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1. The Law of Leadership
Its better to be the frst than it is to be better
There is always a signicant rst mover advantage in case of business, but this is
particularly true in case of marketing. It is much easier to get into the mind rst than
to try to convince someone you have a better product than the one that did get
there rst
The reasons for this are:
1. There is a natural human tendency for people to stick with what they have got. The rst brand generally has the opportunity to become a generic rm for that
product category ! and making it even di"cult for competitors to gain a
foothold.
#espite that, most companies tend to pursue a $better product% style businessstrategy ! trying to develop something better than their competitors are presently
o&ering.
The downside to this law is ' not every rst is going to become successful. The rst
could be too late or some rst are too bad ideas that do not work.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
Bisleri, an Italian mineral water company, was launched in India in the year
1)*+ and bought by arle in 1)*). -isleri is now the market leader in bottled
water category in India, with /0 market share. The name $-isleri% has
become synonymous to bottled water
The rst steel company in India, Tata Steelstarted manufacturing ingots in
1)1. Today it holds around 0 market share and is is very reputed brand
with turnover of 2* -illion
Godrej manufactured India%s rst security safe in 1). 3odre4 5ecurity
5ervices is now the market leader in India with annual turnover of 6) 7rores
and *0 market share
Surf Excel, launched in 1)+) under the brand name 85urf8 in India as a rst
detergent powder, now is a ma4or home care brand
Fair & Lovely is India%s rst fairness cream, launched in 1)/+, today it
commends the largest market share in beauty care
Amulis the oldest and the most established dairy brand in the country. It now
has the market share of 190 in dairy foods
irst oil renery in India was set up in #igboi by Indian Oil. Today I;7L
accounts for nearly half of India8s petroleum products market share, 10
national rening capacity
Cadurywas the rst company to introduce chocolates and confectionery in
India way back in 1)9
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#a$$i is synonymous with instant noodles in India and had )0 market
share
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. The Law of 7ategory
I you cant be the frst in a category, set up a new category you can
be frst in
It is not as di"cult to nd a new category ! in which you can be rst to market ! as it
might appear. There are a number of di&erent ways to be rst because prospects
have an open mind when it comes to new categories. @veryone is interested in
what%s new, few people are interested in what%s better. It is more important to think
categories than to worry about brands. 7onsumers are often defensive about their
preferred brands, but open to thinking about a new product in an entirely di&erent
category.
5ometimes you can also turn an also'ran into a winner by inventing a new category.
This can be done by focussing on a single factorial or repositioning. rospects have
an open mind when it comes to categories rather than brands.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
OlaCaswas the rst in India to introduce ta(i aggregator app in 1. It is
now one of the largest ta(i service providers with a network of more than
, cars across
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. The Law of Binds
Its better to be frst in the mind than to be frst in the marketplace
-eing rst in the mind of the consumers is a very crucial factor in marketing. This is
so because marketing is a battle of perceptions and not products. >hat prospects
are thinking is actually more important than what is actually occurring in the
marketplace. ;nce a person%s mind is made up, it can%t be changed. Therefore,
blasting your way into the consumer%s mind is the most e"cient and most productive
way to approach marketing. If you try and worm your way it, it%s unlikely to make a
big enough di&erence.
=lso, people do not like to change their mind set once they perceive a product or
service one way or another. They only perceive the brand in one way, they le the
brands in one way and this cannot be changed further. The perception that spending
more money is the answer to all marketing Fuestions, is incorrect. 5ometimes hugemarketing budgets can achieve fabulous success while at times they create no e&ect
what so ever.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
Fevicol comes to our mind whenever we think of any adhesive as compared
to other products although it was not the rst product.
-erox comes to our mind whenever we think of photocopying. In fact,
photocopy and Gero( words are often used interchangeably.
Band,Aid comes to our mind whenever we come across any cutHwound.
#aruti comes to our mind whenever we think of mileage as we think that
Baruti is synonymous with mileage. Fli'"art is synonymous with e'commerce industry in India.
#ercedes Ben. is synonymous with lu(ury cars in India although it is not the
rst company to launch lu(ury cars.
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9. The Law of erception
Marketing is not a battle o products, its a battle o perceptions
7ontrary to popular opinion, the best product does not always win in the marketplace
over the long haul. The belief that the best product will ultimately win is an illusion !
if for no other reason than because deciding what is the $best% product is a sub4ective
4udgment call rather than an ob4ective, scientic process. The most successful
products focus instead on creating the right perception in the mind of the prospect.
