Al Ries - Simple and Smart Solutions · Al Ries SIMPLE AND SMART SOLUTIONS 1. ... vulnerable, and that should be the focus of competition. c. What works in marketing is the same as

Al Ries

SIMPLE AND SMART SOLUTIONS

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� “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.”

a. Create a category you can be first in.

b. It’s much easier to get into the mind first than to try to convince customers even if you have a better product than the one that did hit there first.

c. First brands tend to retain their leadership as the names often become generic.


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� “If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.” a. Launch a new product that answers the

question “first what?”

b. What category is this new product first

in?


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� “It’s better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.”

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

b. The mind takes precedence over the marketplace.

c. The single most wasteful marketing effort is try to

change a mind-set. People don’t like to change their

minds.


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� “Marketing is not a battle of products; it’s a battle of perceptions.” a. All that exists in the world of marketing are

perceptions in the minds of the customers.

b. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an

illusion.

c. It is what people think about the brand that makes

it a winner or a loser. They believe what they want to

believe.


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� “The most powerful concept in marketing owns a word in the prospect’s mind.” a. Burn your way into the mind by narrowing the focus to

a single word or concept.

b. The most effective words are simple and benefit-

oriented, service-related, audience-related or sales-

related.

c. You become stronger when you reduce the scope of

your operations. You can’t stand for something if you

chase after everything.


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� “Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.” a. It is futile to attempt to own the same word or

position owned by your competition.

b. You can’t change people’s minds once they are

made up.

c. Get into the mind first and preempt the

concept.


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� “The strategy to use depends on which rung of the ladder you occupy.” a. There is a hierarchy in the mind that prospects use in

making decisions. Each rung has a brand name.

b. The mind is selective. It accepts data that is consistent

with its product ladder in the category. Everything else is

ignored.

c. There is a relationship between market share and your

position on the ladder in the prospect’s mind.

d. Ensure that your marketing program deals realistically

with your position in the ladder.


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� “In the long run, every market becomes a two-brand race.” a. The battle usually winds up between two major players,

usually the old reliable and the newcomer.

b. In a maturing industry, third place is a difficult position

to be in.

c. The customer believes that marketing is a battle of

products. The kind of thinking keeps two brands on top.

‘They must be the best, they’re the leaders.’


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� “If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.” a. Whenever the leader is strong, there is an opportunity for a no.2

to turn the tables. In strength there is weakness.

b. Discover the essence of the leader and present the prospect

with the opposite. Try to be different not better.

c. Present your products as the alternative to the leader.

d. The first brand that captures the concept is often able to

portray its competitors as “me too’s.”


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� “Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.” a. It’s a mistake to try to take a well-known brand

name and use it in another category.

b. People prefer to buy products or services from

different companies whom they perceive as

leaders in the category


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� “Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.”

a. The long-term effects are often the exact opposite of

the short-term effects.

b. There is evidence to show that sales (discounting, etc.)

decrease business in the long run by educating customers

not to buy at ‘regular prices’.


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� “There is an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand.” a. Keep tightly focused on a single product that is

profitable.

b. Don’t spread yourself thin over many products that

lose money.

c. When you try to be all things to all people, you

inevitably wind up in trouble. Standing for everything

means it stands for nothing.


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� “You have to give up something in order to get something.” a. There are 3 things to sacrifice:

i. PRODUCT LINE: 1. To be successful reduce your product line. Eliminate the losers/no growth

potentials.

ii. TARGET MARKET: 1. The apparent target of your marketing is not the same as the people who will

actually buy your market.

iii. CONSTANT CHOICE: 1. The best way to maintain a consistent position is not to change it. Fine tune.

2. Don’t try to follow the twists and turns of the market, you’re bound to wind up

off the road.


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�“For every attribute, there is an opposite effective attribute.” a. You must have an idea or attribute of

your own to focus your effort around.

b. Seize a different attribute, dramatize its

value and thus increase your sales.


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� “When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.”

a. One of the effective ways to get into the prospect’s mind is to first

admit a negative (that is, widely perceived as negative) and then

twist it into a positive.

b. Every negative statement you make about yourself is instantly

accepted as truth.

c. The law of candor must be used carefully and with great skill.


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� “In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.” a. The only thing that works in marketing is the single bold stoke.

b. Most often there is only one place where a competitor is

vulnerable, and that should be the focus of competition.

c. What works in marketing is the same as what works in military:

the unexpected.

d. To find that singular idea or concept, marketing managers

should know what’s happening in the marketplace (trenches).


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� “Unless you write your competitors’ plan, you can’t predict the future.” a. Failure to forecast competitive reaction is major reason

for marketing failures.

b. No one can predict the future with any degree of

certainty. Nor should marketing plans try to.

c. Change isn’t easy, but it’s the only way to cope with an

unpredictable future.


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� “Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.” a. The brand got to the mind first - it owns a

powerful attribute.

b. Don’t delegate the marketing function to

underlings. Be involved, check put the market

yourself- “It’s better to see once than to hear a

hundred times.”


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� “Failure is to be expected and accepted.” a. Ego is the enemy of a successful marketing- doesn’t inject it in

the marketing process.

b. Don’t substitute your own judgment for what the market wants.

c. When a brand is successful, the company assumes the name is

the primary reason for success. The brand is successful because it

was in tune with the laws of marketing.

d. It is a better strategy to recognize failure and cut your losses.

e. For a company to operate in an ideal way, it must have

teamwork, esprit de corps and a self-sacrificing leader.


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� “The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.”

a. When things are going well, it doesn’t need

the hype. When you need the hype, it usually

means you’re in trouble.


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� “Successful programs are not built on fads, their built on trends.” a. A fad is short-term phenomena that might be

profitable, but a fad doesn’t last long enough to do a

company much good.

b. Forget fads. One way to maintain a long-term

demand for a product is to never satisfy the demand.

c. The best and most profitable thing to ride in marketing

is a long-term trend.


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� “Without adequate funding, an idea won’t get off the ground.” a. Marketing is a game fought in the mind of the prospect. You need

money to get into the mind, and money to stay in the mind once you

get there.

b. Successful marketers front-load their investment. They take no

profit for 2 or 3 years as they plow all earnings into marketing to

grow the business.

c. Money makes the marketing world go round. To be successful,

you’ll have to find money you need to get those marketing wheels

going.

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Al Ries - Simple and Smart Solutions · Al Ries SIMPLE AND SMART SOLUTIONS 1. ... vulnerable, and that should be the focus of competition. c. What works in marketing is the same as