The Origin of Brands - Discover the Natural Laws of Product Al Ries & Laura Ries
The Origin of Brands explores how successful brands emerge, grow and establish themselves in competitive markets.
Drawing parallels with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, Al Ries and Laura Ries argue that new business categories emerge through divergence, creating opportunities for new brands to establish leadership.
The authors challenge the conventional practice of extending established brands into numerous unrelated products and services. Instead, they advocate building focused brands that represent distinct categories in the minds of customers.
The book demonstrates how businesses can identify emerging market opportunities, create new categories, differentiate their offerings and build brands that remain relevant as markets evolve.
Why Every Consultant Should Read This Book
Consultants often attempt to grow by expanding the number of services they offer. However, offering more services does not necessarily strengthen their market position.
The Origin of Brands helps consultants understand how to;
Identify emerging opportunities: Recognise new problems, market changes and underserved client needs that could create demand for specialised consulting services.
Develop distinctive consulting products: Build solutions around clearly defined client problems rather than offering generic advisory services.
Create new consulting categories: Identify opportunities to establish a distinctive area of expertise instead of competing directly with established consulting firms.
Strengthen market positioning: Become associated with a specific consulting solution or category in the minds of prospective clients.
Avoid excessive diversification: Understand how offering too many unrelated services can weaken a consultant's identity and competitive advantage.
Build sustainable consulting brands: Develop focused, recognisable consulting offerings capable of attracting clients and supporting long-term growth.
Why We Recommend It at the School of Consulting
Consultants do not always need to compete within existing consulting categories. Sometimes, the greater opportunity lies in identifying and owning an emerging category.
Many consultants position themselves around broad descriptions such as business consulting, management consulting, strategy or organisational development.
These descriptions may communicate their capabilities but do little to distinguish them from competitors.
