what it should be. After all, the right strategy is the basis of survival...
Very often, after a company makes a successful positioning move, it falls into the so-called three P trap - “forgot why they succeeded.”
Jack Trout
“Using the right strategy will keep you alive in the face of deadly competition. It will help you survive what I call the tyranny of choice,” says Jack Trout. Why is strategy so important, and not other elements of business? The main reason is the rapid expansion of choice in all spheres of human activity. Over the past decades, the number of products in almost every category has increased significantly. For example, in America there are 1 million commodity units (TU). The average supermarket offers 40 thousand TE. But at the same time, as studies show, the average family needs only 150 TE to satisfy 80–85% of its needs. This means you're unlikely to pay attention to the other 39,850 products in the supermarket.
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Jack Trout, President of Trout & Partners Ltd., an international marketing and consulting agency. He began his career in the advertising department of General Electric, from where he moved to Uniroyal to the position of advertising department manager. After that, he began working with Al Ries in an advertising agency, then in a marketing strategy company. Now Jack Trout is the President of Trout & Partners, one of the most prestigious consulting companies with offices in 22 countries. The company's headquarters is located in the United States near New York in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Jack Trout has completed thousands of projects over 30 years, and his clients have included companies such as AT&T, Audi, Bell Atlantic, Burger King, General Electric, Holiday Inn, Iberia, LEGO, Master Card, Chase Manhattan American Express, Intel, IBM, Apple, Procter & Gamble. |
Trout introduces the concept of “tyranny of choice.” “In the explanatory dictionary, the word “tyranny” is defined as absolute power, harsh or cruel. So it is with choice. It rules today's incredibly competitive markets. The buyer has so many good alternatives that mistakes come at a high price. Your business will be taken over by competitors, and it will not be easy to get it back. Companies that don't understand this won't survive. And don't expect the situation to change for the better. It seems to me that it will only get worse for the simple reason that choice begets even more choice.”
In turn, the choice is subject to the law of division in the product category. If at the dawn of television there were only a couple of channels, now, to the delight of the average person, a television can receive more than 150. “Streaming video” will soon appear, and then the cable industry’s dream of a 500-channel television universe will turn into reality.
“Achieving strategic excellence means being clear about what that strategy is and constantly communicating that knowledge to customers, employees and shareholders. It's a simple, focused value proposition. Why should a customer buy from you and not from one of your competitors?” Jack Trout advises asking yourself.
If we take the dictionary definition of strategy, then it is the science of planning and conducting large-scale military operations, of maneuvering with the aim of occupying the most advantageous position before coming into contact with the enemy. Strategy is a military term that includes the word “enemy” in its formulation. And, as Trout says, if you intend to take this “most advantageous position,” you must first study the battlefield, conduct reconnaissance of the enemy’s terrain and defenses, and carry out the necessary maneuvers. And this battlefield is located in the minds of your existing and potential customers.
The main elements of a successful strategy
The success of your business strategy depends on how well you understand the five most important elements of the positioning process.
1. The capabilities of consciousness are limited
Consciousness rejects new information that it is unable to process. Ask anyone to name all the brands in any product category. Few can name more than seven. And this is for a category in which a person is very interested. In categories with low interest, the average consumer recalls the names of no more than one or two brands. According to Harvard psychologist George Miller, the human brain is not able to hold more than seven information “segments” at the same time.
“In order to somehow cope with the rapid growth in the number of goods and brands, consciousness has to rank them.
A firm wishing to expand its business must either displace its parent brand (which is impracticable) or somehow link its brand to another company's position. This is why, when you have a truly new product, it is better for the potential consumer to be informed about what the product is not, rather than what it actually is. “Unleaded gasoline and sugar-free soda are great examples of how new concepts are positioned in conjunction with established ones,” says Mr. Trout.
One way to overcome the natural closedness of the mind to new information is to make the message associated with news that is important to the audience. After all, if people think that you have something important to tell them, they will readily “open” their eyes and ears and carefully absorb everything that is told to them.
2. Consciousness hates confusion.
Man, like no other creature on Earth, relies heavily on learning. We think that the cause of boredom is a lack of stimuli, external signals, and information underload. But most often, boredom is caused by an overabundance of stimuli and information overload.
Complex answers can't help anyone. Every top manager needs information because it differentiates competent decision making from mere guessing. However, modern managers do not want to be buried alive under reports and printouts.
| JACK TROUT SAYS... |
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3. The mind is full of doubts
If Aristotle had been involved in advertising, he would undoubtedly have gone broke. Pure logic does not guarantee the effectiveness of arguments. The mind is dominated not by rationalism, but by emotions. When you ask a person why they made a particular purchase, their answer is often inaccurate or illogical. This, of course, may mean that buyers know but are reluctant to reveal the reasons for their behavior. But, as a rule, they really don’t know what motives drive them.
