Chapter Four – The Law of Perception
The law: “Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perception.”
The authors argue that touting a product or service as the best will not succeed against customer perceptions. This is because a perception “is often interpreted as a universal truth.” As an example, the authors give a hypothetical of Harley Davison becoming a car manufacturer in addition to their motorcycle manufacturing. Some might think that they would have just as much success. However, the authors believe that they are so entrenched in prospects’ minds as a motorcycle manufacturer that they wouldn’t overcome this perception.
Related quotes:
- All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion.
- Only by studying how perceptions are formed in the mind and focusing your marketing programs on those perceptions can you overcome your basically incorrect marketing instincts.
Chapter Five – The Law of Focus
The law: “The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind.”
According to the authors, companies should strive to gain association of their product or service with one word in their customers’ minds. When a prospect is looking for an answer to her problem, the idea is that a company should have a word so “burned” into her mind, that she will think of that company. For instance, a car buyer looking for “safety” would likely think of Volvo.
Quotes from the chapter:
- But the word the leader owns is so simple that it’s invisible.
- The essence of marketing is narrowing the focus. You become stronger when you reduce the scope of your operations. You can’t stand for something if you chase after everything.
Chapter 6 – The Law of Exclusivity
The law: “Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.”
Ries and Trout state that companies should not try to own a word that is already owned by a competitor. The authors reiterate the difficulty of trying to change a customer’s mind. Researchers, according to Ries and Trout, can do all the research they want and come up with a word, but if they recommend going after a taken word, it’s useless. Burger King conducted research and found that they should own “fast.” Burger King devoted resources to try and capture the word, but the word was already “owned” by McDonald’s. Ultimately, Burger King’s efforts were ineffective.
A related quote:
- You can’t change people’s minds once they are made up. In fact, what you often do is reinforce your competitor’s position by making its concept more important.
Chapter 7 – The Law of the Ladder
The law: The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.
This law exists because the authors say every company occupies a rung on a “ladder,” in customers’ minds. Simply, prospects have an idea of which company in an industry is first, second and third. In the rent-a-car business, Hertz was first and Avis was second. Avis began turning the tide when it ran a campaign that admitted it was number two but that the company tried “harder.” According to the authors, the strategy worked not because they tried harder, but because the claim was congruent with prospects’ beliefs.
Related quotes:
- All products are not created equal. There’s a hierarchy in the mind that prospects use in making decisions.
- Prospects use their ladders in deciding which information to accept and which information to reject. In general, a mind accepts only new data that is consistent with its product ladder in that category. Everything else is ignored.
Andrew T. Daniel 