What is The Iron Law of Marketing?
The Iron Law of Marketing says that whatever is the most relevant, the most profitable, the most useful, the most effective, the most entertaining, and the most innovative becomes the most popular.
In other words, whatever is actually most used is the most popular, the most effective, and the most profitable. In other words, the most “good” is also the most popular, which is why most marketers would say that the most profitable thing is usually the best thing or the most effective, but the most relevant is the most popular.
The iron law of marketing says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. In other words, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers. This principle can be applied to your marketing efforts to help you focus on the activities that are most likely to produce results.
For example, let’s say you’re planning a direct mail campaign. The iron law of marketing would say that you should focus your efforts on the 20% of addresses that are most likely to produce a response. This could be based on factors such as previous purchase history, location, or income level.
Do You Follow the Iron Law of Marketing?
Many websites unconsciously ignore ‘The Iron Law’ of Marketing. They begin by explaining features about the company, e.g. how long they have been in business, what their premises look like, etc. The reality is that most visitors to your website could not give a hoot about the features of your company! What they essentially care about is WIIFM.
WIIFM stands for ‘What’s In It For Me’. It is ‘The Iron Law of Marketing‘. It implies your website, your offering, and your services must be something that creates value for the buyer. Unless visitors to your website can quickly see what your business can do for them, the chances are that they will be gone quickly, typically in seconds. Once they are gone, they are gone—probably never to return.
WIIFM – ‘What’s in it for me’
Are we really so self-centred? Well, yes, I am afraid that we are. Please don’t feel guilty – it is just the way we are hard-wired. Sure, farther down the line, we care about others. However, first and foremost, we are concerned about how we survive and thrive. That is simple evolutionary common sense.
If you want your visitor to stay on your website, you must heed “The Iron Law of Marketing’. You need to give your visitors WIIFM—’What’s in it for me’. However, the absurdity is this: the’me’ shouldn’t be you (i.e. your premises, etc.). It should be them—your visitors. You need to put yourself in your visitor’s shoes and address what they are interested in, what they might want, and how you may be able to help them.
Most corporations are concerned with getting ‘targeted traffic’ (i.e. potential clients to their sites) through SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and other clever stuff. Moreover, this is important – very important indeed. However, if most of your prospective clients leave your website in a few seconds, isn’t that just a little bit silly? (And we have all done it, me too!) Isn’t that instead of like filling a bucket with water… which just runs out of all the holes in the bottom?
It is not as difficult as you would think! It is sufficient for us to demonstrate to visitors to our websites the advantages of conducting business with us. In addition to that, we need to execute it in a way that is both entertaining and intriguing. If at all feasible, we should cram our websites full of ‘Gifts,’ so that visitors may profit immediately from their time spent there. Free knowledge that is beneficial to your site visitors and that you provide to them is one of the most valuable kinds of presents you can give them.
Final Words
I am amazed when I see websites created and run by people ten times more clever than me… yet doomed to failure because they broke ‘The Iron Law of Marketing’ – WIIFM, ‘What’s In It For Me’. Often it just needs a change in focus and some alterations for your website to be much more successful. If you disregard WIIFM, it will become your worst enemy. If you take heed, it will become your best friend. So, value your potential buyers first and the profit motive second. The iron law of marketing is a useful principle to keep in mind when planning your marketing efforts. By focusing your efforts on the activities that are most likely to produce results, you can maximise your return on investment and make the most of your marketing budget.