“More often than not, consumers buy what they think they need to have. This is very reminiscent of the behavior of rams wandering behind the leader, Trout is convinced. - Do most of us have a real need for an all-wheel drive vehicle? No. If it is so necessary, why did such machines not become popular fifty years ago? Because there was no such fashion then.”
When a person makes a purchase, he is overcome by five doubts:
Monetary risk. There is a chance that he will lose money on this.
Functional risk. It is possible that what you purchase will not work or function as it should.
Physical risk. Looks a little dangerous. You can harm your health.
Social risk. I wonder if friends, family, colleagues will approve?
Psychological risk. Purchasing is irresponsible and will make you feel guilty.
Therefore, an insecure person, before making a decision, will take a closer look at the behavior of others. That is why one of the oldest methods of advertising is a recommendation that puts pressure on three emotions at once - vanity, jealousy and fear of missing out.
“Another effective way to convince doubters is to create a “mass movement” effect. To do this, you can use data from various surveys, ratings and statistical studies. Other strategies based on the mass effect include “fastest growing” and “best selling”. They seem to “whisper” to doubters: “Others think that our product is really good,” writes Trout.
In order to get us on board, companies demonstrate high culture and commitment to tradition. In the end, we will not challenge the “time-honored” orders.
4. Consciousness does not change
In marketing, it is believed that advertising of new products should arouse greater interest among consumers than advertising of already established brands. However, in fact, it turns out that we are more impressed by advertisements for long-familiar or regularly purchased products.
5. Possible “defocusing” of consciousness
In the old days, brands of well-known manufacturers were clearly “sorted into categories” in the minds of consumers. The human mind, like a camera, produces clear pictures of good and bad brands when necessary.
When the Anheuser-Busch brewing company (Budweiser brand) proudly announced: “Our Bud is for you,” the buyer knew absolutely exactly what was being offered to him. But over the past ten years, this brand has flooded the market with many different types of beer: original, light, draft, clear, cold-fermented, dry, and ice-cold. In this regard, the statement “Our Bud is for you” immediately raises the question: “What kind of Bud do you mean?” The clear perception of a product that once existed in the minds of consumers has become blurred. It is not surprising that the “king of beer” begins to lose “subjects”.
The “out of focus” is definitely related to the expansion of product lines. And companies must be careful about such linear expansion, or they risk losing their competitive advantage.
“For many years we almost single-handedly stigmatized the practice of linear expansion,” Trout complains. “That was until recently, when our verdict was confirmed by the Harvard Business Review, which wrote that untested product line extensions can weaken brand image, destroy trade relationships and mask rising costs.”
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How to choose your path Trout advises Ukrainian companies to wage a guerrilla war, because transnational companies will sooner or later come to our market. “A business war can be waged from four positions. If you are a real market leader, take a defensive position. The offensive position is the destiny of companies No. 2 and No. 3 on the market. Their tasks are clear: to look for the weak points of the leading company and purposefully attack them. The war “on the flanks” is waged by small or newly formed companies trying to find their place in the product category and not take part in the bloody battle of large players. Small players playing a “guerrilla” game need to determine the market segment that they are able to protect. A “guerrilla” company, being a small player, should under no circumstances be greedy. She must take on that part of the “market jungle” that she really has the power to control. The most common and, as experience shows, unfortunate mistake of guerrilla companies is that, having successfully defended their segment, they believe that they will succeed in a larger field. And when they try to expand their territory, they are “killed”! My advice to you is: no matter how successful you are, don't act like a leader,” says Trout. Our Ukrainian market has not yet established itself. On it, attitudes, perceptions and positions of brands can still be changed. This means that if you have a brilliant business idea, you are obligated and, what is most interesting, you can relatively easily “drill” it into the heads of consumers and get your place in the sun. |
The article uses materials from the books:
- Trout Jack. Trout on strategy. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2005. - 192 p.
- Rice Al, Trout Jack. Positioning: the battle for recognition. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. - 256 p.
Article provided to our portal
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Current page: 1 (book has 8 pages in total)
AL RICE, JACK TROUT
22 IMMANDORABLE LAWS OF MARKETING
Violate them at your own risk
Introduction
Billions of dollars have been wasted on marketing programs that were doomed to fail, no matter how smart or brilliant they were or how well funded they were.
Many managers assume that a well-designed, well-executed, and well-funded marketing program will work, but this is not always true. You don’t have to look far for examples - just look at IBM, General Motors or Sears, Roebuck.
The methods and technologies used by Sears, Roebuck may have been correct and at times even spectacular. And certainly at GM the best and brightest managers were responsible for marketing programs. Everyone knows that the best and brightest people traditionally work for the biggest and best companies, such as IBM and General Motors. It's just that the marketing programs were based on faulty assumptions.