Bost people will form their entire perceptions on the basis of a minute amount of
e(perience ! and freFuently not even their own e(perience but someone they know.
;n that sliver of information, they will Fuite readily declare a universal truth.
Barketers who don%t understand this law freFuently try and get the $truth% on their
side ! that is, they look at the product as the hero of the marketing initiative and use
factual comparisons to highlight why their product is superior to anything elseavailable.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
Tata /ano is generally perceived as being a cheap car or the 1 lakh car
although its present price is somewhere around . lakhs.
#aruti Su.u"i is perceived as the car for the common class and hence is
thought that it is not able to build premium cars.
arle,G is perceived to be a 3lucose biscuit that is it can be an alternate
source of energy.
!ead & S+oulders s+am'ooperceived as dandru& removing shampoo and
is potent against dandru& problems. #a$$i is perceived to have a minutes cooking time, whereas the actual
cooking time of Baggi is more than minutes.
Intelprocessers are perceived to be fast processors as compared to =B#
processors for computing purposes.
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+. The Law of ocus
The most powerul concept in marketing is owning a word in the
prospects mind
The Law of ocus suggests marketing is like a magnifying glass '' you use it to focus
your messages until you $$burn%% your way into the mind of the prospect, and link
your product with one single word or concept. =chieve that, and whenever that word
or concept comes up, the prospect thinks of your product or service.
In nding that word:
The simpler the better
ou can%t focus on any word that doesn%t have proponents for the opposite
point of view. Cor e(ample, you can%t own the word $$Fuality%%, because
everybody stands for that and nobody stands for $$the lack of Fuality%%D The narrower and more precise the focus, the more you will achieve
The most e&ective words are benet oriented. In marketing, it%s always more
e"cient ! even for complicated products ! to focus on one word or benet, and make
that the emphasis of everything the company does.
Glucose,(CenergyD ! ocussing on the word energy, 3lucose'# has been able
to $burn% its way into the consumers% minds.
Indi$oC;n timeD ! >ith the campaigns $;ne time is a beautiful thing%, Indigo
has been focussing on having timely services in the otherwise cluttered airline
industry.
#ercedes Ben. C@(cellenceD ! Bercedes -enJ has focussed on the worde(cellence, to distinguish itself as a lu(ury brand.
0aymond C7omplete BanD ! The tagline catered to the $self'actualiJation%
level of Baslow%s Kierarchy and has helped the brand to create its own image.
#aruti Su.u"i CBileageD ! $?itna deti hai%, $petrol khatam hi nahi ho rha%
campaigns have
Set 1etC5e(yD ! 5et >et%s TA7 used the tagline $very very se(y%. It was able
to gain signicant market share as a result of this.
(ominoes CKome #eliveryD ! ocussing on home delivery services, its
campaigns had the tagline $khushiyon ki home delivery%. It also o&ered free
piJJas if delivery time e(ceeded minutes. These e&orts have helped
#ominoes become the market leader with 0 market share, ahead of iJJaKut.
#a$$iC BinutesD ! This instant noodle brand from estle focussed on the
cooking time and was able to burn its way into the minds of customers.
1oodlandCToughD ! >oodlands campaigns have focussed on toughness and
ruggedness. This has made the brand number one in outdoor shoes.
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*. The Law of @(clusivity
Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospects mind
The Law of @(clusivity suggests that whena competitor owns a word or position
in the prospect8s mind, it is futile to attempt to own the same word. Bany
companies continue to violate the law of e(clusivity. ou can8t change
people8s minds once they are made up. In fact, what you often do is reinforce
your competitor8s position by making its concept more important. The main
reason the companies gets in to this trap is market research. Msing Eesearch
7ompany makes a wish list and they deliver that to that customers. >hat is
missing here is that some other company already owns that that idea. >hich
violates law of e(clusivity and marketing campaign fails.
ew of the e(amples in Indian conte(t.
e'si CoungistanD ! ocussing on the youngsters. >hich helped epsi to
capture market of youngsters from opponent coca cola CrideD2
(uracell CLong lastingD,
#a$$iC BinutesD ! This instant noodle brand from estle focussed on the
cooking time and was able to burn its way into the minds of customers.
!utc+ C7onnectivityD simple idea and insight brought to the fore its core
proposition ' that of a superior network.
