Marketing and Its Imutable Laws

In an effort to understand business success and how marketing plays a critical role we debunk the mystery of marketing, for the non-marketer, by revisiting the standout book: 22 immutable laws of marketing by Al Reis & Jack Trout.

Why this book -it is nearly 25 years old? Well, it’s as relevant today as it was when it was released in 1994. The laws of the jungle and the universe haven’t changed; and nor too the fundamental laws of marketing.

Let’s start with the immutable law of the mind as this resonates the most with us.

Immutable Law Of The Mind

Before we jump to present day and show relevance of this particular law, and how it unravels some of the perplexity of success, let’s do a refresh of what the authors: Al Reis and Jack Trout meant when they created this law back in 1994.

What is the Law of The mind? In short, it’s being first in the minds of consumers. Your brand, an/or products, services, are what consumers think of first, ahead of competitors.

However, it gets tricky as being first doesn’t automatically mean that ‘what comes first is the best’, which is the logical conclusion.

NB: Now make a mental note of the word used here: logical and we’ll come back to it later on.

Your brand may come first but not all your products or vice versa. You may have an outstanding product but fail to create more, or your brand register well with consumers.

Looking at this article titled: Having a Better Brand is Better than having a Better Product, it articulates the point well.

Marketing – The Survival Of The Fittest

Marketing is not logical, and thus frustrates marketers and non-marketers alike. Marketers are used to its fickleness, and spasmodic outcomes, but non-marketers want direct ROI and thus tangible results for their time and investment.

Marketing is thus like the laws of the jungle where only the fittest survive. The savvy marketer will reign supreme and that’s because they understand that marketing applies the law of the universe, i.e. everything is interconnected. Everything your business does is in some way marketing and contributing to the results.

As explained here – ‘marketing is manipulation’, and (for the non-marketers) it’s not about products it’s about perception. So, no surprise there is of course the law of perception.

Perception

Perception is that Red Bull is the best energy drink, and Starbucks the best coffee but of course that’s just the perception it’s hardly likely to be true. Why they’re considered the best is not just perception it’s also to do with another immutable law of marketing: The law of category.

First in mind

To become first in the minds of consumers, it’s perception, and perception is illusionary and founded on something else, like being first in the category and ‘being first is better than being better’. Yes, we’re going around in circles hence non marketers struggle the most, more so today, as there’s less focus on transactional advertising and more collaborative online strategies.

Illusion Is Real

Today is a marketer’s paradise. There’s no doubting its importance in driving businesses forward. No longer can businesses ignore the expertise required to get results even if it is more illusionary today, than every before.

The plethora of channels, tools, apps to use and dashboards to monitor the lot, more often hinder than assist the non-marketer. But can you imagine marketing today without them? As we near the end of this article, our thoughts turn to how we will share it with our followers and our email list.

It’s a busy time for all marketers, where a lot of action can happen, but what remains a mystery is it’s tangible results (sorry non-marketers). The focus has to move off trying to track direct real outcomes and trust the process will work…eventually.