The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Starting this FMCG and Retail blog with one the best books in Marketing, the lateral thinking here is unquestionably questionable yet it intrigues anyone who reads it.

The first few chapters change your perception of Marketing drastically for a person nascent into that field. For a person familiar with the basic marketing functionalities it analyzes and attacks these commonly held practices of marketers. The premise behind this book is that in order for marketing strategies to work, they must be in tune with some quintessential force in the marketplace. Just as the laws of physics define the workings of the universe, so do successful marketing programs conform to the "22 Laws." Each law is presented with illustrations of how it works based on actual companies and their marketing strategies.

In this book, they argue that the market position of a product or service in the perception of the customer is everything, and offer up twenty-two "immutable" laws of marketing that to them demonstrate this fundamental point. Their basic thesis is that "...to cope with the terrifying reality of being alone in the universe, people project themselves on the outside world. They "live" in the arena of books, movies, television, newspapers, and magazines. They "belong" to clubs, organizations, and institutions. These outside representations of the world seem more real than the reality inside their own minds....

People cling firmly to the belief that reality is the world outside of the mind and that the individual is one small speck on a global spaceship.

Actually, it is the opposite. The only reality you can be sure about is in your own perceptions. If the universe exists, it exists inside your own mind and the minds of others. That is the reality that marketing programs must deal with. Most marketing mistakes stem from the assumptions that you are fighting a product battle rooted in reality. All the laws in this book are derived from the exact opposite point of view."

The book challenges almost every major corporation and its decisions with respect to marketing strategies.