My perspective of 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (the laws were provided by Al Ries and Jack Trout). Some of the laws are overlapping, some may hold good in few business situations. Yet, I see these laws are good attempt in creating some understandings of the marketing dynamics.

1. Parameshwar Hegde
Alliance School of Business
24th EPGDM batch

2. 1) The Law of Leadership
It is better to be first than be better
My opinion
Example
 Disagree
 For a sustainable business, it
is always better to be “better”
in the business, rather than
first in the business MCI Mail was the first (1983)
commercial electronic mail
service provider, officially it
closed its operations in 2003.
Now Apple Iphone and Gmail
are leading in the market
because of their service.

3. 2) The Law of the Category
If you can’t be the first in a category, set up a new category that you can
be first in
Example
My Opinion
 Kingfisher Airlines aimed at
premium service to Indian fliers.
But after a decade, it collapsed,
because Indian consumers are
aimed travelling from one
destination to another not the
value added service.
 Disagree
 The law may not hold well in
today’s business world unless
one has expertise and the
product has market demand

4. 3) The Law of the Mind
It’s better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace
Example
My Opinion
 In many parts of India,
‘Godrej’ means an almirah /
cupboard. Even though
‘Godrej’ is a brand, mind
determines it as a product.
 I agree.
 The brand should get printed
in the consumers’ mind.
Then the market will decide
the product’s place in the
market.

5. 4) The Law of Perception
Marketing is not a battle of products; it’s a battle of perceptions
 When VRL travel says “The
name you can trust”, I am sure
lakhs of customers believe it. I
can trust that this bus is safe to
women, has safe driving habits,
and can arrange an alternate
vehicle in the shortest possible
time in case emergency.
 I strongly agree.
 Perception about a product in
the consumers’ mind makes a lot
of difference when it comes to
choices of similar product.
Example
My Opinion

6. 5) The Law of Focus
The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the
prospect’s mind
 Whenever I listen ‘Tata’ word,
whatever the product it is, I start
believing that the product has
high standard and the product is
manufactured with high degree
of social responsibility and
environmental care.
 I agree
 The name of a product should
be associated with a kind of
perception in the customer’s
mind.
Example
My Opinion

7. 6) The Law of Exclusivity
Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind
 When Hutch was introduced to
India, it had the ‘Pug’ dog in it.
Whenever one sees a ‘Pug’
outside, immediately he/she
relates it to Hutch. Now,
Vodafone continue the tradition
with new kind of images /
videos in their ads.
 Partially agree
 One can snatch the word from
other provided the second one has
a better product and consumers
are inclined to it more than the
first product
 Nowadays, it is all about pictures /
videos. These things own the
consumers’ mind
Example
My Opinion

8. 7) The Law of the Ladder
The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder
 For me, few years ago, ‘Meru cab’
was in first rung of the ladder.
Slowly this was occupied by ‘Ola
cab’. Now whenever I have to
travel locally, the first name
comes to mind is ‘Ola’
 Agree with slight
modification
 Comparison should happen
among same category and
used by same segment of
consumers
Example
My Opinion

9. 8) The Law of Duality
In the long run, every market becomes a two horse race
 Telecom industry in India has
many players like Airtel,
Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, Reliance,
BSNL, Tata Docomo, MTS
 In Retail industry we can see
Future group, Reliance, Birla
(More), Spencers, Bharti, others
 Partially disagree
 It is important to set a timeframe.
In the initial stages of market
growth there will be many players.
Subsequently, only few will
remain. It is difficult to say
whether 2/3/4 will remain in the
race.
Example
My Opinion

10. 9) The Law of the Opposite
If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the
leader
 Low Cost Carriers (filght business) in
India have very well understood that it
is the cost that matters most after the
safety parameter. So focus on safety
and low cost. They are not competing
with AirIndia or Jet Airways based on
any other parameter but on the price.
 Three major airlines in India operate
as LCCs (Spicejet, Indigo and GoAir)
 Disagree
 It is not necessary to be opposite to beat the
other product. One should exemplify the
features of the product in a way that is well
understood by the consumers and it should
meet the consumers’ requirementExample
My Opinion

11. 10) The Law of Division
Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories
 Television is one category of
entertainment product. But,
there are many types of
televisions such as Plasma, LED,
LCD, Curved, Ultra HD. Each
product caters to different tastes
of different segment of
consumers.
 Partially agree
 There will be a segmentation
of the original product
category based on the
consumer preferences and
geography.
Example
My Opinion

12. 11) The Law of Perspective
Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time
 Presently, few tier-3 real estate
companies are trying to gain a huge
profit by lowering the prices of the
assets by conducting exhibitions /
giving discounts. Later, it fails to give
proper services to the customer. Such
businesses are not going to last for
long.
 Agree
 When price is the sole criteria
apart from market share, then
we use sales tactics which
results in short term gain. But
if it is not backed up by the
proper service mechanism /
after sale services, the “sale”
will have a huge negative
impact in the long run for the
business operations.
Example
My Opinion

