One of the products that I manage doesn't have any competition in the market, particularly because there isn't another company offering an online solution. There is compeition for simliar CD-ROM products, but nothing that is SAAS. Frequently, I wonder when a competitor is going to step into the marketplace, and what the organization would do about it.
Many of you who read this blog are entrepreneurs or PM's who work in start-ups - so what do you do about competition? Eventually, there will be someone who comes in and has a similar value propostion or is a copy-cat, and maybe they can do what you do better especially if they are more agile. While we can recognize this, is there a way to avoid or proactively work through it?
There are always going to be copy-cats when you have a great product. Keeping a focus on your vision and identifying what makes you different is key in this space. I'm going to bring up Apple - how many other companies make phones, music players and tablets? Granted, their differentiation is the method of delivery they provide, but they still manage to stay on top. How can we (PM's) proactively manage competition?
Embrace competition. Just like in sports, it's competition that will push you to always do better, faster, for cheaper. Company with no competition tend to grow super complacent, stop innovating and eventually end up losing big when a new competitor emerges (Blackberry/Apple for instance).
ReplyDeleteThe best thing you can ever do to insulate yourself from future competition is to LOVE your users. Treat them like the gods they are. Listen to them. Integrate their feedback to always continue improving the product, and let them KNOW. Make them feel special.
Inspiring loyalty among your users is the best thing you can do to protect yourself for when (not if) new competition crops up.
I 100% agree - competition will push you to do better (quicker AND cheaper than you thought you could have). Planning on showing my users some "love", great thoughts!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment :)
There is always competition. There is always an alternative to your product.
ReplyDelete