John Kenneth Galbraith, when asked about America's perception of the country's largest corporations, replied that Americans are afraid of corporate power. Today everything has changed and we are afraid of corporate incompetence!
All companies are in trouble right now, especially big companies. General Motors is a good example. Over the past 10 years, the company has paid a terrible price for destroying the identity of its brands. (She set similar prices for different brands of cars, and their appearance became almost the same). The stock fell 10 points, reflecting a loss of $10 billion a year in sales.
General Motors' problem was not competition, although competition had intensified. This problem was also not a quality problem, although the quality of General Motors products was far from ideal. The problem was definitely marketing related.
Today, when a company stumbles, it immediately hears the breathing of its competitors behind its back, since in modern business one does not walk, but runs. To regain lost business, a company must wait for others to fail and then try to figure out how to exploit that situation.
So, what should you do first to avoid mistakes? The simple answer to this question is to make sure that your programs are built in accordance with the laws of marketing. (Although we have defined our ideas and concepts under the term "marketing," they are useful no matter what job you work in or what product or service your company sells.)
What are these laws of marketing? And who brought them from Mount Sinai, carved on stone tablets?
The basic laws of marketing form the content of this book.
But who talks about them? How did two guys from Connecticut discover something that thousands of other people hadn't noticed? There are, after all, many sophisticated marketing practitioners and theorists. Why didn't they see what we think is so obvious?
The answer is simple. As far as we understand, no one wants to admit that the laws of marketing exist, much less are immutable. But there are laws of nature, so why shouldn’t there be laws of marketing? You can build a beautiful looking airplane, but it won't get off the ground if you didn't take the laws of physics, especially the law of gravity, into account when designing it. You can build an architectural masterpiece on sand dunes, but the first hurricane will destroy your structure. It follows that you can create a great marketing program only to fail because you didn't know just one of the many immutable laws of marketing.
Perhaps it is in human nature not to admit that not everything is under his control. Therefore, most businessmen believe that everything is achievable, you just need to apply enough energy, creative ideas and determination. Also, spend enough money.
Once you are ready to accept that there are laws of marketing, you will easily understand what they are. In fact, they are obvious.
We've spent 25 years studying what works in marketing and what doesn't. We have found that programs that work are almost always in tune with underlying market forces.
In our books, articles, speeches and videos, we have analyzed the principles of marketing in detail. We developed strategic models of the marketing process, including a physical model of the human mind, which we popularized using the concept of "positioning." We have also developed a military market model in which companies and brands are divided into defensive, offensive, flanking and guerrilla, according to their style of marketing warfare.
As a result of many years of work on the principles and problems of marketing, we have formulated the essence of our findings in the basic laws that govern success and failure in the market.
We call these principles the Immutable Laws of Marketing, and there are 22 of them. Violate them at your own peril.
Chapter 1. The Law of Leadership
It's better to be first than to be better.
Many people believe that the most important thing in marketing is convincing a potential customer that your product or service is better than others.
This is wrong. If your market share is small and you have to compete with larger, richer competitors, then your marketing strategy was most likely wrong from the beginning. You broke the first law of marketing.
The main problem in marketing is to create a category in which you are the first. This is the law of leadership: “it is better to be first than to be better.” It's much easier to get in first than to later try to convince everyone that your product is better than the one who made it.
We can demonstrate the Law of Leadership to you by asking two questions:
What is the name of the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean? This is Charles Lindbergh, right?
What is the name of the man who was the second to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean? Not so easy to answer, is it?
The second person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was Bert Hinkler. Bert was a better pilot than Charlie, he flew at a higher speed and used less fuel. But who knows about him? (He left home and Mrs. Hinkler never heard from him again.)
Despite the obvious superiority of the Lindbergh method, most companies follow the path of Bert Hinkler. They wait until the market has formed and then enter it with a better product, often with their corporation's name attached to it. In today's competitive environment, a product similar to one already on the market with a name from an extended product line has little chance of becoming a large, profitable brand (Chapter 12: The Law of Product Line Extension).
The leading brand in any category is almost always the first brand that comes to mind for a potential customer. It's Hertz in car rentals, IBM in computers, Coca-Cola in soft drinks.
After World War II, Heineken was the first imported beer to make a name for itself in America. And after forty years, what imported beer can be called number one? Which beer tastes better or Heineken? There are 425 types of imported beer sold in America. Surely one of these brands tastes better than Heineken, but does it really matter? Heineken is still the number one beer among imported brands, this brand occupies 30 percent of the market.
The first domestic variety of light beer was Miller Lite. So, what's the best-selling light beer in America today? The one that tastes better, or the one that came into consciousness first?