#ercedes Ben. C@(cellenceD ! Bercedes -enJ has focussed on the word
e(cellence, to distinguish itself as a lu(ury brand, where 3olvo C5afetyDconcentrated on safety.
(ominoes CKome #eliveryD ! ocussing on home delivery services, its
campaigns had the tagline $khushiyon ki home delivery%. It also o&ered free
piJJas if delivery time e(ceeded minutes. These e&orts have helped
#ominoes become the market leader with 0 market share, ahead of
i..a !utClavour of owD
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/. The Law of the Ladder
The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the
ladder.
5trategies should be made according to which position you occupy on the
ladder. ;therwise there is high chance of failure of strategies. =ll products are
not created eFual. There8s a hierarchy in the mind that prospects use in
making decisions. or each category, there is a product ladder in the mind.
;n each rung is a brand name. our marketing strategy should depend on
how soon you got into the mind and conseFuently which rung of the ladder
you occupy
The mind is selective. rospects use their ladders in deciding which
information to accept and which information to re4ect. In general, a mindaccepts only new data that is consistent with its product ladder in that
category. @verything else is ignored.
roducts urchase every #ay N Kigh Interest roducts ! Bany Eungs on
ladders InfreFuent urchase N ersonal ride ! Bany Eungs
InfreFuent urchase N Mnpleasant e(perience' Aery few rings
urchased once in lifetime N Mnpleasant ! o rungs
There8s a relationship between market share and your position on the ladder
in the prospects mind. The brand in the nd
rung tend to have half the marketshare of brand on the 1strung and twice the market share of brand on rd
rung.
.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
Altois entry level leader. Eenault ?wid was launched competing with =lto in
this segment.
Coca Cola comes in the 1strung of ladder then comes nde'siCo
II# A+medaad is the 1strung of management institutes ladder in India.
Their strategy is di&erent from other institutes which comes below in the
ladder
ITC Ltd2comes in the 1strung of cigarette industry ladder.
Airtel4 Idea4 3odafonecome among the top rung of the ladder. @ach other%s
strategies e&ect the others business.
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hen we consider long term view of marketing the competition usually winds
up as struggle between two ma4or players. >hen you are holding rdposition
you aren8t going to make much progress by going out and attacking the two
strong leaders. >hat can be done is to carve out a protable niche.
?nowing that marketing is a two'horse race in the long run can help you plan
strategy in the short run. It often happens that there is no clear'cut o. .
>hat happens ne(t depends upon how skilful the contenders are.
The customer believes that marketing is a battle of products.8 It8s this kind of
thinking that keeps the two brands on top: OThey must be the best, they8re
the leaders.O
.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
Coca Cola & e'siCo
Eveready&(uracell
3isa & #aster card
Indi$o & 5et Air*ays
OLA & 6er
Fli'"art & Ama.on
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). The Law of the ;pposite
I youre shooting or second place, your strategy is determined by the leader
In strength there is weakness. >herever the leader is strong, there is an opportunity
for a would'be o. to turn the tables. Buch like wrestler uses his opponent8s
strength against him, a company should leverage the leader8s strength into a
weakness.
If you want to establish a rm foothold on the second rung of the ladder, study the
rm above you. >here is it strongP =nd how do you turn that strength into a
weaknessP
= good o. can8t a&ord to be timid. >hen you give up focusing on o. 1, you make
yourself vulnerable not only to the leader but to the rest of the pack.
e'si positioned itself as a cola for the ew 3eneration because Coca,Cola
was positioned as a more conservative and old style cola. Sco'e positioned itself as a good tasting mouthwash to e(ploit the weakness
of Listerine which has a bad taste.
Fo$$ deodorants became the rst Qno gasR deodorant which heavily
impacted the market share of Axe2
Sunfeast 7i''ee8created a new noodle block which was round in shape and
does not need to be broken while cooking, providing really long N slurpy
noodles unlike the market leader#a$$i.
(omino9s i..afocused on the fastest home delivery service as i..a !ut
was focusing on the dining in e(perience.
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1. Law of #ivision
Over a period o time, most categories will divide into numerous segments, eachacting like a category
@ach new segment will generally have a rationale for e(istence, a market leader
Cwho will generally be Fuite di&erent from the category leaderD and completely
di&erent from market dynamics.
Bost freFuently, the market leader in each segment will be di&erent from the
category o. 1 ! unless the category leader successfully develops a new brand for
each segment that emerges.
