More from Al Ries and Jack Trout….
In 1994, they wrote The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!. If you haven’t read them, they still hold up well after 16 years.
Rule Number 1 is the Law of Leadership. It is better to be first than it is to be better.
They assert that many people believe that the basic issue in marketing is to convince prospects that you have a better product or service. In reality they conclude, the basic issue in marketing is creating a category you can be first in.
Examples include Xerox, Coke, Band-Aid, Krazy Glue, Saran Wrap and FedEx, among others. Brands tend to remain leaders because their names became generic.
So what do you do if you can’t be “first”? Go to Rule Number 2: The Law of Category. If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.
Ries and Trout point out that this is counter to classis marketing thinking, which is brand-oriented. “Forget the brand,” they admonish. “Think categories.” Prospects are on the defensive when it comes to brands. Everyone talks about how their brand is better. But prospects have an open mind when it comes to categories. Everyone’s interested in what is new. Few are interested in what’s better.
They point out that after World War II, Heineken was the first beer to make a name for itself in America. Four decades later, it was the No. 1 imported beer. Competitor Anheuser-Busch could have said, “We should bring in an imported beer, too.” Instead, they said, “If there’s a market for a high-priced imported beer, there must be a market for a high-priced domestic beer, too.” Anheuser introduced Michelob, the first high-priced domestic beer, which soon outsold Heineken two-to-one.
We have an industrial client who already has significant market share for their products because they innovated many of the market standards. Studies show they are often first-in-mind with prospective specifiers. But they aren’t content to just rest on being “first.” They are establishing new categories for their products, positioning them as “green” solutions and leaders in the solar market.
Few can be first to market, but many can lead a category. How might you reposition your product or service by finding a new category you can be first in?