However, not every first one achieves success. It's all about timing: your championship may be too late. For example, USA Today is the first national newspaper, but it is unlikely to succeed. It has already lost $800 million and hasn't had a single profitable year. For the television era, the idea of a national newspaper may have come too late.
Sometimes the first idea is simply unsuccessful, and like any unsuccessful idea, it leads to nowhere. Frosty Paws, the first ice cream for dogs, was never going to be a success. Dogs like it, but owners prefer to buy groceries and believe that dogs can do without ice cream. Dogs should be happy while licking plates.
The Law of Leadership applies to any product, any brand, any category. Let's imagine that you don't know the name of the first university founded in America. In this case, you can always guess by replacing the word "leading" with the word "first". So what is the name of America's leading university? Most people will say Harvard, which is also the name of the first university founded in America. (What is the name of the second university founded in America? William and Mary University, as well known as Bert Hinkler).
No two people are more alike than twins. But even twins often complain that the first one you meet remains your favorite forever, although you later meet the second one. The same is true for two similar products.
People get used to what they have. If you meet someone more attractive than your wife or husband, you will not get a divorce. You understand that you will lose more on lawyers, division of property and children.
The Law of Leadership can also be illustrated in magazines. It is because of him that Time leads in relation to Newsweek, People in relation to US, and Playboy in relation to Penthouse. Take TV Guide for example. In the early fifties, the then-strong Curtis Publishing Company was trying to launch a new magazine with a television program that would compete with the fledgling TV Guide. And although TV Guide got off to a weak start, and despite the sheer strength of the Curtis Publishing Company, Curtis magazine never caught on. TV Guide has already staked out the territory.
The Law of Leadership applies to both “hard” categories such as cars and computers and “soft” ones such as universities or beer. Jeep was the first all-wheel drive SUV. Acura was the first Japanese luxury car. IBM was the first to produce a mainframe computer. Sun Microsystems was the first to create workstations. That's why Jeep, Acura, IBM and Sun are the leading brands.
The first minivan was introduced by Chrysler. Today, Chrysler has 10 percent of the car market and 50 percent of the minivan market. So what is the essence of automotive marketing? Is it about making cars better than other companies or about being the first to conquer the market?
The first desktop laser printer was introduced by the computer company Hewlett-Packard. Today the company has 5 percent of the personal computer market and 45 percent of the laser printer market.
Gilette released the first safety razor. Tide was the first laundry detergent. Hayes was the first computer modem. They are all leaders.
One of the reasons why the first brand most often retains leadership is that its name becomes a household name. Xerox, the first plain paper copier, gave its name to all plain paper copiers. People standing in front of a Ricon, Sharp or Kodak machine ask, “How can I photocopy this document?” They'll ask for Kleenex, even though the box will clearly say Scott on it. They will offer you a Coke even if they have nothing but Pepsi-Cola.
Imagine a person asking for cellophane adhesive tape in a store instead of tape. There are few of these. Most people use brand names when they become household names: Brand-Aid, Fiberglas, Formica, Core-Tex, Jello, Krazy Glue, Q-tips, Saran Wrap, Velcro - there are actually many more. Some people will go to great linguistic lengths to make a brand name recognizable: "please FedEx this package to the Coast" (meaning send it via Federal Express). So if you are introducing the first brand in a new category, try to choose a name that can become a household name. (Lawyers will tell you otherwise, but what do they know about marketing laws?)
Not only does the first brand usually become the leader, but sales of subsequent brands usually correlate with their time to market. The best example is ibuprofen. Advil was the first ibuprofen, Nuprin the second, Medipren the third. Their market sales follow the order of their introduction: Advil has 51 percent of the ibuprofen market, Nuprin -10 percent, Medipren -1 percent of the market.
The fourth ibuprofen brand to hit the market was Mortin IB. Although the drug's prescription name is ibuprofen, Mortin IB has only a 15 percent market share. (And this is despite the fact that Advill was marketed as “a drug that has the same effect as Mortin”). And pay attention to the replacement of the common noun. The consumer uses Advil as a common noun and very rarely uses the word “ibuprofen.” Even the doctor tells the patient, “Take two Advil and call me in the morning.”
Also consider Tylenol, the first brand of acetaminophen. Tylenol has left the number two brand so far behind that no one even knows what it's called.
Since the secret to success is to get into the minds of potential customers first, what strategy do companies follow? They follow the best product strategy. The latest and hottest topic in the field of business management is competitive analysis. Touted as the “core competitive strategy,” competitive analysis is the process of comparing and evaluating your company's products against the best in the industry. This is an essential element of the process often referred to as "total quality management".
Unfortunately, competitive analysis is useless. Despite the obvious facts, people perceive the first product as the best. Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products.
So, what was the name of the first brand of aspirin? First brand of ibuprofen? (Hint: replace the word “leading” with the word “first” and you will find the answer to these questions).