Biscuits ,;ver a period of time biscuits were divided into di&erent categories
like cream biscuits, cookies, nutritional biscuits and snacks biscuits. @.g.
Britanniabrands like Barie 3old, 3ood #ay, -ourbon and + +.
Soa's : 5oaps were divided into glycerine soaps, transparent soaps and
cleansing bars .e.g. !6L#ove, Lu(, Lifebuoy and ears. /e*s a'ers :>ere split into regional , national , business newspapers and
magaJines.eg Times Grou' newspapers were split into Baharashtra times,
T;I , @T and Sig wheelsC BagaJineD
A''arels :They were categoriJed as -usiness formals and business casuals
e.g. 3an !eusen was split into Aan Keusen formals and Aan Kuesen 5ports.
#oiles :@arlier only mobile handsets were available in the market but now
they can be categorised as -ar phones, 5mart phones ,hablets and
Tablets.eg Samsun$ has launched bar phones like 3uru , smart phones like
the 3ala(y 5*, phablets like ote 9 and tablets 3ala(y tab .
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11. The Law of erspective
Marketing eects take place over an e!tended period o time
The Law of erspective says that Omarketing e&ects take place over an e(tended
period of timeO, but the cru( of this law is that some marketing actions are negative
in the long'term even though they seem positive in the short'term. or e(ample, if
we take the e(ample of sales and coupons in the retailing industry, these devices are
like drugs '' they produce a short'term high, but the only way to maintain the high is
to keep going. @ventually, we will have to keep those coupons rolling out not to
increase sales but to keep sales from falling o& if we stop.
Bi$ Ba.aar! In order to increase its sales during weekdays, -ig -aJaar
started giving discounts on >ednesdays. -ut the result was that the footfall
during >ednesdays soared while the footfall which was high during weekends,
went down.
E,Commerce 1esites! They play on deep discounts and provide
continuous discounts in order to keep the sales owing and encourage the
customers coming to e'commerce websites. The trend has been so that the
customers now shop from @'commerce websites mostly because they are
available at a discounted price. Like recently, Fli'"artorganiJed -ig -illion
#ay 5ale and it was followed by Ama.on.
Ba4or Eetail outlets like antaloons andS+o''er9s sto'give timely
discounts resulting in the fact that the customers mostly during the discount
season and the footfall dwindles during normal time of the year.
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1. The Law of Line @(tensions
There is oten an irresistible temptation to e!tend the e"uity o a successul brand
into unrelated felds
Invariably, any company that becomes highly successful starts to believe it can
succeed in any other business eld of its choosing. >henever that happens, the
company ends up becoming weaker rather than stronger ! because it attempts to be
all things to all people rather than staying tightly focused on what made it succeed in
the 1stplace.
Therefore, line e(tension ! the taking of a successful brand name and putting it on anew product in an unrelated category ! never works out in practise. Ideally it sounds
alluring but the reality comes back to the fact marketing is a battle of perception
rather than battle of products.
ITC : ;riginally a cigarette company has e(tended its line to hotels, agro
business, B73 products, stationary products and IT business.
Tata :;riginally Tata was into te(tiles and steel making and over the years it
e(tended its business to automobiles, airlines, salt, and power.
#ut+oot $rou' :Initially into nance but now it caters to insurance, health
care, hospitality. e'si Co :?nown for its aerated drinks the brand has over the years
e(tended its line to packaged drinking water, chips and other B73 products.
!T #edia : 5tarted with print business but e(tended its business to di&erent
verticals like online 4ob portals, radio and campaigns like leadership summits,
movie review sites.
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1. The Law of 5acrice#ou have to actually give up all the choices and ocus on one thing in order toachieve anything signifcant
7ompanies that attempt to do everything end up doing nothing of any note. Msually,there are three things a company must sacrice to make progress:
1. ;&ering a full product line ! 7ompanies that try and generaliJe are alwaysweak, while those that specialiJe succeed.
. Targeting too broad a market ! -y attempting to serve too broad a marketdemographic, nobody is happy. 7ompanies achieve more when they stoptrying to please everyone and instead focus in on one specic segment with alaser like focus.
The need to make constant strategy changes ! 7ompanies that are forever changingtheir market strategy to try and match the twists and turns of the marketplace endup serving no one ! because nobody understands what they stand for.
e'siCo! The 5trategy of targeting the youth segment in order to compete
with 7oca 7ola and other companies to capture the market share indicates thelaw of sacrice strategy adopted by epsi7o.
