James Graham
It is Good to be First to
Market; True or False?
Speaker Introduction
2
12 years management in
multinational companies
Consulting since 1993
Global Experience
Change Specialist
12 years senior management
in multinational companies
Consulting since 1993
Global Experience
Specialises in Strategy
Formulation and Execution
Agenda
1
• Background and context – what is ‘First Mover Advantage?’
2
• Case study – when first mover advantage was successful
3
• Case study – when first mover advantage was a failure
4
• Case study conclusions
5
• A framework to assess what position to take
6
• Q&A
3
Definition of First Mover Advantage
“Competitive advantage arising
from being the first player to enter a
new market or industry”
Quick Poll – “Do you think that
being first to market is always an
advantage”
4
Blue Oceans
A Blue Ocean is
a market without
viable
competition
First mover
advantage might
create a Blue
Ocean (e.g.
Coca Cola® had
13 years without
major
competition)
Blue Oceans can
quickly become
highly
competitive Red
Oceans, if the
original firm
cannot build
barriers to new
entrants
5
Case Study #1 – Coca Cola®
Beverage
Invented in 1886, by John S Pemberton
Pepsi Cola® launched 12 years later
Coca Cola® was selling over 3.5 million
litres when Pepsi Cola® entered the market
Coca Cola® brand valued at $79m in 2014
6
Cola Market Shares (USA)
http://www.businessinsider.com/soda-wars-coca-cola-pepsi-history-infographic-2011-11?op=1&IR=T
42%
31%
27%
Market Share
Coca Cola®
Pepsi Cola®
Others
7
Why Did Coca Cola® Succeed?
Product remains unchanged (New Coke®
introduced and withdrawn)
Pepsi Cola® beats Coca Cola® in a blind
tests, due to sweeter recipe
13 years lead established brand built loyal
customer base
Brand perception is a differentiator – Pepsi
Cola® has never beaten Coca Cola® to be #1
8
Case Study #2 – Sony
DataDiscman®
eBooks had been around for over a
decade, but relied on desktop equipment
DataDiscman® launched in1992, beating
the Kindle® by 15 years
It was well ahead of its time
Used optical media and a grayscale
screen
Lead to Sony Librie® , launched 2004, first
e-ink reader
9
Why Did Sony Fail?
Sony focused on creating great technology
The company used proprietary DRM
This limited the number of titles available
Users wanted to access a wide range of titles
Sony never provided enough titles
Amazon understood this and launched the Kindle®
with a huge range of titles
10
Technology Velocity
Market Velocity
The Five Forces & Two Velocities
Industry
Competitors
Potential
Entrants
Buyers
Substitute
Products
Suppliers
Adapted from Porter, M, 1985, Competitive Advantage: Creating & Sustaining Superior Performance , New York, Macmillan 11
Red Ocean Blue Ocean
Entry and Exit Timing is Crucial
Time
Key
Breakeven Revenues
Make Profit &
Withdraw
Loss Making
12
Building Barriers
Achieving (and maintaining) a
technical edge
Dominating scarce assets
Building a loyal customer base
13
Examples of Building Barriers
Volvo cars – safety advances
De Beers – diamonds (sells ~ one
third of all diamonds)
Loyal customer base – Apple®
14
Four Routes to Competitive Advantage
Route I
•Understand the Key
Success factors
•Focus on differentiating
functional capability
Route III
•Introduce aggressive
new initiatives
•Analyse and challenge
existing assumptions to
modify strategy
Route II
•Aim for relative
superiority
•Exploit competitor
weakness
Route IV
•Exploit strategic
degrees of freedom
•Focus on maximising
user benefit, by
innovating in markets
where no competition
exists
Adapted from Ohmae, K, Mind of the Strategist (The Art of Japanese Business), 1982, Maidenhead, McGraw Hill
15
High Serious Entry into Market
Opportunistic position to test
growth prospects; withdraw if
indications of sustainable
growth are lacking
Selective Growth
Select areas where strength
can be maintained and
concentrate investment in
those areas
All-out Struggle
Concentrate entire effort on
maintaining strength; if
necessary, maintain profit
structure by investment
Medium Limited Expansion or