Charles Schwab calls himself "the largest low-fee broker in America." Are you surprised that the Charles Lindbergh of cut-rate brokerage is the Charles Schwab?
Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Who was second?
Roger Bannister was the first to run a mile in four minutes. Who repeated his achievement?
George Washington was the first President of the United States. What was the name of the second president of the United States?
Thomas was the first brand of English tableware.
Can you name another name?
Gatorade was the first sports drink. Which one was the second?
If you enter the prospect's mind second, are you doomed to vegetate with Buzz Aldrin, John Landy, John Adams, obscure English cookware, and an obscure sports drink? Not necessary. Fortunately, there are other laws.
Chapter 2. Law of category
If you cannot become the first in the category,
What is the name of the person who was the third to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?
If you didn't know Bert Hinkler, who was second, you'll think you have no chance of guessing third. But you know him. This is Amelia Earhart.
Do you know Amelia because she was the third to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean, or because she was the first woman to do so?
After Heineken became a big success, the people at Anheuser-Bush might have said to themselves, "We'll be importing beer, too." But they didn't. Instead, they asked themselves: “If there is a market for expensive imported beer, maybe there is a market for expensive domestic beer?” And they began promoting Michelob, the first high-priced domestic beer that now outsells Heineken two to one. (In fact, Anheuser-Bush imports the imported Carlsberg beer, which is well known in Europe. In the US, however, Carlsberg is not successful).
Miller Lite was the first domestic light beer. It took five years for importers to realize: “If there is a market for domestic light beer, perhaps there is a market for imported light beer.” As a result, Amstel Light appeared on the market, becoming the best-selling imported light beer.
If you haven't penetrated your prospect's mind first, don't despair. Find a new category in which you will be the first. It's not as difficult as it seems.
After IBM achieved great success in computers, everyone and their ilk rushed into the field. Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, Sperry. They were called: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
Which dwarf has grown to become a world leader with 126,000 employees and $14 billion in sales? Which of them became the company often called "the second largest computer company in the world"? None of them. The most successful computer company of the seventies and eighties, next to IBM, was Digital Equipment Corporation. IBM was the first in computers. Digital Equipment Corporation was the first in minicomputers.
Many other computer companies (and their owners) have become rich and famous by following a simple principle: If you can't be first in a category, create a new one in which you can be first.
Tandem pioneered fault-tolerant computing and created a $1.9 billion business. Stratus arrived on the scene with the first fault-tolerant minicomputer. Today Stratus is worth $500 million.
Are the laws of marketing complicated? No, they are quite simple. However, their implementation in practice is a completely different matter.
Cray Research rose to the top with the first supercomputer. Today Cray is worth $800 million. Convex put two and two together and released the first mini-supercomputer. Today Convex is worth $200 million.
Sometimes a mediocre company turns into a winner by inventing a new category. Commodore was just another manufacturer of home personal computers that were no different until they began to position the Amiga as the first multimedia computer. Today, the Commodore Amiga is a great success, with annual sales reaching $500 million.
There are many different ways to become first. Dell entered the crowded personal computer market as the first company to sell computers over the phone. Today Dell is worth $900 million.
When you introduce a new product to market, the first question you should ask yourself is not “how is this product better than the competition?” but “what am I first at?” In other words, "In which category will this product be number one?"
Charles Schwab didn't start a better brokerage firm. He opened the first reduced commission brokerage firm.
Lear's was not the first women's magazine. It was the first magazine for mature women. (For women who were not born yesterday).
This is the exact opposite of the classic marketing view, which is brand-centric. How can I get people to prefer my brand? Forget about the brand. We have to think in categories. Potential clients tend to be very defensive when it comes to a brand. After all, everyone is talking about why their brand is better. But when it comes to categories, potential clients become more open. Everyone is interested in what's new. And only a few are interested in which is better.
If you are number one in a new category, promote that category. In essence, you will have no competitors. DEC was telling potential customers why they should buy a minicomputer rather than a DEC minicomputer. At the beginning of its activity, the Herz company sold car rental services. Coca-Cola sold soft drinks. Both companies' marketing programs were more effective then than they are now.
Chapter 3. The Law of Consciousness
It is better to be the first to enter consciousness than to be the first to enter the market.
The world's first personal computer was the MITS Altair 8800.
The Law of Leadership suggests that the MITS Altair 8800 (bad choice of name) should have become the number one brand among personal computers. Unfortunately, this computer has long been forgotten.
Du Mont invented the first commercial television. The Duryea company offered the first car. Hurley introduced the first washing machine. All have sunk into oblivion.
Is there something wrong with the law of leadership described in chapter one? No, it’s just that the law of consciousness makes its own changes to it. It is better to be the first to enter the mind of a potential customer than to be the first to market. What (if anything) could be more important than being the first to enter consciousness? Being the first to enter consciousness is everything for marketing. Being first to market is important only insofar as it allows you to be the first to enter consciousness.
