“the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,”

“the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,”

The book, “the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,” is written by Al Ries. For business people and marketing executives, the book is a marketing classic that answers some critical questions in the field of branding, promotion, and advertising. The primary theme of the book is that the purchasing behavior of people follows particular patterns. Ries describes these patterns as laws and that companies and business executives have to align their marketing with these laws or risk substantial failure (Ries, Trout, and Drummond 12). The line of thought adopted by Al Ries is that if nature has its own sets of laws, then marketing should also have laws that guide the practice. Al Ries then proceeds to give several examples to illustrate the validity and reliability of these laws, and examples of business organizations and companies that have failed by choosing to ignore them..

Summary of Key Facts and Review of the 22 Laws

When a business executive or an organization makes a mistake today, footprints immediately show up on its back as the competition runs off with the business. To get the company back on track, the market has to wait for other mistakes to be made by other companies and then start figuring out how to use the situation to its advantage. The best way to avoid making mistakes in the first place is ensuring that the programs being implemented by the organization are in line with the laws of marketing (Ries, Trout, and Drummond 15). Ries mentions that since we have the laws of nature, there are no specific reasons why we should not have laws of marketing. Engineers can build the best-looking aircraft, but the craft may not get off the ground unless it complies with the laws of physics and nature, particularly the laws of gravity. Based on this line of thought, Ries is adamant in the book that an organization or a business executive can build an exceptional marketing program only to have one of the immutable laws knock them flat if they do not know what these laws are in detail and practicality.

The first law concerns leadership. Ries states that business organizations should be first than to be better. As correctly stated, the basic concept in marketing is to create a category that the business can be first in, which implies that it is better to be early than it is to be better. The top brand in any category is almost always the first brand in the mind of customers or prospects. The law of class is nearly the same as the first law, as it takes about setting up a new category that the business can be first in if they cannot be first in the class created.

The law of the mind is aimed a modifying the law of leadership. Being first in mind is crucial in the world of marketing. The law of the mind is carefully tagged to the law of perception- if marketing involves battling perceptions, which implies that the mind takes first-place over the marketplace. Closely related to this law is the law of understanding. Ries is convinced that we do not have objective reality or facts or the best products in the world of marketing. All that we have in the field are perceptions in the minds of prospects or customers. Perception in the field of marketing in reality, with illusion, considered everything else.

The law of focus and that of exclusivity are also listed in the book as being vital to the marketing landscape. Ries explains that the most critical and powerful marketing concept has a word in the mind of a prospect or customer. Companies and business executives can achieve a great deal of success if they can find ways to own words or words in the mind of the potential customer. The law of focus is about narrowing the focus to a single concept or word in the mind of the customer. On exclusivity, Ries contends that once a competitor has owned a word or idea in the mind of the customer, it is futile if another company uses the same word.

The law of the ladder concerns the type of strategy to be used, and the rung occupied in the ladder. The ladder is a simple yet powerful tool or analogy that can be used to deal with issues of perception. Before putting out any marketing idea or program, the executive or business should ask itself which rung it occupies in the ladder of the customers’ mind. Knowing the ladder position helps in determining which message to put out there. The law of duality is about the market becoming a two-horse race in the long run (Ries, Trout, and Drummond 48). Knowing that marketing eventually becomes a two-horse race ultimately helps in planning a strategy in the short term.

On the law of the opposite, Ries contends that if an organization is shooting to occupy the second place, the strategy is determined by the leader. The law is about studying the strengths of the market leader and exploiting its weaknesses. But executives must be careful because the law can also be used against them by companies down in the ladder. This understanding is related to the law of division.

The law of perspective is relevant to understanding that marketing effects occur over a long time. Unless the organization follows what to look for, it is difficult to see the consequences of line extension. The law of extension can be summarized as the irresistible urge to extend a brand’s equity. In the process of marketing and putting up the best brands, companies must be willing to give up something to get their way. This is the law of sacrifice. For every attribute in the marketing world, executives should find a different effective attribute which summarizes the law of attributes. Admitting negatives enables the prospect to give the company a positive, which explains the law of candor.

In each situation, Ries’ law of singularity, only one move is likely to produce some substantial outcomes. Many marketing executives often see success as the sum total of many small efforts executed effectively. History has indicated that the only thing that is vital and works perfectly in the marketing world is the bold stroke, which is often a single idea. The tagline of the law of unpredictability is so powerful. Unless an organization writes the plans and strategies of its competitors, it cannot plan or predict the future. Therefore, failure to predict competitive reaction is a huge reason for failures in marketing. Based on the law of success, Ries mentions that the ego is a big enemy of effective and successful marketing. The law of failure is closely related to the law of success. Failure should be expected and expected by marketing executives.

The law of hype warns business executives that the real situation is most times the opposite of the way it looks in the press. Getting the imagination of the public should be differentiated from revolutionizing a target market. From the law of attraction, business executives and marketers should learn that successful marketing programs and ideas should not be built on fads, but instead on trends. Lastly, the law of resources is about funding marketing ideas. Ries mentions that without an idea being funded adequately, it is not likely to get off from the planning stage. It, therefore, implies that even the best strategies and ideas in the world are not likely to go far without the financial resources required to implement or operationalize it.

Lessons from the Book and Recommendations

There are three big lessons that can be drawn from the book. And these lessons can be turned into recommendations for big success, especially for marketers and business executives. The first lesson and recommendation are being first. The best thing an executive or an organization can achieve in marketing is being first. If a company has already occupied a developed arena, it can discover an undiscovered area to be creative and innovative. The second lesson is the need to be patient. The impacts of marketing plans and strategies cannot happen overnight. Understanding this aspect of marketing is vital because if a company is expecting immediate outcomes, it is likely to miss out on future better opportunities. Changing strategies because it did not work immediately could be troublesome down the road.

Thirdly, companies, and executives should be humble while executing their marketing strategies. While success is exceptional, it is vital to avoid letting the guard of the company down. No marketing idea and expert can be described as invincible. Marketing experts warn against making snap decisions because the people making these decisions have an overconfident mindset. Taking steps back and admitting a lack of knowledge and all the answers gives executives and companies an opportunity to find the best alternative.

Conclusion

Any organization or business can benefit massively from adhering to the described laws of marketing. The purpose of any business venture is to have customers, which can then be turned into profits. The need to create customers makes marketing a vital function in any business. By this thread or standard alone, books which illuminate on marketing strategies are important to all company stakeholders. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is unique and stands out as a top marketing guide because of its precise and practical feature.