Human nature often leads us to believe that with enough energy, creativity, time, and money, any marketing goal is achievable. However, just as ignoring the principles of engineering when building a structure is bound to lead to failure, so too will disregarding the fundamental laws of marketing. These 22 immutable laws dictate what will succeed and what will fail in the marketplace. Marketers and business leaders must either adhere to these laws to ensure the success of their marketing strategies or risk having these very laws work against them.
In business, being the first to enter the market often provides a significant advantage, especially in marketing. It's easier to be the first brand in a customer's mind than to convince them that your product is superior to the one they already know. This is because people tend to stick with their initial choice, and the first brand can become synonymous with the product category itself, making it difficult for competitors to break in. Despite this, many companies focus on creating a "better product" after a market has been established. A more effective strategy would be to innovate and create a new category entirely. Benchmarking, or comparing your products to the industry's best as part of total quality management, is popular but flawed. It fails because marketing is about perceptions, and the first product is often perceived as superior. According to Al Ries and Jack Trout, the key in marketing is to be the first in a new category, rather than trying to prove your product is better.
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