For example, IBM was not the first to appear on the market with its universal computer. Remington Rand was the first with the UNIVAC computer. But thanks to a massive marketing campaign, IBM was the first to enter the consciousness and quickly won the computer battle.
The law of consciousness follows from the law of perception. Because marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products, consciousness matters more than the market.
Hundreds of future entrepreneurs stumble over this law every year. Someone has an idea or concept that they believe will completely change an industry. The problem is getting the concept or idea into the minds of potential customers.
The traditional solution to the problem is money. In other words, financial resources are needed to develop and create a product or service organization, hold press conferences, attend trade shows, advertise, and conduct direct mail (Chapter 22: The Law of Resources).
Unfortunately, people are starting to think that money is the answer to every marketing question. This is wrong. No other area of human activity wastes more money than marketing (aside from government, of course).
You cannot change consciousness once it has already formed. This is the same as attacking enemy troops that are well entrenched in their positions. The most famous historical example of such a confrontation is the advance of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, soon followed by Pickett's defeat at Gettysburg.
Wang was the first with its electronic word processor. But the world did not pay attention to these machines and settled on computers. Wang, meanwhile, was unable to rebuild. Even though millions of dollars have been spent promoting the company's personal computers and minicomputers, Wang is still perceived as a word processor maker.
Xerox was the first company in copiers and then tried to get into the computer business. Twenty-five years and $2 billion later, Xerox had achieved nothing in the computer field.
Want to change something on your computer? Retype or delete the text you typed. Do you want to change something in your mind? Forget about it. The formed consciousness changes extremely reluctantly, or does not change at all. The most useless thing in marketing is trying to change consciousness.
People may suddenly form the opinion you need. You have never heard of a person, but one morning everyone knows about him, he becomes famous. “Becoming famous overnight” is a common thing.
If you want to impress someone, you can't crawl into their mind like a worm and then slowly and systematically create a favorable impression of yourself. Consciousness is structured differently. In order to make an impression, you must break into the consciousness.
The reason you have to rush in and not crawl in is because people don't like to change their minds. Once they begin to perceive you in a certain way, they will not want to change their opinion of you. It's as if they have a file in their brain about you as a certain kind of person. You cannot become a different person in their minds.
One of the mysteries of marketing is the role of money. One day, a few dollars can make a miracle happen. The next day, millions of dollars will not be able to save the company from ruin. If the client's mind is open to being worked with, even a little money will be spent very effectively. Apple entered the computer world with $91,000 invested by Mike Markkula.
Apple's problem of getting into the minds of potential customers was largely solved thanks to its simple, memorable name. On the other hand, Apple's competitors had complex names that were difficult to remember. In those early days, five personal computers were on the starting line: the Apple II, the Commodore Pet, the IMSAI 8080, the MITS Altair 8800, and the Radio Shack TRS-80. Ask yourself, which of these names is the simplest and best remembered?
In Russia, everything is fine with the laws, in the sense that they are almost non-existent. And if they exist, then they can be bypassed. True, this is not about us, we are from the category of those who understand that it is possible to cheat, but we still do it as established by the state.
And to the interesting fact that rules can be perceived in different ways, in society these are the boundaries that define our powers.
But the laws of marketing are the relationships between actions and results. It sounds strange, but in this article, as usual, we will analyze it in a simple, healthy and “tasty” way.
Jack Trout was here
One of the first books I read on marketing was “The 22 Laws of Marketing” by Al Ries and Jack Trout. It’s not enough to say that she influenced me; then she seemed like manna from heaven.
But having recently read it again, I came to the conclusion that not everything is actually as it says.
The problem is that when we see a book from a famous author, we automatically assume that everything written in it is true. And our brain does not even dare to doubt what is stated, because it was written by the s____ himself (in our case, Al Ries and Jack Trout).
But analyzing each line with a cold mind and the thought that the author is some unknown Vasya Pupkin, we can conclude that everything has changed since those times and quite a large part of the meaning is not for Russian realities.
I tried to write only those laws that are relevant for small and medium-sized businesses, and, as usual, a minimum of comparisons with the largest companies like Apple.
Moreover, I can fully admit that in some cases the laws may work completely differently.
WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON
Talk less, work more
You can talk a lot, but it’s better to do. Therefore, we begin to study the laws of marketing, which you must read, understand and, based on the knowledge gained, adjust your marketing.
Moreover, I want to warn you right away that if you apply these laws to companies in different weight categories (for example, Coca-Cola and Uryupinsk water), then the laws will be perceived comically. Everything is relative. Therefore, first of all, we compare ourselves with others similar to ourselves.
Law 1 - The fast defeats the strong.