13. 12) The Law of Line Extension
There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand
 Sony is competent in music
players. But, it failed in mobile
phone business
 Tata is one brand, has more than
hundreds of products in its brand
name. over the years, it has
developed the competency in all
these products
 Partially agree
 This depends on the Law of focus
also. If there is a core competency,
one can venture into new product
line with the same brand name.
 If the core competency is present
in the new product, there is a
chance of losing the brand
credibility itself which harm the
original product as well
Example
My Opinion

14. 13) The Law of Sacrifice
You have to give up something in order to get something
 Some reputed builders
(Mantri, Prestige) focus
entirely on one customer
segment (Upmarket). They
won’t build houses for
lower middle class families.
 I agree
 It is advisable to focus on one
category / one geography /
one customer segment at one
time. If we try and too many
at one time under one brand,
there is a chance of collision
and all may fail.
Example
My Opinion

15. 14) The Law of Attributes
For every attribute there is an opposite, effective attribute
 There are many laptop
brands in the market, each
is explaining about its
feature but not trying to
imitate the competitor or
trying to oppose them
 Disagree
 It is not necessary to be
opposite. It is essential to be
fair enough to explain about
the feature of the product.
Example
My Opinion

16. 15) The Law of Candor
When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive
 Many companies call back their
products to correct the defects.
Especially, automobile
companies follow this a lot. If
there is a genuine problem and
rectification has happened, the
consumer will tend to keep the
brand on top of his/her mind.
 Agree
 Consumer is the king. At the
same time consumer is a
human being. He/she
appreciates openness. It is
not only important to accept
the failure but also to be
important to attend the
failure and make sure that the
consumer is satisfied.
Example
My Opinion

17. 16) The Law of Singularity
In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results
 One single move of globalization
by Government of India has
opened the market for foreign
players and consumers started
experiencing global brands and
quality at an affordable price.
 Agree
 ‘Pareto Effect’. 80% results are
caused by 20% actions.
Example
My Opinion

18. 17) The Law of Unpredictability
Unless you write your competitor’s plans, you can’t predict the future
 When a discount sale is
announced by a garment
manufacturer, other (equal
brand image in the market) has
to follow the race. Otherwise its
future will be in dark.
 Agree
 The market has many producers
and many consumers. They are all
dependent. None of them are
independent. Any action of
competitor can have a huge
impact on the other. Future not
only depends on the competitor’s
plan but also on several other
parameters such as regulations,
climate, taste and preference.
Example
My Opinion

19. 18) The Law of Success
Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure
 Kodak has reached its
peak during 20th century.
But, it could
underestimated the digital
camera potential and now
its almost extinct.
 Agree
 It’s a thin line that
differentiates self respect and
ego. “Success-Ego-Failure” is a
kind of cyclic reaction.
Example
My Opinion

20. 19) The Law of Failure
Failure is to be expected and accepted
 2008 financial crisis was
expected much earlier. But it
was accepted only when nothing
can be done and personal gains
were maximized. In the process
millions of people lost hard
earned savings and assets.
 Agree
 Failures are bound to happen. It
should be accepted and
corrective actions need to be
taken.
 If one tries to procrastinate the
failure to save from public, later
the failure will attack like a
monster and haunt in the future.
Example
My Opinion

21. 20) The Law of Hype
The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press
 ‘Mouthshut.com’ is a forum
in the media which can give
all kinds of reviews regarding
a product. So hype in a
television media can be
masked by such internet
forums.
 Disagree
 Today, the same press gives
the failures as well. So
whatever the gimmick played
by the manufacturer, it can’t
stand for a shorter period as
well in the market.
Consumers do a lot of
research before buying a
product.
Example
My Opinion

22. 21) The Law of Acceleration
Successful programs are not built on fads, they are built on trends
 Monsanto produced
biotechnological agri products
based on long term trends
 Few of e-marketing companies are
in the business to make money with
short term focus. They will try to
establish the brand image and sell
the companies to somebody else.
 Partially true
 If one knows when to cash
out from the business.
 One cannot tell whether
one phenomenon is a fad
or a trend.
Example
My Opinion

23. 22) The Law of Resources
Without adequate funding an idea won’t get off the ground
 ‘Whatsapp’ is an idea, that
had hardly any investment
in it compared to the
earning it made when it
was sold to facebook for
$19 billion.
 Disagree
 Today, idea itself is
sufficient to establish an
organization. Majority of
the service sectors (65% of
India’s GDP) have the high
idea and low capital
Example
My Opinion