Marketing: A Battle of The Minds

The first brand in a given market usually will go on to dominate that market for several decades barring a major branding blunder. The reason I used the word “usually” is because being first in the market isn’t always king, being first in the mind is. By definition, Marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling of products and services to a specific group. Now when it comes to business it’s easy for one to say,  ”Well they must be marketing products right?”. While on the most shallow of levels you may be correct, but if you plan on acquiring a lasting, more long-term success then you are sadly mistaken. Marketing is a battle of the mind, of perceptions, not of products. So in reality the mind takes precedence over the marketplace. The mind is the battle ground where companies try to stake their claim as the beloved favorite of the prospective brand evangelist.

In 1998, a US company, Eiger Labs introduced the very first MP3 player called the MPMan F10. Now if you’re trying to figure out why the name doesn’t ring a bell or why they aren’t the “most talked about” it’s because they weren’t the first in the mind. Apple Inc. who entered the music player industry in 2001, three years AFTER Eiger Labs, owns over 70% of the music player market. Why? It’s simple, they were the first to get into the minds of prospects and consumers. Apple took their MP3, the iPod, and brought it to mainstream and infused it into pop culture. As a result, Apple now enjoys winning the market, adoration of the public AND their wallets.

When you’re first in the minds of your consumers, one of the best things that could happen to you is that your brand name becomes generic. To quote Former President and CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman, “When people use your brand name as a verb, that is remarkable”. Trust me she’s not lying. Think I’m joking? Ask yourself when’s the last time you heard someone say they were going to “search” or “look up” something on the Internet? Chances are they used the term “google”. Google being the goliath search engine company that has become the go-to-guy for your information needs. This is the ultimate win for Google and a clear signs that they dominate their market. Xerox, Saran Wrap, Kleenex, Vaseline, Jello, iPod, Advil, Tylenol, Scotch all are used as generic names and they all are #1 leaders in their respective industries. See the correlation to success?

So what are some of the keys to winning the battle of the mind? Here’s a peek at a few.

Be First.
First impressions are lasting ones. Once a mind is made up it very seldom, if ever, will be changed. A first impression can not be erased or modified, once it happens it happens and there’s nothing you can do about it. If you’re thinking about improving or fluffing up a lowsy first impression, well good luck. Thats like building a skyscraper on sand. The single most wasteful marketing effort is trying to change one’s mind. Do your research and come correct. Think “Generic Names”

Big Bang Theory.
Since first impressions are so imporant, why not enter the mind with a bang? Don’t try to weasle your way into a favorable position with prospects. Having a subpar first impression is extremely difficult to recover from, so pull out all the bells and whistles and make sure your presence is heard and felt in a major way the first time around. Once people make up a profile for you in their mind you usually stay in that category forever. The last thing you want is to be mistaken for is small fry when you’re really a big willie. “Apple > Eiger”

Act Accordingly.