22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout [Book Summary #4]

Rating: 10/10

This book is recommended by prominent thought leaders, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Ferris. The text is simple, easy-to-read, and informative. I certainly will be re-reading this book on a regular basis, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone in any line of business.

My Notes

1. The Law of Leadership: It's better to be first than it is to be better.

• If you're introducing the first brand in a new category, you should always try to select a name that can work generically.

2. The Law of Category: If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.

• Promote the category, not the brand. People are interested in what's new, not what's better.

3. The Law of the Mind: It's better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.

• "If you want to make a big impression on another person, you cannot war your way into their mind and then slowly build up a favorable opinion over a period of time. The mind doesn't work that way. You have to blast your way into the mind."
• Reason: People don't like to change their minds.

4. The Law of Perception: Marketing is not a battle of products, marketing is a battle of perceptions.

• Truth is nothing more or less than one expert's perception. And who is the expert? It's someone who is perceived to be an expert in the mind of somebody else.  

5. The Law of Focus: The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect's mind.

• "No matter how complicated the product, no matter how complicated the needs of the market, it's always better to focus on one word or benefit rather than two or three or four."
• "Does any company proclaim itself as the 'unquality' corporation? No, everybody stands for quality. As a result, nobody does.

6. The Law of Exclusivity: Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect's mind.

7. The Law of the Ladder: The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.

8. The Law of Duality: In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.

9. The Law of the Opposite: If you're shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.

• "Much like a wrestler uses his opponent's strength against him, a company should leverage the leader's strength into a weakness."
• "A good No. 2 can't afford to be timid. When you give up focusing on No. 1, you make yourself vulnerable not only to the leader but to the rest of the pack."

10. The Law of Division: Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.

11. The Law of Perspective: Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.

• "Many marketing moves exhibit the same phenomenon. The long-term effects are often the exact opposite of the short-term effects."
• Ex: sales/couponing 

12. The Law of Line Extension: There's an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand.

• "When you try to be all things to all people, you invariably wind up in trouble."
• "If you ant to be successful today, you have to narrow the focus in order to build a position in the prospect's mind.

13. The Law of Sacrifice: You have to give something up in order to get something.

• "The target is not the market. That is, the apparent target for your marketing is not the same as the people who will actually buy your product."

14. The Law of Attributes: For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute.

15. The Law of Candor: When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.

16. The Law of Singularity: In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.

17. The Law of Unpredictability: Unless you write your competitor's plans, you can't predict the future.

18. The Law of Success: Success often leads to arrogance and arrogance to failure.

19. The Law of Failure: Failure is to be expected and accepted.

20. The Law of Hype: The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.

• Real revolutions don't arrive at high noon with marching bands and coverage on the 6:00 PM news. Real revolutions arrive unannounced in the middle of the night and kind of sneak up on you."

21. The Law of Acceleration: Successful programs are not built on fads, they're built on trends.

• "The most successful entertainers are the ones who control their appearances. They don't overextend themselves. They're not all over the place. They don't wear out their welcome. 

22. The Law of Resources: Without adequate funding an idea won't get off the ground.