I’ve been thinking a lot about this marketing idea lately.
It’s called The Law of Leadership!
At first, I didn’t like it.
It felt unfair.
The idea is simple:
It’s better to be FIRST than it is to be better.
And my initial reaction was:
“That doesn’t make sense.” However, as I dug deeper, it makes complete sense. And don’t worry, folks, there are many ways around it.
The more I looked at real-world examples, and how people actually behave, the more I realized:
Marketing doesn’t run on logic alone, just as life doesn’t.
It runs on how the human brain stores information.
Let me break it down to you as simply as I can
Step 1: The brain hates complexity.
People don’t want to compare 10 options deeply.
Step 2: So it ranks things mentally.
First. Second. Third.
Step 3: The first brand becomes the reference point.
Everything else is compared to it.
Step 4: Market share follows memory.
Not the other way around.
This is why the order of arrival matters so much.
The classic examples…
Here are very clear patterns that repeat across industries.
Cola
- #1 Coca-Cola → biggest market share
- #2 Pepsi → second biggest
- #3 Royal Crown → far behind
Pepsi has spent decades trying to prove it’s “better.”
But Coke owns first in the mind.
Computers
- #1 IBM → dominated for years
- Others followed, but IBM became “the computer company”
Photocopiers
- #1 Xerox → so dominant that people said “Xerox it” instead of “copy it”
Notice the pattern?
The first brand doesn’t just win customers.
It wins language, memory, and default choice.
Once that happens, being better isn’t enough to flip the order.
A modern example we all live with..
Look at AI today.
There are many tools now.
Some are faster.
Some are cheaper.
Some are better at specific tasks.
But when people think AI, they think:
ChatGPT.
Why?
Because OpenAI was first to make AI feel usable, public, and conversational at scale.
So now the mental ranking looks like this:
- #1 ChatGPT
- #2 “Other AI tools”
- #3 “Alternatives”
Most people don’t even explore past #1.
That’s the law in action.
Why this matters in dental marketing (very practically)
Here’s where I see most clinics struggle.
Everyone markets with the same claims:
- Caring team
- Modern technology
- Quality dentistry
- Comfortable environment
All good things.
But none of them make you first.
So the patient’s brain does what it always does:
- Who replied first?
- Who explained things clearly?
- Who followed up?
- Who felt easiest to book?
The clinic that becomes first in experience, not just first in ads, wins.
How I apply this idea in real marketing systems
Instead of asking:
“How do we look better than other clinics?”
I look for:
“What can this clinic be FIRST at in the patient journey?”
For example:
- First to respond within minutes
- First to actually follow up properly
- First to give clarity instead of confusion
- First to remove friction from booking
- First to feel organized and trustworthy before the visit
That’s why systems matter more than slogans.
Ads create attention.
Systems create certainty.
And certainty is what people choose.
Before I stop..
If you’re reading this thinking:
“Okay… but we’re not first.”
That doesn’t mean you’re stuck.
There is a way around this law.
A very smart one.
And it doesn’t involve trying to beat the biggest clinic at their own game.
I’ll break that down in the next post.
