The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

The world of marketing is constantly evolving, with new technologies and strategies emerging every year. In the midst of this ever-changing landscape, however, there are certain fundamental principles that remain true no matter what. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, written by Al Ries and Jack Trout, is a classic guidebook that explores these timeless principles and provides readers with a framework for building successful marketing campaigns. In this book summary, we will explore the key concepts presented in The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing and examine how they can be applied to help businesses of all sizes achieve their marketing goals. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out, the insights in this book are sure to provide valuable guidance and inspiration as you navigate the complex world of modern marketing.

Although the title of the book suggests that its rules apply only to marketing, I believe that they can be useful for any business and its strategies. Therefore, I would like to provide you with a summary of the book's key concepts so that you can apply them to your own business.

1. The Law of Leadership

It’s better to be first than it is to be better.

It's much easier to get into the mind first than to try to convince someone you have a better product than the one that did get there first. • Not only does the first brand usually become the leader, but also the sales order of follow-up brands often matches the order of their introductions. Such as Selpak.

Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. Who was second?

2. The Law of Category

If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.

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?

Dell got into the crowded personal computer field by being the first to sell computers by phone.

3. The Law of the Mind

It's better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.

In marketing, being first in the mind is everything. Being first in the marketplace is only important to the extent that it allows you to get into the mind first. If you want to make a big impression on someone, you can't worm your way into their mind and slowly build a favourable opinion over time. The mind doesn't work that way. You have to blast your way into the mind.

The single most wasteful thing you can do in marketing is try to change a mind. You can't change a mind once a mind is made up.

4. The Law of Perception

Marketing is not a Battle of products, it's a battle of perceptions.

All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of customers or prospects. Perception is reality; everything else is an illusion. Marketing manipulates those perceptions. customers often base their buying decisions on second-hand perceptions, rather than their own experiences. This is known as the "Everybody knows" principle. For example, many people believe that Japanese cars are of higher quality than American cars, simply because everybody knows it to be true.

A perception that exists in mind is often interpreted as a universal truth.  People are seldom, if ever, wrong. At least not in their minds.

5. The Law of Focus

The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind.

A company can become incredibly successful if it can find a way to own a word in the mind of the prospect. The leader owns the word that stands for the category. This is another way of saying that the brand becomes a generic name for the category.

The most effective words are simple and benefit-oriented.

6. The Law of Exclusivity

Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.

Volvo has established itself as the leader in automotive safety. Although other companies such as Mercedes-Benz and General Motors have attempted to market themselves as safety-focused, none have succeeded in establishing themselves in the minds of consumers as effectively as Volvo.

When a competitor owns a word or position in the prospect's mind, it is futile to attempt to own the same word.

7. The Law of the Ladder

The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.

There's a hierarchy in the mind that prospects use in making decisions. For each category, there is a product ladder in mind. On each rung is a brand name. Take the car rental category. Hertz got into the mind first and wound up on the top rung. Avis got in second and National got in third.

a mind accepts only new data that is consistent with its product ladder in that category. Everything else is ignored.

8. The Law of Duality

In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.

At the start, a new category has many rungs on its ladder. Over time, the ladder becomes simpler, with only two rungs.

In batteries, it's Eveready and Duracell. In mouthwash, it's Listerine and scope. In toothpaste, it's Crest and Colgate. Coco-Cola vs Pepsi.

In a maturing industry, third place is a difficult position to be in.

9. The Law of Opposite

If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.

You must discover the essence of the leader and then present the prospect with the opposite. (In other words, don't try to be better, try to be different.) When you look at customers in a given product category, there seem to be two kinds of people. There're those who want to buy from the leader and those who don't want to buy from the leader. A potential No. 2 has to appeal to the latter group.

by positioning yourself against the leader, you take business away from all the other alternatives to No. 1. If old people drink Coke and young people drink Pepsi, there's nobody left to drink Royal Crown Cola.

10. The Law of Division

Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories

Like an amoeba dividing in a petri dish, the marketing arena can be viewed as an ever-expanding sea of categories.

A category starts off as a single entity. Computers, for example. But over time, the category breaks up into other segments. Mainframes, minicomputers, workstations, personal computers, laptops, notebooks, and pen computers.

11. The Law of Perspective

Marketing effects take place over an extended period of a time period.

Chemically, alcohol is a strong depressant. But in the short term, by depressing a person’s inhibitions, alcohol acts like a stimulant. Many marketing moves exhibit the same phenomenon. The long-term effects are often the exact opposite of the short-term effects.

