| synopsis |
| 22 Laws and 15 Trends |
| Ashley Byrd |
 "The more things change, the more they remain the same."
French writer Alphonse Karr, Les Guepes (1849)
"In advertising, no matter how much you change the approach or concept, the core message should be good enough to still shine through."
Semaphore President Cynthia Gilliam (2005)
In 1993, veteran strategists Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. While strategists try to keep up with marketing changes and trends, the observations of Ries and Trout still seem to hold as true as the laws of nature. In the next two editions of esources, we'll take a look at a couple of these "laws" that help define today's market environment, even after 12 years.
"The Law of Leadership"
In "The 22 Laws…" Ries and Trout explain that in the law of leadership, "it's better to be first than it is to be better." They reason that a consumer will often -in their minds-exchange the word "first" with the word "leading." And by first, they mean first into the market or the first to reach a certain goal. For instance, we'll remember Lindbergh before we remember the guy who flew the Atlantic faster and more efficiently, Bert Hinkler. Yep, Bert Hinkler. Other examples they give: Chrysler minivans were first and still dominate and define the product, as Xerox does for copiers, Jeep for jeeps and so on.
And 12 years later, the Kiplinger Letter's special report, "15 Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business" echoes the idea that being first is better than being better. Confused? Well, take another product as an example. Kiplinger editors write, "In all the boom fields of the future, especially consumer electronics, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, there will be many competing products that are roughly similar in function and quality. The winners won't necessarily be the best products, just as the Apple/Macintosh operating systems, generally considered superior to Microsoft's MS-DOS and Windows, failed to achieve dominance in the home and office marketplace."
What do we take from this? It's still a race to the marketplace. If you want to get a foothold in the market, it helps to get the product's name out there early. It's also best to give the company or product its own distinct name (another law, the "Law of Line Extension"), so that it does not confuse the consumer. Find a way to distinguish the product, service or company as a pioneer. Don't be sloppy about its quality, but get the word out quickly.
In this market environment, just as 10 or 20 years ago, you have to be quick and nimble. And don't despair if you are not the first. As Ries and Trout remind us, "Fortunately, there are other laws." In the next esources, we'll take a look at two others: the law of exclusivity" and "the law of focus."
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