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In this video we’ll be reviewing a very thin yet powerful marketing book: The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by authors Al Ries and Jack Trout.
There are 132 pages, which may take just a few hours to read. And that’s with putting it down every now and then, and also taking notes along the way.
Who should read this book?
- New entrepreneurs would definitely benefit from reading this book.
- Anyone who’s thinking about launching a product.
- Anyone who’s thinking about expanding their existing business.
Now this book was published well before the rise of the internet, as we know it today.
There are a lot of historical examples used by Ries and Trout to demonstrate their laws in action that are Pre-Internet era.
Some are cautionary tales. Others are them offering their solutions to help specific named companies (e.g. Microsoft) to help those companies navigate the way to a stronger position in the market.
But even though this book was published back in 1993, does that mean the information provided is outdated and useless?
I’ve read and watched a lot of reviewers conclude to this fact. As if human nature has drastically changed since then. The other reviewers even seem to enjoy poking fun at the authors when their predictions for the specific companies named in the book turned out to be wrong.
From my perspective, those reviewers were missing the point. Ries and Trout weren’t wrong. They were providing cautionary advice.
Get the “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” Book Notes for FREE
If a business is struggling with their position in the marketplace, aka they’re either not the leader in their category, or they’ve yet to figure out how to chip away at the leader’s position…
Or let’s say they’re entering into a new category altogether…
The exciting truth this book is offering up is that it’s possible to modify a marketing program for success.
So no business is stuck in the mud.
Unless, well unless those in charge of the business go and decide the laws simply don’t apply to them, at all.
By ignoring the laws, then yes, the business will be stuck and never find the traction it needs.
Luckily, since the laws are “immutable” right? Then it really doesn’t matter when this book was published.
The gap from 1993 to now, that’s a lot of years. But the psychology behind selling and marketing hasn’t changed.
Yes, how the messages are delivered now have become more sophisticated and immediate.
That’s really all that’s advanced.
The fundamentals remain constant: People will always need, want, and desire.
Yet, if you think about it there’s an advantage here.
While so many organizations rally behind new advertising abilities, the tendency is to forget the essential.
The best marketing centers on creating simple, powerful messages that resonates with your customer.
It’s easy to get lost in the quantitative, and forget the qualitative.
It’s kinda like stage magic versus street magic.
Seeing a magician on stage pull rabbit out of their hat is not nearly as powerful as having the magic placed right in your hands.
That intimacy is the game changer.