A''le! The =pple Inc. has always concentrated on manufacturing Fuality
products for the upper middle and higher class segment. It does notmanufacture products for the lower class or the bottom of the pyramidsegment.
!arley (avidson! Karley #avidson has specialiJed in manufacturing 7ruiserbikes and sacricing on the product line.
0olls 0oyce! Eolls Eoyce caters to only Kigh et'worth Individuals CKIsD for
their cars and has foregone the lower class and the middle class population.
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19. Law of attributes
$or every attribute, there is an opposite, eective attribute%
=ccording to this law, you can8t own the same word or position that your competitor
owns. ou must nd your own word to own. ou must seek your own attribute. Too
often a company attempts to emulate the leader. OThey must know what works,Ogoes the rationale, Oso let8s do something similar.O ot good thinking. It8s much
better to search for an opposite attribute that will allow you to play o& against the
leader. The key word here is opposite'similar won8t do.
@(amples in the Indian conte(t are as follows:
Sony 3aioo&ered laptops with di&erent colours and talked little about the
specications, which was the attribute on which di&erent players were
competing in the market.
Lenovocame up with a degree rotating screen laptop model when the
ma4or players were talking on grounds of specications.
(iscoverycommunications instead of competing in the information channelsector directly with national geographic channel came up with =nimal lanet
channel which concentrated on life science only.
3inicosmetics came up with idea of a deodorant $with no gas% and competed
on attribute to last longer than other similar products.
!ector-everages came up with ethnic drinks by the name of aperboat and
competed on grounds of di&erent taste than other similar o&erings.
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1+. The Law of 7andor&hen you admit a negative, the prospect 'potential customer( will give you a
positive response or it
eople appreciate honesty. It makes them feel a connection with you when you trust
them enough to be honest with them. In fact, when you admit a negative, customers
assume it is the truth''otherwise, why would you admit itP >hen a customer knows
the salesperson is lying, typically, they won8t want to buy the product because
somewhere in the back of their minds, they8re wondering, OIf they lied about this,what elsethey are lying aboutPO
The law of candor must be used carefully and with great skill. irst, your OnegativeO
must be widely perceived as a negative. It has to trigger an instant agreement with
your prospects mind. If the negative doesn8t register Fuickly, your prospect will be
confused and will wonder, Q>hat8s this all aboutPO e(t, you have to shift Fuickly to
the positive. The purpose of candor isn8t to apologiJe. The purpose of candor is to set
up a benet that will convince your prospect.
This law only proves the old ma(im: !onesty is t+e est 'olicy2
31'The 1)/ A> will stay ugly longer.
3ol"s*a$en' Aolkswagen did it when they acknowledged that the ObugO is
ugly.
Listerine! the taste you hate twice a day.
Avis ,5ince changing the mind of a prospect is di"cult once it has been made
up, then marketing strategy should consist of ideas and concepts that already
e(ist in their mind. Avis *as remar"ale in doin$ t+is *+en t+ey
advertised ein$ /o2 ;2
Bourneville, 7adbury came up with the campaign Q/ot so S*eet< to
attract the di&erent youth segment with their attitude and gained a largeattention for this pure dark chocolate which has a strong taste.
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1*. The Law of 5ingularity
In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results%The idea is that there is a single, most successful, bold stroke that must do to move
yourself out in front of the pack and achieve substantial results.
Barketing is a battle of ideas. If you are to succeed, you must have a single
successful move to describe your value and deliver sustainable results.
This might be a little hard to grasp. ;ftentimes we all believe that a good mi( of
di&erent marketing strategies will get us the results we want. = little advertising
here, a couple of webinars there, each e(ecuted well will win the day. ope, not
according to this law.
#aruti S*ift, Baruti came up with a single stroke when we talk about power
and design%s best combination in Indian market. 5ales hiked in a very short
spawn of time.
SBI,The 5tate -ank of India customiJed its all softwares, implement the new
core system, and provide ongoing operational support for its centraliJed
information technology. The 5tate -ank of India has achieved its goal of
o&ering its full range of products and services to all its branches and
customers, spreading economic growth to rural areas and providing nancial
inclusion for all of India8s citiJens.
C+evrolet ,>ith the success of Uapanese and 3erman anking attacks,
3eneral Botors was under pressure to commit resources in an attempt toshore up the bottom and the top of its lines.