12. The Law of Line Extension

There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand.

• More is less. The more products, the more markets, the more alliances a company makes, and the less money it makes.

• Less is more. If you want to be successful today, you have to narrow the focus in order to build a position in the prospect’s mind.

In the long run and in the presence of serious competition, line extensions almost never work. One day a company is tightly focused on a single product that is highly profitable. The next day the same company is spread thin over many products and is losing money. Chanel - Chanel Men

13. The Law of Sacrifice

You have to give up something in order to get something.

Coca-Cola got into the prospect's mind and built a powerful position. In the late fifties, for example, Coke outsold Pepsi more than five to one. What could Pepsi-Cola do to go against Coke’s powerful position? In the early sixties, Pepsi-Cola finally developed a strategy based on the concept of sacrifice. The company sacrificed everything except the teenage market. Within one generation, Pepsi closed the gap. Today it is only 10 per cent behind Coca-Cola in total U.S. cola sales.

Marketing is a game of mental warfare. It's a battle of perceptions, not products or services. In the mind of the prospect, Federal Express is the overnight company. Federal Express owns the overnight position.

14. The Law of Attributes

For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute.

It's much better to search for an opposing attribute that will allow you to play against the leader. The keyword here is "opposite" – similar won't suffice. You must try to possess the most important attribute.

The law of exclusivity states that once a competitor successfully takes an attribute, it's no longer available to you. You'll need to focus on a different, less prominent attribute, and accept a smaller share of the market. Your task is to seize a new attribute, highlight its value, and increase your market share as a result.

15. The Law of Candor

When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.

You have to prove a positive statement to the prospect’s satisfaction. No proof is needed for a negative statement. Since you can't change a mind once it's made up, your marketing efforts have to be devoted to using ideas and concepts already installed in the brain.

Listerine brilliantly invoked the law of candor: “The taste you hate twice a day.”

16. The Law of Singularity

In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.

Most often there is only one place where a competitor is vulnerable. And that place should be the focus of the entire invading force. Military strategist and author B.H. Liddell Hart calls this bold stroke "the line of least expectation.”

In recent years there have been only two strong moves made against GM. Both were flanking moves around the GM Maginot Line. The Japanese came at the low end with small cars like Toyota, Datsun, and Honda. The Germans came at the high end with super premium cars like Mercedes and BMW.

17. The Law of Unpredictability

Unless you write your competitor’s plans, you can't predict the future.

Good short-term planning is coming up with that angle or word that differentiates your product or company. Then you set up a coherent long-term marketing direction that builds a program to maximize that idea or angle. It's not a long-term plan, it's a long-term direction.

Tom Monaghan’s short-term angle at Domino's Pizza was to come up with that "home delivery" idea and build a system that delivered pizzas quickly and efficiently. His long-term direction was to build the first nationwide home delivery chain as rapidly as possible.

18. The Law of Success

Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance leads to failure.

When a brand is successful, the company assumes the name is the primary reason for the brand's success. The brand got famous because you made the right marketing moves. In other words, the steps you took were in tune with the fundamental laws of marketing.

You got into the mind first. You narrowed the focus. You preempted a powerful attribute.

19. The Law of Failure

Failure is to be expected and accepted.

Admitting a mistake and not doing anything about it is bad for your career. A better strategy is to recognize failure early and cut your losses. 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. There is a built-in conflict between the personal and the corporate agenda. This leads to failure to take risks.

👉 IBM should have dropped copiers and Xerox should have dropped computers years before they finally recognized their mistakes.

It's hard to be first in a new category without sticking your neck out.

20. The Law of Hype

The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.

Forget the front page. If you're looking for clues to the future, look in the back of the paper for those innocuous stories.

21. The Law of Acceleration

Successful programs are not built on fads, they're built on trends.

The most profitable thing to ride in marketing is a long-term trend.

22. The Law of Resources

Without adequate funding, an idea won't get off the ground.

The more successful marketers front-load their investment. In other words, they take no profit for two or three years as they plough all earnings back into marketing.

You need money to get into your mind. And you need money to stay in your mind once you get there.

To sum up, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is a must-read for anyone involved in marketing and business strategy. By understanding and applying the principles presented in this book, you can gain a competitive advantage and achieve success in today's fast-paced marketplace. Remember, marketing is not just about promoting products or services, but also about creating a strong brand and delivering value to your customers. I hope this article has provided you with valuable insights and inspiration to take your marketing efforts to the next level.