Are your marketing campaigns missing the mark? It could be that you are unwittingly operating outside of the fundamental principles of marketing.

In 1904 the automobile industry in America was booming. Over the next decade a total of 531 car-manufacturing companies were formed. Yet today this number has shrunk to the extent that just two players dominate the industry: Ford and General Motors.

According to Al Ries and Jack Trout, authors of The 22 immutable laws of marketing, this result is a predictable consequence of the nature of marketing. In the end, the contest for first place in any category becomes a two-horse race. It is what they call the law of duality, which is just one of the many fascinating laws in their book.

Although some have hesitated to call the principles expounded by Ries and Trout “laws”, let alone “immutable laws”, it is generally agreed that the book offers invaluable insight into the marketing industry.

One of the most significant principles cited throughout the book is that marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products. Too many companies make the mistake of thinking they can enter a product category and try and take on the leading brand with the ‘our product is better’ approach. According to Ries and Trout, the product-as-hero strategy is inherently flawed because it is extremely hard to change a mind once it is made up – even if your product is better.

“There is no objective reality. There are no facts. There are no best products. All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of customers. The perception is the reality.”

Managing perceptions, then, is what marketing is all about. One of the best ways to influence consumer perception is to ensure that your brand is first in mind. This gives you an edge over any competitors because consumers will generally think of your brand as the leading brand in the category.

According to Ries and Trout, companies need to stop thinking about what makes their product better and start thinking about ways to be first. It requires a bit of out-of-the-box thinking, but it can be done. Just take the computer category. The business world went computer crazy after IBM established itself as the first company in the category. Yet, the only competing companies that survived were those that created ways to be first. Among others, DEC was first in minicomputers, Tandem the first in fault-tolerant computers and Dell the first to sell computers by telephone.

In other words, if you cannot be first in a category, create another category in which you can be first. It is good advice considering that the computer industry has now diversified into laptops, personal computers, multimedia computers and gaming computers – each as its own category and each with its own leaders.

Ries and Trout use the analogy of a ladder to explain the concept further. The ladder represents the product category and each rung a different brand. According to the authors, one of the biggest challenges in marketing is determining which ladder your product is on and then determining its position on the rungs.

The ladders for high-interest products that are purchased everyday like toothpaste, or highly valued like cars, have many rungs. The ladders for low interest products that are purchased infrequently, like furniture, have fewer rungs. Companies wishing to challenge the leading brands on their product ladder need to create their marketing strategies based on what the leader in the category is doing.

“In strength there is weakness. Wherever a leader is strong there is an opportunity for a would-be No 2 to turn the tables, much like a wrestler uses his opponent’s strength against him. You must discover the essence of the leader and then present the prospect with the opposite.”

The cola war is a case in point. In the late fifties Coca-Cola, which was the first cola brand in the minds of consumers, led the field with 60% of the market. Pepsi followed with 25% and Royal Crown with 6%. Pepsi realised it had to do something drastic to make its mark and the result was a clever marketing strategy that set it up as the opposite to Coke.

If Coke was the drink for everybody, Pepsi would be the drink for the youth. Their Pepsi Generation campaign was so successful that Pepsi closed the gap between itself and Coke in one generation. By the mid-nineties it was only ten percent behind Coke. Royal Crown, on the other hand, is nowhere to be seen.

Avis is another company that successfully created a marketing campaign based on its position on its product ladder. For years, it tried in vain to compete against the category leader Hertz, with campaigns that advertised it as being the finest in rent-a-cars. For 13 years in a row it lost money. But as soon as Avis created a campaign with the tagline “Avis is only No 2 in rent-a-cars. So why go with us? We try harder,” it suddenly made progress in minds of prospects and started making money.

According to Ries and Trout, the reason for the Avis campaign success is what they call the law of candour. Admitting a negative makes people more likely to have an open mind, which puts you in a position to drive in the positive.

“Every negative statement you make about yourself is instantly accepted as truth. Positive statements on the other hand, are looked at as dubious at best. You need to prove a positive statement to the prospect’s satisfaction. No proof is needed for negative statements.”

Among the other advice offered by Ries and Trout is that companies today need to sacrifice constant change, a wide target market and line extension if they want to remain successful. Narrowing your focus and building flexibility into your organisation will enable you to deal with projects that fail and unexpected change.

But most of all – do not let success go to your head. “Ego is the enemy of successful marketing,” say Ries and Trout. “One mistake and footprints quickly show up on your back as your competition runs off with your business.” Keeping your wits about you and your feet on the ground will better allow you to roll with the punches and out-market your competition when the need arises.

In brief: Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products. To be successful in marketing you need to better manage the perceptions of your target market.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing according to Al Ries and Jack Trout:

1. The Law of Leadership. Being first gives you an incredible edge.
2. The Law of Category. If you cannot be first in a category, set up a new category in which you can be first.
3. The Law of the Mind. It is better to be first in the mind that to be first in the marketplace.
4. The Law of Perception. Marketing is not a battle of products, it is a battle of perceptions.
5. The Law of Focus. The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind, the way the BMW owns ‘driving’ or DHL owns ‘worldwide’.
6. The Law of Exclusivity. Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.
7. The Law of the Ladder. Each product category has a ladder that ranks the brands in the category and the marketing strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.
8. The Law of Duality. In the long run, every category becomes a two-horse race.
9. The Law of the Opposite. Try to take the opposite marketing position than that of the leader in a product category.
10. The Law of Division. Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories
11. The Law of Perspective. Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.
12. The Law of Line Extension. Try to resist the pressure to leverage new products off of an existing brand, as this only ends up in diluting the power of original brand in the long run.
13. The Law of Sacrifice. You have to give up something in order to get something.
14. The Law of Attributes. Seek out your own unique product attribute to build on the law of exclusivity.
15. The Law of Candour. When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.
16. The Law of Singularity. In marketing, there is usually only one place where a competitor is vulnerable and that is where you should focus your entire invading force.
17. The Law of Unpredictability. Failure to forecast competitor reaction is a major reason for marketing failures.
18. The Law of Success. Do not let success go to your head because arrogance leads to failure.
19. The Law of Failure. Not all projects will go according to plan so build flexibility into your organisation to deal with failure.
20. The Law of Hype. The situation is often the opposite of what it appears in the press.
21. The Law of Acceleration. Successful programmes are not built on fads; they are built on trends.
22. The Law of Resources. You will get further with a mediocre idea and a million dollars than with a great idea alone.