You must be willing to give up something in order to establish that unique position.
AL RIESThe essence of positioning is sacrifice.
More Al Ries Quotes
-
-
The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.
AL RIES -
Strategy should evolve out of the mud of the marketplace, not in the antiseptic environment of an ivory tower.
AL RIES -
Branding is simply a more efficient way to sell things.
AL RIES -
Today, communication itself is the problem. We have become the world’s first overcommunicated society.
AL RIES -
But with a laser, you can drill a hole in a diamond or wipe out cancer.
AL RIES -
The essence of positioning is sacrifice.
AL RIES -
It is better to have 50% of one market, instead of 10% of five markets.
AL RIES -
IBM didn’t invent the computer; Sperry Rand did. But IBM was the first to build the computer position in the prospect’s mind.
AL RIES -
A laser is a weak source of energy. A laser takes [only] a few watts of energy and focuses them in a coherent stream of light.
AL RIES -
After a slow buildup, people become convinced that they have known about the brand forever.
AL RIES -
A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.
AL RIES -
It normally takes decades to build a brand because it takes decades to penetrate the gray matter in between your ears.
AL RIES -
It takes a mile before anything happens. And if it was a wrong turn, getting back on course takes even longer.
AL RIES -
To get into the consumer’s mind, you have to sacrifice.
AL RIES -
Even if all the cattle on the range look pretty much alike.
AL RIES -
It normally takes decades to build a brand… It’s the forgetting of the old truth that allows a person to accept a new truth.
AL RIES -
The new product, if it’s going to be successful, is going to require a new name. New ladder, new name. It’s as simple as that.
AL RIES -
Strategy and timing are the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the Catskills.
AL RIES -
Your brand’s power lies in dominance.
AL RIES -
Positioning is how you differentiate yourself in the mind of the prospect.
AL RIES -
The Internet is the ultimate in brand-centered buying.
AL RIES -
War and marketing have many similarities.
AL RIES -
The Law of the Generic: One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name.
AL RIES -
THE LAW OF THE CONTRACTION: A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.
AL RIES -
The real barrier (to building a brand) is the human mind.
AL RIES -
Customers want brands that are narrow in scope and distinguishable by a single word, the shorter the better.
AL RIES