The world has really become very dynamic. And now it is not enough to have money or a reserve of resources. You need to be able to quickly adapt to the situation, to the trend, to the market, to competitors and a thousand other factors.
And all because they can radically change your entire company. And for this you need to constantly be on alert.
I'm keeping an eye on you
Remember the Nokia company, which at the moment can be said to be dead. Although it was previously one of the coolest in the field of mobile phones.
The first phone that came into our family was from this company, my father wore it with such pride, as if it were a red diamond (the most expensive gem in the world). But still the company no longer exists.
And she died because she didn’t have time to adapt to a new way, she did it all too slowly and lost everything in 6 months, so Microsoft bought her out for mere pennies.
Law 2 - Trends are not constant
It's a big mistake to make big plans on trends. Do you remember what the trends were over the past 5 years? Now remember those who are still alive?
There are almost none, or rather none at all. And, for example, vape (mini-mobile hookahs), analogues of electronic cigarettes, are now popular among young people.
All sorts of means of transportation such as hoverboards and mono-wheels are also popular (I admit, I fell for it and also bought a couple of hoverboards for myself).
Yes, I'm like a trend myself Now it’s fashionable, sales points are growing by leaps and bounds. But in this case, the phrase “nothing is as eternal as the temporary” does not apply.
Today this product or this service is popular, but tomorrow it’s a bummer. Nobody will even remember. Of course, here we are talking, first of all, about short-term trends, which is what most people do.
But if you look at long-term trends, for example: healthy eating, Russian production, products from local producers, then in this case this law can be completely repealed.
By the way, there is a target area that deals with trend analysis and prediction -.
Law 3 - Compressions
Based on the previous law, I would like to give an example. You deal with hoverboards, vape(s) and fitness bracelets. Everything seems to be fine (even if I repeat, for a short time), people are buying.
But your company is not remembered because it is difficult to position you. At best, you can be called a store of trendy (innovative) goods (gadgets).
There is no other choice, since the product is varied and will constantly change, since these are trendy items.
But if we are considering classic business, then such a topic will no longer work. It is, of course, possible to provide both legal and accounting services within the same company.
But if the client has a choice: to go to such a general office or to a specialized office for legal matters, he is more likely to choose the second option.
Since a highly specialized specialist, by definition, must have a better understanding of his field than a generalist.
By the way, we have the same situation in our company, or rather, a problem of this kind. Sometimes it happens that some clients decide to order a landing page from companies that specialize in one service.
And therefore, it is more difficult for us to convince, to prove that within our company there are different departments and specialists, and everyone does their own thing.
We have a reason for choosing this approach, but I do not advise you to follow our path, it is very complex, thorny and not the most relevant.
Law 4 - First is always best
Soda? Coca Cola. Luxury car? Rolls-Royce. A printer? Xerox. Well, a patriotic question, the first man to fly into space? Gagarin.
It usually looks like this. Whoever stood up first got the slippers. Nobody remembers the second, they know, but they don’t remember right away. And this is a very big difference, with a whole abyss between it.
This is how it worked, and this is how it will work. Provided that the company not only occupied these “slippers”, but also declared itself throughout the entire sales territory, that is, it captured the market.
Otherwise, many people think that if they are the first, they will automatically be the coolest and most popular. Nevermind.
Hello! I am the first The first is always the best, only when he has managed to take a confident position in the minds of clients. Until this happens, others have a full chance to take this place.
Law 5 - Emotions over logic
Why is it that when we argue with other people, we cannot say to ourselves, “Hey, stop! Stop drooling around. We need to think things through. Why flog the fever.”
Because emotions always take precedence over logic. How many times have you bought something you didn't need? Hundreds of times, gentlemen. And you don't need to look away. I'm no better myself, I confess. By the way, I can repent for a long time on this topic.
I bought them deliberately. Therefore, if we talk about “pressure” on a person’s subconscious, then our primary goal is to disperse it emotionally and only then back it all up with rational arguments.
And not the other way around, loading it with technical specifications, forgetting to explain that this thing will make his children smile all day long. In the video below, I examined this fact in more detail:
By the way, if you think about it, then almost everything we do, we do for the sake of emotions. For the sake of survival, it is enough to have a small house, a sheet over the body (in the northern regions, a warm sheet) and some ordinary food.
Everything else is for emotions. A more expensive restaurant for emotions. More beautiful clothes for emotions.
A better machine for emotions. A more expensive sofa for emotions. Think about it, this thought struck me once.
Law 6 - Perception wins
Do you really think that a Mercedes is somehow different from a BMW other than appearance and bells and whistles?! Although, okay, I agree, there are differences, in the same chassis.
But if you really think about it, then one of the companies cannot make bad cars. They do everything at the same level, they try to do everything to the maximum, using all the capabilities of technology.
