Be First

The best way to get a mind to remember your message is to find a mind that isn’t busy remembering someone else’s. If you can’t find that, then you’re in the wrong position – i.e. not first. So, find something you can be first in and be first.

How did we get here:

• The Product Era: Develop a product and prove it’s better.
• The Image Era: Build your brand. Maintain your reputation.
• The Positioning Era: You don’t have to develop the product first, you just have to get it into the mind of your target audience first.

Example:

Who was America named after?

Christopher Columbus got here first, but he went treasure hunting and died in jail.

Amerigo Vespucci came 5 years later. He was first to get his message into Europe’s mind. He positioned the “New World” as separate from Asia. And, he named it after himself. It stuck!

“The easy way to get into a person’s mind is to be first.”

— Al Ries & Jack Trout

Want to know more? Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind is available on Amazon.

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Ries, Al, and Jack Trout. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. Print.