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Don't Be The Best. Be The First!
By Michel Fortin, Ph.D., Reprinted with
permission.
A Great
Lesson From Jack Trout and Al
Ries
Often, many
businesses build their entire marketing strategy around a particular brand and
its "better" qualities. Claiming superiority smacks of being untrue and is often
a very risky endeavor. In other words, if you claim that you're the best, your
statement will seldom be credible.
Years ago, a mentor once said to me
that "Implication is more powerful than specification." It is much more
effective to imply superiority -- to be perceived as being a superior company or
one with a superior product -- than to simply being (or outright stating that
one is) superior. But how do you get others to perceive you as being the best?
How does one imply superiority without stating it outright? The following are a
few pointers to guide you in that direction.
The First Always Lead
If you're the first in some category, you are
also considered as the best. People have the natural tendency to attribute
superiority to a product that's first in its category. But if you're not the
first, you can usually invent your own position. How do you do that? If there's
no category in which you can be first, then create one. By being the first in
your very own unique category makes it tremendously difficult for competitors to
copy you. But even when your competitors do copy you, which eventually they
will, their marketing efforts will only help to remind people of you.
In
fact, being the first in the marketplace is not as important as being the first
"in the mind" of the marketplace -- the mind hates change! Working with cosmetic surgeons, I've personally experienced this
undeniable truth. A particular hair transplant doctor is one of the first
surgeons of this type. While superiority in this field is a matter of artistic
ability and not seniority, he is still widely recognized as the best surgeon
there is -- even if he still uses outdated techniques.
Jack Trout and Al
Ries were the first marketing consultants to introduce the concept of
positioning. In fact, their first law in their wonderful book "The 22 Immutable
Laws of Marketing," which is the law of leadership, is based entirely on the
category concept. In essence, the law states that no two bodies can occupy the
same space. If you get to a position first, nobody else can ever take your
place. Hence, by being the first your position is virtually
guaranteed.
You don't
have to be the first with a product or service. You only have to be the first in
the consumer's mind. By owning the leading position in the mind, people will
automatically assume that you're the best. Why? It is because uniqueness
separates you from the rest rather than compares you to them. It is immensely
more effective than actually being the best.
Create Your Own Category
For instance, Ries and Trout prove this point
with a very simple question. They ask: "Who was the third person to fly over the
Atlantic in a solo flight?" If you're not a history buff like most people, you
will more than likely be stumped. Almost everyone remembers that Lindbergh was
the first because, being the first, he comes to mind immediately. However, if
you were asked the same question but rephrased in a different way (e.g., "Who
was the first 'woman' to fly over the Atlantic in a
solo flight?"), you will most likely answer with "Amelia Earhart."
Look
at your own life. What are the things you remember the most? More than likely,
you will remember your first kiss, your first dance, your first love, your first
car, your first day of school, your first job, and your first heartbreak. Can
you remember your second kiss let alone your fifth one? In all likelihood, you
don't. When it comes to marketing however, the same holds true.
Many
people try to compete by comparison and may even get some recognition as a
result. But where they often fail is in creating lasting top-of-mind awareness
by drowning their image in a currently known category -- or ladder, if you will.
Everybody knows who is the first in some category or another, but rarely do
people remember who's second let alone third. If you market your company as a
better firm with a better product or service at a better price, you are merely
reminding others of that which you are better than, which is your competition.
Again, if there's no category in which you can be the first, create one.
Having your very own category is powerful because it is impossible for your
competition to beat you. Being the first, your place is therefore guaranteed and
you will thus be perceived as the best.
Go the Other Way
Coke, which was touted as being "The Real Thing," is an old
company with a hundred-year old recipe locked in some secret safe. So, Pepsi
decided to go the other way and proclaimed that it was for the "New Generation."
On the other hand, 7UP floundered until it became the "Uncola." As a result, the
more Coke and Pepsi advertised, the more it helped 7UP.
For a long time,
Avis was an unknown car rental agency. One day, it finally conceded that it was
number two -- second only after Hertz. Their "we try harder" campaign, which
focused on their underdog position, turned the size of their bigger competitor
into a negative. Domino's Pizza was surely not the first pizzeria. But by being
the first to deliver its pizza "in 30 minutes or it's free," it went from a
small restaurant to a multimillion dollar franchise operation.
You can be
the first to cater to a specific market, the first to offer an alternative to an
existing product or service, or the first to cater to a market in a unique way
-- such as by offering an ordinary product or service but with a unique twist.
You can also customize a general product or service for a specific market. For
example, you might be a travel agency. You could decide on being the first to
sell business trips catering exclusively to financial
institutions.
However, if you're not the first you might then market
yourself as "the first to serve the financially inclined," "the leader in
business trips for bankers," or "the first travel agent for the smart financier." In other words, don't be the best in some
category. Be the first in one.
About the
Author:
Michel Fortin,
Ph.D. at http://success-doctor.com is a consultant dedicated to helping
businesses turn into powerful magnets. He is also a speaker, copywriter, author
of numerous books, including "The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning" (get
your FREE copy at http://success-doctor.com), and editor of the "Internet Marketing
Chronicles" delivered weekly to 65,000 subscribers.
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