The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing Book Summary | By Al Ries And Jack Trout

About Al Ries In 1963, in New York City, Al Ries established his first firm, Ries Cappiello Colwell. Today, that agency is Ries, a multinational consulting company with locations in Atlanta and Shanghai. Additionally, Ries Cappiello Colwell has associates all around the world. Al Ries originally gained notoriety in 1972 when the Advertising Age magazine published three of his pieces on the idea of “positioning.” The positioning concept was chosen by AdAge as one of the top 75 advertising innovations of the previous 75 years.

Regarding Jack Trout
Owner of the consultancy firm Trout & Partners was Jack Trout. He was an originator and forerunner of the theories of positioning and marketing warfare. Trout began his business career at General Electric in the advertising division. He later progressed to the position of divisional advertising manager at Uniroyal. He then collaborated with Al Ries for more than 26 years at the advertising agency and marketing strategy organisation.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing Book Summary

The first law is the law of leadership.

Being first is more effective for a leader than being superior to your rivals. Being the first to enter your clients’ minds also makes it easier than trying to persuade them that your product is superior to the competition’s. An unoriginal product is referred to by the writers as a “me-too” product. There is little chance that these items will be incredibly successful. Instead, the dominant brand in almost every category is the one that comes to mind first for the consumers. When things, like Coke, are called after a product, this success is perpetuated.

Being the first to market has advantages, but if your timing is off, those advantages can disappear. Your “first,” for instance, can be too late for the market.

Successful first-to-market business instances:

Hertz vehicle rental
in computing, IBM
In-cola Coca-Cola

Firsts can also fail if they are inherently flawed concepts. The writers give Frosty Paws as an illustration. The first dog-friendly ice cream was introduced by Frosty Paws, with little to no success.

The Second Law Is The Category Law

If there is already a first in your category, you should try to create a new category in which you can be first. Amelia Earhart, for instance, became the third person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She is not, however, well known for this. She is renowned for being the first woman to finish this challenge, though. Therefore, by founding your own category, you can achieve fame and fortune. The writers once more use IBM as an example. IBM was the first to mass-produce computers, which led to their tremendous success. DEC did not pick this category to participate in. Instead, by being the first to mass-produce minicomputers, they created their own category.

In the process, DEC also saw great success.

Forget about making the brand your top priority. Consider the categories where your product could excel instead.

The third law is the law of the mind.

“Your own views are the only reality you can be certain of. If the cosmos is real, it’s in your thoughts and everyone else’s as well. (Al Ries)

A customer’s decision cannot be changed after it has been made. Therefore, the authors advise against wasting marketing funds on trying to persuade people to change their beliefs. As a result, you ought to strive to come to your clients’ minds first. Being first in the market is only significant if it raises the possibility that your customers will think of you first. This is so because the struggle in marketing is for perception, not actual goods. Make your product’s name straightforward and simple to recall as a fix.

The Fourth Law Is The Law of Perception

The authors contend that the marketplace lacks an objective reality. Therefore, in the realm of marketing, the only things that exist are perceptions that your customers have. The main objective of your marketing should be to influence these perceptions. You can only get rid of your bad marketing instincts by learning how perceptions are created and focusing your marketing initiatives on those perceptions.

The Fifth Law Is The Law of Focus

The most effective marketing strategy is to control a word in the prospect’s vocabulary. It should be a common word that is easy to understand. You can start owning a word if you apply the law of leadership well. Your word ought to be associated with the category. For instance, IBM used the phrase “computer.” Importantly, you can’t keep using the same word. There will be a point when you should consider altering your word because nothing lasts forever. In a similar vein, you should never use a word that is already in use by someone else. Once you have made your commitment, you must make every effort to uphold it in the marketplace.

There are many distinct kinds of words. They may be tied to a benefit (preventing captivity), a service (home delivery), an audience (younger people), or sales (preferred brand).

The Sixth Law Is The Law of Exclusivity

According to this law, two businesses cannot control the same word in a prospect’s head. As a result, the authors advise against paying to register a word that someone else already owns.

The Seventh Law is The Law of the Ladder

Brands will be positioned at various levels on a prospect’s hierarchical ladder. Your marketing plan should be founded on the position you think you hold in the minds of your potential customers. Typically, prospects only receive information that makes sense logically in relation to the rungs of their ladder.

According to the writers, you typically have twice the market share of the brand below you on the ladder. You now hold half of the market share held by the brand above you. In the prospect’s mind, seven is the maximum number of rungs on a ladder. On a ladder, you shouldn’t always strive to be on the top rung, though. Being third on a “large” ladder, for instance, would be preferable than being first on a “small” ladder.

The Eight Law is The law of duality

Over time, every market degenerates into a two-horse contest. As a result, the ladder’s seven rungs will be reduced to two. The authors use Coke and Pepsi as examples.