But the camp is still divided: someone says that the BMW is breaking down, someone is saying that the Mercedes is breaking down. It turns out that the struggle for a long time has not been for real quality.
And for the perception of this quality. For people’s feelings, which may be based on completely unreliable data.
For example, when we are driving in a car and it gently swallows potholes, this is an indicator of quality for us. If the car drives and feels like it swallows potholes more harshly (everything else does the same), for us this car is of lower quality.
Although maybe in the second case the car is more reliable and is specially designed so that the suspension wears out less.
Law 7 - The client makes the decision at every stage
Previously (before a lawyer appeared in the company), I always thought that if an agreement was signed by both parties, then there was no going back.
And the client cannot refuse our services and we cannot turn it back. But I was wrong (life is pain). The client can change his mind at any time and terminate the contract unilaterally.
The situation is the same with marketing (sales), the client can change his mind at any stage right up to a minute before the final project is due. Therefore, it is very important for you to work through everything you have with the client both before the transaction and after the transaction.
Otherwise, no amount of marketing will help you and you may not dream of clients “until your death.”
Law 8 - “Money” talks
This law sounds like it's from the 90s. Only the word “money” is a collective word here; it would be more correct to call it “resources”; it’s just that the current name is more tenacious (a kind of tasty packaging for the law).
And I believe that this postulate should be hung in front of every leader’s desk. So that he clearly understands one simple idea - in order to grow quickly and a lot, you need to invest resources. Time, money, connections - everything you have.
Tales that the company was built for 1,000 rubles. I won't tell you. They exist and there are quite a lot of them.
But if you really look at the situation, make it out of 1,000 rubles in a month. -> 1,000,000 rub. This is only possible if you invest all your personal time into this goal and at the same time do not forget about all the other thoughts described in this article.
And if you really have such a situation, then the best way would be to print it out for yourself with this money and go sell it through direct marketing.
Law 9 - A good offer is scary
Paradoxically, the stronger your offer, the worse it performs. This is due to our mentality that free cheese is only in a mousetrap.
Therefore, if you make a truly strong offer that the world has never seen, then be prepared that simply no one will react, or the most desperate ones will react, who have nothing to lose.
I do not believe! Any of these proposals could be included. Therefore, always check your crazy ideas to see how realistic they are in the eyes of potential buyers.
How real they seem. Again, for better understanding, an example: “Kitchen for 10,000 rubles.” Too cool, right? Exactly.
Law 10 - Burnout
Any offer, any promotion, any instrument has its own lifespan. Therefore, do not rush to rejoice when you finally, among thousands of customer acquisition channels, have found one that really works.
After all, thanks to a huge number of factors, everything can change. And I would even say that it will definitely stop working, the only question is when.
And “dishonest” competitors who copied you and replicated you several times can help you with this.
Either you simply burned out the entire market, or your offer is no longer relevant at this time.
Speaking of relevance, remember before people were yours forever when you gave them discount cards (the most popular 5%).
What now? I don’t know about you, I’ve accumulated a couple of hundred of them, and now I haven’t made the decision to go to store A for a long time, because I have a discount there. After all, I have a discount in store B, C and D.
Law 11 - Credibility
This law states that complete reliability can only be seen at a minimum through a transaction cycle and testing it under different conditions.
This means your results may be premature. For example, you run an advertisement, it doesn’t work for the whole month, and the next month it just gives you a phone line based on the number of incoming applications.
Therefore, colleagues, if it doesn’t work right away, don’t rush to conclusions. Yes, it may be worth postponing this method, but not eliminating it forever. These are different things.
Law 12 - No Truth
I want to end with this decree, although I could continue for a very long time. And this point says that there is no truth in marketing, there are only hypotheses.
You may think that your idea is the most grandiose and logical, but it will go to “order”. It will leave only a residue of sadness on your soul and one question, “What’s wrong?”
How many of my grandiose ideas have broken, not enough fingers and toes of the entire African Guard. Based on some ideas, I understand why this happened, but some still baffle me and remain Da Vinci’s mysteries for me.
And all because it is impossible to foresee all factors. Too many of them. And even if you can analyze everything, it will be like in that joke:
Well there must be a mystery in me Briefly about the main thing
I originally planned to review the book The 22 Laws of Marketing by Jack Trout, but with my own thoughts.
But while writing out the thesis plan, I didn’t notice how I discarded most of the laws, due to their irrelevance for our earthly business. As a result, it turned out that most of the laws were born from my humble brain.
And yet, even though I wrote this, even though I believe in it, I would like to draw attention to the fact that, whatever one may say, there is no truth in the marketing charter. This is all guesswork. These are all hypotheses.
After all, there are exceptions that completely tear all this apart like a hot water bottle. But still, for the basis, for correct thinking, it is worthwhile to study these laws of marketing.
