Many people believe that the basic issue in marketing is convincing prospects that you have a better product or service. This is not true, if you have a small market share and you have to engage in battle with larger, better-financed competitors, then your marketing strategy is probably faulty in the first place. The basic issue in marketing and especially in leadership marketing is creating a category you can be first in. It is the law of leadership: it is better to be first than it is to be better. It’s much easier to get into the mind first than to try to convince someone you have a better product than one that did get there first.
You can demonstrate the law of leadership by asking yourself two questions: first, what’s the name of the first person to fly the Atlantic Ocean Solo? Charles Lindbergh, right? Secondly, what’s the name of the second person to fly the Atlantic Ocean Solo? Not so easy to answer, is it? The second person to fly the Atlantic Ocean Solo was Bert Hinkler. Bert was a better pilot than Charles, he flew faster and consumed less fuel. Yet who has ever heard of Bert Hinkler?
In spite of the evident superiority of the Lindbergh approach, most companies go the Bert Hinkler route. They wait until a market develops. Then they jump in with a better product, often with their corporate name attached. In today’s competitive environment, a “me-too” product with a line extension name has little hope of becoming a big profitable brand. The leading brand in any category is almost always the first brand into the prospects’ mind. Omo in detergents; Bic in written pen; Blue Band in margarines; IBM in computers; Coca-Cola in soft drinks, etc.
However, not every first thing is going to become successful, therefore, timing is an issue – your first could be too late. For example, Malta Guinness is not the first malt drink in Nigeria, we all know the first, but today, it is the nation’s number one malt drink. Some firsts are just bad ideas that will never go anywhere. For example, ice cream for dogs, is unlikely to make it. The dogs love it, but the owners are the ones who buy the groceries, and they might think that dogs don’t need ice cream of their own. They should be happy just to lick the plates.
The law of leadership applies to any product, any brand, and any category. Everybody knows the first University College founded in Nigeria, the University College Ibadan. So what’s the name of the second college founded in Nigeria? Most people would probably say Harvard is the leading college in the US, which is also the name of the first college founded in the US.
No two products are more identical than twins are. Yet twins often complain that the first of the two whom a person meets always remains their favourite, even though the person also get to know the other one. People tend to stick to what they have got. If you meet someone a little better than your wife or husband, it’s really not worth making a switch. The law of leadership applies as well to hard categories like automobiles and computers as it does to categories like colleges and beverages. Jeep was first in four-wheel-drive-off-the-road vehicles, IBM was first in mainframe computers; all are leading brands.
The first desktop laser printer was introduced by a computer company, Hewlett-Packard. Today the company has more than 10 percent of the personal computer market and 45 percent of the laser printer market. Gillette was the first safety razor.
One reason the first brand tends to maintain its leadership is that the name often becomes generic. Xerox, the first plain-paper copier machine, became the name for all plain-paper copier. People will stand in front of a Sharp or Kodak copier and say, “how do I make a Xerox copy?” They will ask for Bic when the box clearly has Eleganza. They will say they want to offer you a Coke when all they have is Pepsi-cola; or Fanta or Crush.
How many people ask for Omo instead of Elephant? Not many. Most people refer to every food seasoning as Maggi. Some people will go to great length to turn a brand name into a generic one. “DHL this package to the North”.
If you are introducing the first brand in a new category, you should always try to select a name that can work generically. Not only does the first brand usually become the leader, but also the sales order of follow-up brands often matches the order of their introduction. The best example is sachet milk. Cowbell was first, then came others. That is exactly the sales order they now enjoy.
If the secret of success is getting into the prospect’s mind first, what strategy are most companies committed to? The better-product strategy. The latest and hottest subject in the business management field is benchmarketing. Touted as the ultimate competitive strategy, benchmarketing is the process of comparing and evaluating your company’s products against the best in the industry. It is an essential element in a process often called total quality management.
Unfortunately, benchmarketing doesn’t work. Regardless of reality, people perceive the first product into the mind as superior. Marketing is a battle of perception, not products. So what is the name of the first brand of aspirin? Who is the first African to head the United States government?
Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. Who was second? Lius Figo was the FIFA world player of the year 2001, who was second? Roger Bannister was the first person to run four-minute mile, who was second? George Washington was the first President of the United States, who was second? Carl Lewis won 100 and 200 metres gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, who was second respectively at the games?
If you are second in the prospects’ mind, you may languish forever. Somebody must be second, but let it not be you – strive to lead.
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