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It is better to be first than it is to be better

BY AL & LAURA RIES

 Marketing is not a battle of products. Marketing is a battle of perceptions. And to win the battle of perceptions you have to become the leader in a category. Prospects assume the leader must be better because "everybody knows the better product or service will win in the marketplace."

How do you become the leader? You launch a new category you can be first in. It doesn't have to be a big technological advance. Sometimes the simple ideas are the easiest to get into the mind.

But how did the leader achieve its leadership? Not by introducing a better product or service. Invariably the leader in the category got to be the leader by being the first brand in the category.

Some examples:

• Band-Aid, the first adhesive bandage.
• Charles Schwab, the first discount stock brokerage firm.
• CNN, the first cable news network.
• Coca-Cola, the first cola.
• Dell, the first personal computer sold direct.
• Domino's, the first home delivery pizza chain.
• ESPN, the first cable sports network.
• Gatorade, the first sports drink.
• Heineken, the first imported beer.
• Hertz, the first car-rental company.
• Hoover, the first upright vacuum cleaner.

And where do you win the battle of the marketing battle? You win the battle inside the mind of the prospect.
To find out more about Al and Laura Ries, click here.

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