In this installment of the book club, you don’t have to go to we review Chapter 13, The Law of Sacrifice, from The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.
The general idea of this chapter is those good things come to those that make sacrifices since we can’t do it all and be all things to all people. When we try to do too many things and please too many people, we thin ourselves. Businesses that pull back and focus tend to have robust marketing plans and are successful in markets.
One would read The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing to learn about marketing, practices, and psychology. As well as find ways to better apply those tactics and techniques.
Summary of Chapter 13
- Chose something to narrow down too
- Narrow your product line/offerings
- Marketing is perception based
- Clever marketing tactics can help create perceptions
- Business is made up of large generalists and small specialists
- Being a generalist is not always the best
- Specialists tend to perform better
- Narrowing your marketing approaches can help
- Good things come to those that focus
Chapter 13: The Law of Sacrifice, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, discusses choosing a focus and narrowing down specific product and service offerings. Or picking a way to narrow down marketing approaches. In this chapter, the first example is that of Fed-Ex and Emery Air Freight. Initially, Emery was a big player in the game and had a massive market share. Fed-Ex saw this as an opportunity and focused its efforts on overnight shipping. They pushed to be known as the leader in overnighting small packages. Whenever anyone thinks about FedEx, they think about quick shipping.
This was a significant competitive advantage for FedEx. They were able to enter the mind of customers as the fastest, most reliable overnight shipment service. They concentrated on one service and became really good at it. However, that success backfired when they expanded too quickly and became a global logistics solution. The reason for this is that marketing is a game of mental warfare. Since FedEx was known as the leader in overnight shipping, that’s how customers thought of them. In a way, that’s how we might still refer to overnight shipping or think of FedEx.
Another example is that of Kraft, the food company. Since Kraft is such a large organization and positioned itself, we may think of it as a condiment company or a general food manufacturer. As they are. However, they knew to apply the Law of Sacrifice when it came to specific products and have taken the lead as in your mind for Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
This law states that if you want to reach your audience, you should truthfully partner it with all the rules. But, you need to get your audience first by focusing on something and narrowing it down so that you can stick in their minds for whatever it may be. In the case of FedEx, they are the overnight delivery company. In the case of Kraft, we know them as a consumer goods company and Philadelphia as cream cheese.
If we look at this in practice, we can look at myself and my introduction to NFTs. For all of my professional career, I worked as a designer in some capacity. The business world knows me like that, but my friends and family know me as an artist and creators. Since I’ve portrayed myself somewhat professionally for so long, I’ve become known as that in certain circles. Therefore I’ll need to find a way to use the Law of the Mind and develop a niche, if you will. I will also have to narrow down my focus and decide how I want to present myself and for what.
Currently, it is that of a creator. One that uses multiple media and forms to share messages and expressions. If I continue to use that angle, I will need to narrow down my marketing focus and choose an approach. We can look at Marlboro cigarettes as an example of this. Effectively the cigarette market is relatively large. Phillip Morris knew this, and for their product line Marlboro they targeted their ads directly towards a specific type of man, a cowboy.
Suppose I or anyone was to do something similar. In that case, I could use my design work and become hyper niche and only focus on Blockchain development. As an artist, I can create mixed media immersive digital art. While still as a content creator, I can focus on delivering value and being witty at the same time.