The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

"It's much easier to get into the mind first than to try to convince someone you have a better product than the one that did get there first."

"Forget the brand. Think categories."

"Being first in the mind is everything in marketing."

"All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or the prospect."

"A company can become incredibly successful if it can find a way to own a word in the mind of the prospect."

"When a competitor owns a word or a position in the prospect's mind, it is futile to attempt to own the same word."

"There's a hierarchy in the mind that prospects use in making decisions."

"Successful marketers concentrate on the top two rungs."

"If you're shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader."

"Instead of understanding this concept of division, many corporate leaders hold the naive belief that categories are combining."

"Aside from the fact that you can buy something for less, what does a sale say to a prospect?"

"There's an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand."

"If you want to be successful today, you should give something up."

"Too often a company attempts to emulate the leader."

"It may come as a surprise to you that one of the most effective ways to get into a prospect's mind is to first admit a negative and then twist it into a positive."

"History teaches that the only thing that works in marketing is the single, bold stroke."

"Unless you write your competitors' plans, you can't predict the future."

"Marketing is a war, and the first principle of warfare is the principle of force."

"Failure is to be expected and accepted."

"History is filled with marketing failures that were successful in the press."

"If you were faced with a rapidly rising business, with all the characteristics of a fad, the best thing you could do would be to dampen the fad."

"Even the best idea in the world won't go very far without the money to get it off the ground."