3B made the fateful decision to build many of its midrange cars using the
same body style. 5uddenly, no one could tell a 7hevrolet from a ontiac,
;ldsmobile, or a -uick. They all locked alike.
Coca,Cola =$et it4 >classic
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7oca'7ola nally got smart put Qnew cokeR aside and went back to focusing
on the original idea of classic coke%-y focusing on the original concept that
was rst in the prospect%s mind, 7oca'7ola was able to attack epsi and
market to the younger generation by o&ering them the )eal Thing% ot only
did this reach the younger generation but woke up original fans and salesincreased.
1/. The Law of 5acrice
*nless you can write your competitors plans you cant predict the uture
Barketing plans must make the assumptions about the future ! which means they
will usually be wrong, particularly due to the fact that competitor reaction cannot be
anticipated.
5ince the future cannot be predicted with certainty:
1. =t least study the general trend. ou should avoid 4umping to conclusions that
are unwarranted or e(trapolating too far but at least gives some general
awareness.. =void assuming the future will be a replay of the past or the present.. Try and anticipate what you do if something totally une(pected eventuates.9. -uild e(ibility into your plans and your organiJation, so you can respond to
changes as they occur.+. #evelop a responsive attitude within the organiJation. Instead of shunning
change, embrace it for the opportunities that will be created.
Qo one can predict the future with any degree of certainty. or should marketing
plans try to.R
Coca cola ' #uring the 1))* >orld 7up 7oca 7ola failed to anticipate
competitor epsi%s reaction to its o"cial sponsorship for the >orld 7up. epsi
in reply launched one of the most successful campaigns witnessed in India !
the $othing o"cial about it 7ampaign%.
Or"ut! @ven though ;rkut was much more popular before acebook entered
Indian market. It was not able to compete with the competition and acebook
took over the social media segment.
Blac"erry =0I#?! The ever popular blackberry messenger which was only
available on -lackberry 5martphones did not react in time to the competition
by >hats=pp Bessenger which was available freely on android thus leading tothe decline of sales of -lackberry 5martphones.
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/o"ia! @ven though okia was the market leader in terms of market share in
India in the mobile phones segment. okia failed to compete with the
popularity of android operating system C;5D and stuck to its 5ymbian ;5 and
>indows phones, leading to loss of market share and decline in sales.
%yn$a ! Synga was well positioned when it was able to market games like
$Synga oker% and $armville% to acebook%s users but since the popularity of5martphones where games such as $7andy 7rush% have become popular, it
has failed come up with another popular game and is survive for survival.
1
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!#T : India%s oldest watchmaker was shut down due to heavy nancial
losses. KBT dominated India%s watch market during the 1)/s. 5uch was
once its sway that it even had a waiting period, which could run up to 1
months. Introduction of WuartJ watches by Titan at cheaper prices took the
market away.
@in$s+er :Termed as ?ing of 3ood Times went bankrupt due to its non'sustainable business model and too much concentration on lu(ury in a price'
sensitive market.
&G ,The world8s largest consumer roducts 7ompany lost market share in
more than two'thirds of product categories in India during 19'1+ as nimbler
rivals with lower'priced alternatives found more takers. N38s lack of
innovation and focus on higher margins amid aggressive strategies adopted
by its rivals to increase their market share. KML and 7olgate lead the market.
(( ne*s : -eing the only channel in India it failed to capitalise its dominance
due to slow decision making owing to government control.
@inetic !onda , = premium scooter in its brighter days. Lost to TA5 scooty
and tussle within UA of ?inetic and Konda which ultimately led to a break'up. Itfailed to generate sales later owing to its high price.
1). The Law of ailure
$ailure is to be e!pected and accepted%
7ompanies face a tricky situation when a product or a process used in the product is
a failure. =dmitting a mistake and not doing anything about it is bad for your career.
= better strategy is to recogniJe failure early and cut your losses.
= company can either
ind the mistakeHfailure and move forward with necessary operational
changes
;r
=ccept mistake and do nothing
The second choice would be detrimental for the company%s future. It would result in
losses and brand value also takes a beating. ollowing the rst law, risks need to be
taken to be the rst and also best in business. These risks may lead to mistakes.
=dmitting these mistakes in a large organiJation may not be easy. It may a&ect
employee%s future. 5o we often make OsafeO decisions so as to not disrupt their
progress up the corporate ladder. 5o, if a sense of team work and incentives for
taking up creative work, also creating an ecosystem where new ideas are
appreciated would be benecial for the company.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
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Coca colabought Thumsup, and tried to decrease the brand presence
so that 7;?@ sales wold increase. This strategy failed, but 7oke did not
make changes for a long time. ow, Thumsup is also being marketed
and sold.
