The minds of people are complex things but you can still glean some important points that can be valuable to marketers and communicators. Here are some that Ries and Trout have been talking about for a long time; do keep these in mind at all times!

Marketing battles are won in the consumers’ minds. It is, therefore, very important to know the mechanism of the mind:

1. Minds are limited. If too much information is fed into them, they will reject what doesn’t match with their current state.
2. Minds hate confusion. Therefore, it pays to keep things simple.
3. Minds are insecure. That is why people buy what others buy. And that is why being a leader in a category gives a brand such a major advantage. Therefore, if your brand is a market leader, do not hesitate to communicate that to the public at large.
4. Minds don’t change. One of the biggest mistake marketers make is to try and change what a consumer strongly believes in. Changing strong perceptions about something is a Herculean task; yet most marketers believe that it is not that difficult to do and embark upon campaigns to change perceptions.
5. Minds can lose focus. That is why it is not very smart to line-extend indiscriminately. Too many variants and SKUs add to confusion and consumers may lose focus. The sad part is that there are very few companies that do not line extend indiscriminately.

 
Visual courtesy : https://www.flickr.com/photos/see-through-the-eye-of-g/