The Ninth Law is the law of opposite

The fundamental strategy of positioning is to manipulate what is already present in the mind and re-tie existing connections rather than to create anything new and original. (Al Ries)

You must be able to change your course of action based on who is in the lead if you want to win a two-horse race. Your business should take advantage of the shortcomings of the market leader. Present your prospects with the exact opposite of the dominant company’s core values. Never try to be like the market leader because you need to position yourself as an alternative to finally outperform them.

The tenth law is The Diversion Law

Your market’s category won’t remain isolated. Instead, your category will eventually split into two or more different categories. There will be a leader for each section, and very infrequently, the leader of the original category will also be the leader of the sub-categories. By using a separate brand name to address each new segment, you can succeed.

Law no. 11 the law of Perspective

Perspective will determine how effective marketing is. The consequences of marketing develop gradually. The writers clarify that the long-term impact of marketing frequently differs from the immediate impact. They give the example of temporary sales spikes brought on by people declining to purchase at regular prices.

Law No. 12 The Law of Line Extension

You’ll feel pushed to build on your brand’s equity. Your business will eventually be centered around a single profitable product. However, it is simple to overextend oneself by launching a number of unsuccessful goods. Being all things to all people will not succeed.

According to the writers, line extension refers to applying a popular brand name on a new product. Line extension rarely produces lasting results. This is especially true if your category features fierce competition. The leader in any category is typically not line extended. Since it might be successful immediately, line extension is frequently preferred.

Law No. 13 The Sacrifice Law

To obtain something, something must be sacrificed. The substitute for line extension is this. Three things—the product line, target market, and ongoing change—are suggested as trade-offs by the writers. You will be successful if you reduce rather than expand your product line.

Law No. 14 The Law of Attributes,

There is an effective opposite attribute for every attribute. As previously mentioned, businesses frequently make the mistake of copying the traits of the market leader. In your search, you should try to find the opposite quality. Additionally, the writers claim that you should strive to control the attribute that is most crucial to your category. Finally, because an attribute is currently little, businesses have a tendency to reject it outright. Never eliminate an attribute without giving it great consideration since you can never know how much of the market it will capture.

law no. 15 the law of candor

One of the best ways to influence a prospect is to start by acknowledging a flaw in your organization. You should then turn this unfavorable situation around. Since businesses rarely tolerate criticism, every unfavorable statement you make about them will typically be seen as fact. Therefore, if you can turn these drawbacks into assets, your prospects will already be open to favorable aspects of your business. The writers use Listerine as an example to illustrate their concept. The tagline for this company’s advertisements used to be “The flavor you detest twice a day.” This drawback was then flipped around when they promoted the notion that Listerine kills germs.

Your negative must be widely regarded as negative in order to employ this law effectively. Then, you must swiftly make a favorable turn.

Law No. 16 The Law of Singularity,

There is only one action that will have a significant impact in each circumstance. Despite this, many marketers think they should try a few different approaches in the hopes that one would work. The secret to success, though, is not to try harder. One decisive move is all it takes to execute successful marketing. If you are familiar with your industry, you will be aware of the audacious move needed to have a substantial impact on the market.

Law No. 17 The Law of Predictability

It is impossible to foresee the future, particularly because it will depend on what your rivals decide to do. Despite this, marketing strategies frequently rely their choices on projections of the future. Instead, create a short-term strategy that highlights how your product is different. After that, include this strategy into your long-term marketing plan. Instead of being a set strategy, this should be a direction. Plans are not sufficiently adaptable. The writers advise incorporating a great deal of flexibility into your business. You can manage the world’s unpredictable nature by doing this.

Law no. 18 the law of success

“Business success boosts the egos of upper management.” (Al Ries)

The enemy of effective marketing is ego. Subjectivity and a focus on judgement rather than the market are linked to success. A critical prerequisite for line extension is success. Businesses may believe incorrectly that their current success may be expanded into a number of other areas.

law no. 19 the law of failure

Failure must be recognised as normal. Early failure recognition will enable you to reduce your losses. Most of the time, cutting your losses early is preferable to trying to fix things and investing a lot of time and money.

Law No. 20 The Law of Hype,

You shouldn’t ever require euphoria. A successful business doesn’t require hype, yet needing hype usually indicates that your business is in peril. Furthermore, the hype is rarely true. In many cases, the situation is not as it seems in the media. Real industry changes don’t come in at noon with marching bands. They unexpectedly show up in the middle of the night and approach you from behind.

Law No. 21 The Law of Acceleration

Rather than relying on fads, you should base your business decisions on trends. The authors compare trends to the tide while fads are like waves. Fads may receive a lot of publicity, but trends are what matter. When fads emerge, make an effort to subdue them. Never fully satisfying the demand for your items is one approach to keep it there over the long term.

Law No. 22 The Law of Resources

Today, brands are created, not born. A new brand must be able to generate positive media coverage in order to stand a chance in the market. (Al Ries)

Without adequate funding, great ideas will never materialize. Money is required to enter a mind and to remain there. You should put your efforts into identifying an idea, then use money to capitalize on it.

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