Fli'"artbig billion day sale faced a lot of technical and distribution
problems. lipkart admitted the mistake and made changes andimprovements in the same
=mong the worst performing BAs in India, the Evaliahas always
struggled to get going in the segment. To make things better, issan
had even given the @valia a couple of facelifts, but all e&orts went in
vain as the BA didn%t strike the right cord with Indian car buyers.
#arutihas decided to pull the plug on the @stilo due to poor sales.
5ince its launch in /, the Baruti @stilo was a replacement for the
Sen but it could never garner the strong sales of its predecessor.
!ondacars were called back for retro tment, due to braking
problems.
5ales of Taveracars of Toyota were e&ected due to emission problemswhich could not be corrected.
. The Law of KypeThe situation is oten the opposite o the way it appears in the press%
Kype is the coin of the realm in the technology business. If you listen to vendors and
the media, it may sometimes seem as though every new product, service, concept or
even security threat will be the e(t -ig Thing. 5ome live up to all the fuss, but many
don8t '' and some fail spectacularly.
>hen things are going well, a company doesn8t need the hype. >hen you need thehype, it usually means you8re in trouble. ;ver the years, the greatest hype has been
for those developments that promise to single'handedly change an entire industry.
eople will read the labels and buy products on their merits rather than on the siJe of
the brand8s advertising budget. It8s all hype.
The hype created around a product sometimes causes the product to failure. The
marketing strategies used can go wrong causing failure of the product in the market.
;ver the past year, some of the most hyped products, even those that showed
promise, either turned out to be huge failures or still had Fuite a few kinks to work
out. >hile some products weren%t as great as advertised, others were poorly
marketed and Fuickly dropped o& the consumer radar.
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The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
The (iet Co"ewas advertised ercely in India. -ut the outcome, diet 7oke
was a failure
Tata /ano, did not reach the hype created around it.
Bany movies like 0a,4 Ban$ Ban$did not reach the hype that was created
around them.
(airy #il" Bulywas promoted heavily but hasn%t got good appreciation in
the market.
A"as+ Taletintroduced as cheaper price was much hyped but was a failure
1indo*s was much hyped but did not reach the e(pectations
A''le i1atc+was seen as the ne(t big thing, but its sales were way below
e(pectations
1. The Law of =ccelerationuccessul programs are not built on ads, they.re built on trends%
= fad is a wave in the ocean, and a trend is the tide. = fad gets a lot of hype, and a
trend gets very little.
= fad is a short'term phenomenon that might be protable, but a fad doesn8t last
long enough to do a company much good. urthermore, a company often tends to
gear up as if a fad were a trend. =s a result, the company is often stuck with a lot of
sta&, e(pensive manufacturing facilities, and distribution networks.
= fashion, on the other hand, is a fad that repeats itself. @(amples: short skirts for
women and double breasted suits for men.
>hen the fad disappears, a company often goes into a deep nancial shock.
The implications of this law in Indian conte(t can be understood as follows:
Though 4eans entered into market decades ago, it is still trending.
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5ele 5tick' ad
Loafers ' ad
7heetos cards
-ayblades, ;;%s ! ad
5ocial etworking ! >hatsapp, acebook CTrendD
. The Law of Eesources
&ithout ade"uate unding an Idea won.t get o the ground
=ccording to this law, if you have a good idea and you8ve picked up this book withthe thought in mind that all you need is a little marketing help, this chapter will
throw cold water on that thought. @ven the best idea in the world won8t go very far
without the money to get it o& the ground. Inventors, entrepreneurs, and assorted
idea generators seem to think that all their good ideas need is professional
marketing help.
@(amples of this law in the Indian conte(t are:
SAS Laswas a start up in the eld of information security, service and
products. They failed due to lack of funding and lack of proper team
formation.
(iscount ull2com: ;nline e'commerce platform for showing discount onclothes. The problem was lack on funds and less than attractive website.
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Tec+lo$$ers: The 7ompany used to deliver online technology news. The
main reason for their failure was lack of proper cash ow.
Late ni$+t foodDThe 7ompany was a late night food delivery service start
up with outsourced food. It failed because of nancial problems.
3isifyoo"s: It was a company which provided video cli& notes for business
books and it failed because of lack of funds.