Introduction
In order to navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing, marketers must not only stay current with new conditions but must also work from a strong foundational understanding of the industry. This blog attempts to distill the important marketing text, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,” into 3 key brand positioning takeaways which will benefit every business owner.
Authors Al Ries and Jack Trout are credited as the founders of the critical concept of “positioning” in the marketplace and have pioneered the emphasis on branding in all business matters for over 40 years. Their ability to distill complex ideas into easily digestible ideas is a testament to their competency in the field, and their work is a must-read for anyone with decision-making authority in marketing matters.
Though their work is full of excellent insight, 3 gold nuggets of wisdom stand out to me as essential information for business owners to consider regardless of their industry, specialty, or service.
1) “Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perspective.”
In the modern world, the marketplace is so intensely competitive that there are seemingly limitless options for almost every product under the sun. Even when a novel idea becomes a breakthrough product, within weeks or months, another company has reverse-engineered the concept and released their own line to compete.
While product developers and service providers must be constantly focused on refining and improving their offerings, there is no such thing as the “best” offering. “Best” for who? In what situation? “Best” is an illusion, a relative principle that is entirely predicated on the individual’s experience of the offering. In Law #4, “The Law of Perception”, Ries and Trout paint a clear picture that the world of marketing revolves around perceptions in the minds of prospects and nothing else.
This foundational concept of brand positioning is well understood by experienced marketers but isn’t always clear to business owners. Often, they are the developer or provider of the product and thus focus their marketing strategy on highlighting features rather than catering to perceptions. While providing information about the product/service is an essential part of marketing the product, it must be done through the lens of serving a particular target audience (ie: understanding the perception of the customer) if the campaign is to be optimally implemented.
2) “If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in”
The first Law of the 22 laws is “The Law of Leadership”, which dictates that the first company to the punch is set to dominate that category for the future as long as they don’t drop the ball. Being the leader in your field is the best brand position in the marketplace, plain and simple.
The question innately becomes, “ok, well what do we do if we’re not first?” – In the modern marketplace, it’s highly unlikely a company is bringing a truly novel offering to the market lest they entirely disrupt the industry. Ries and Trout make it clear that while this is to be expected, you can always be the first company to specialize in something. If you come to the game late, you just have to be more specific about what your specialty is and create a category of your own.
The most effective way to do this is to play off of the existing players in the space – identify their strengths and weaknesses, particularly their weaknesses, and then position your brand as the solution for that issue. “The Law of Category” (#2) and “The Law of Opposites” (#9) shed light on how those who aren’t the earliest to the game can still become All-Stars.
3) “There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand”
Perhaps the most deadly decision a business can make is to over-extend its brand. Stay in your lane – this is the key takeaway from two of the most important chapters in the book, “The Law of Line Extension” (12) and “The Law of Focus” (5).
When a business tries to be all things to all people, they inevitably spread themselves too thin, display a lack of focus, and end up a disheveled jack of all trades and master of none. This brand positioning is highly unfavorable in today’s saturated marketplace. A narrow focus ensures that customers digest your offering and understand your value proposition quickly and clearly.
The modern consumer values their time above all things, if you can’t fit your message into the available window of opportunity, the prospect’s attention span, then you’ve already failed. It takes courage to be specific about what you bring to the table – the right customers will always respond well to courage.
Conclusion
Though the relentless advancements in technology keep digital marketers on their toes, foundational concepts of the industry remain unchanged. Over the years, a company’s brand positioning has only increased in importance as the marketplace has become saturated with offerings of every kind – distinguishing your company’s value proposition from the guy down the road must be an essential objective of your marketing.
To learn more marketing wisdom from Al Ries, Jack Trout, a some of their fellow thought leaders on the concepts of brand positioning, check out Ries’s website, here. However, if you’re to busy to stay informed about updates within the marketing landscape, much less study the history of the field, it would behoove you to hire someone who makes it a priority. At White Wolf Marketing, we offer a suite of brand-building services like website development and social media management that are imbued with marketing strategy at every step. Set up an appointment to connect with a member of our team whenever it’s convenient for you here.
