In this installment of the book club, you don’t have to go to we review Chapter 2, The Law of Category, from The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.
The general idea of this chapter is that if you can be first in a particular category, then make one that you can be first in. Meaning if a competitor has already nabbed the first spot for a specific product or service, then find a way to spin that and create a market of your own.
One would read this to learn about marketing, practices, and psychology. As well as find ways to better apply those tactics and techniques.
Summary of the current chapter
- If you can’t be first in a category, make one
- New varieties are easier to create than you think
- Think category when launching new products/services
Chapter 1: In Chapter 2, The Law of Leadership, from The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, it states that if you cannot be first in the prospect’s mind, create a category and market that you can be first in. This could include creating new products or services that exist because someone already has proven themselves. However, there’s always room on top! Marketing is about seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it before anyone else.
The examples given go on to talk about the third person who crossed the Atlantic ocean by plane. Technically we don’t know who that is. On further investigation, it can be found that the third person to fly solo over the Atlantic was actually the first woman, Amelia Earhart.
In the case of imported light beer, Amstel saw a gap between supply (imported) and demand to become the leader in imported light beer. Other examples discuss how marketers could create markets for themselves by looking at current needs and determining where there might be gaps that could be filled. IBM became a leader in computing technology, but DEC saw the chance to spin things and lead the charge in minicomputers.
The key to entering a new market is not simply coming up with an idea and then trying it out. For your business venture’s success, you need to research what competitors do. When people buy their products or services, they will purchase yours too – this way there can be no competition in sight!
In looking at these examples and seeing how this holds true in the modern-day, we can see that it’s straightforward and challenging at the same time. However, it’s possible. Through research and precise identification of competitors, direct and indirect, you too can begin to see how your company’s products or services might fight into a market. In the case of new ventures, it’s said to not focus on attacking another brand with a strong foothold but find a way to go after an existing or new category.
Therefore, in building off Chapter 1, the key to marketing success is to be first in a category. If it doesn’t exist, create it.
You can find more chapter reviews of this book and others on my blog under Books.