Withdrawal
Look for ways of achieving
expansion without high risk; is
unsuccessful, withdraw before
too deeply involved
Selective Expansion
Concentrate investments and
expand only in areas where
profitability is good and risk is
relatively low
Maintenance of Superiority
Build up ability to counter
competition, avoiding large
scale investment; emphasis
profitability by raising
productivity
Low Loss Minimizing
Prevent losses before they
occur, by avoiding investment
and lowering fixed costs; when
loss is unavoidable, withdraw
Overall Harvesting
Promote switch from fixed to
variable costs; emphasise
profitability through Value
Analysis and Value
Engineering of variable costs
Limited Harvesting
Reduce degree of risk to a
minimum, in several segments
emphasis profit by protecting
profitability even if loss of
market position is involved
Low Medium High
Adapted from Ohmae, K, 1982, Mind of the Strategist (The Art of Japanese Business),, Maidenhead, McGraw Hill
Corporate Strengths
MarketAttractiveness
Specimen Strategies
16
First Mover Advantage Assessment
Likely
If the product/service is stable
and does not change quickly
If the market requirement
develops steadily
If a sustainable blue ocean is
probable
If you can build and maintain a
strong brand differentiation
If you have the resources to
develop your product
Unlikely
If the product/service is
vulnerable to disruptive
competition
If the market develops rapidly
If the blue ocean will quickly turn
red
If you lack the financial strength
to build and defend the brand
17
Conclusions
First mover advantage
is not guaranteed
• Being first to market
may need a lot of
financial strength
• Sometimes the
second or third to
market wins
• It is easy to create
the market for others
Understanding
customer needs is
paramount
• Customers know
what they want
• Sometimes they don’t
want the best
technology, just the
best product
• The brand is crucial
18
Any Questions?
19
Future Events with James Graham
Dates Seminar Location
31 Jan-4 Feb 2016 Certificate in Data
Analysis Skills
Dubai
24-27 April 2016 Certificate in Strategic
Thinking and Planning
Dubai
24-27 July 2016 Analysing and
Documenting Policies
And Procedures
Dubai
20

Webinar: It Is Good To Be First To Market - True or False

  • 1.
    James Graham It isGood to be First to Market; True or False?
  • 2.
    Speaker Introduction 2 12 yearsmanagement in multinational companies Consulting since 1993 Global Experience Change Specialist 12 years senior management in multinational companies Consulting since 1993 Global Experience Specialises in Strategy Formulation and Execution
  • 3.
    Agenda 1 • Background andcontext – what is ‘First Mover Advantage?’ 2 • Case study – when first mover advantage was successful 3 • Case study – when first mover advantage was a failure 4 • Case study conclusions 5 • A framework to assess what position to take 6 • Q&A 3
  • 4.
    Definition of FirstMover Advantage “Competitive advantage arising from being the first player to enter a new market or industry” Quick Poll – “Do you think that being first to market is always an advantage” 4
  • 5.
    Blue Oceans A BlueOcean is a market without viable competition First mover advantage might create a Blue Ocean (e.g. Coca Cola® had 13 years without major competition) Blue Oceans can quickly become highly competitive Red Oceans, if the original firm cannot build barriers to new entrants 5
  • 6.
    Case Study #1– Coca Cola® Beverage Invented in 1886, by John S Pemberton Pepsi Cola® launched 12 years later Coca Cola® was selling over 3.5 million litres when Pepsi Cola® entered the market Coca Cola® brand valued at $79m in 2014 6
  • 7.
    Cola Market Shares(USA) http://www.businessinsider.com/soda-wars-coca-cola-pepsi-history-infographic-2011-11?op=1&IR=T 42% 31% 27% Market Share Coca Cola® Pepsi Cola® Others 7
  • 8.
    Why Did CocaCola® Succeed? Product remains unchanged (New Coke® introduced and withdrawn) Pepsi Cola® beats Coca Cola® in a blind tests, due to sweeter recipe 13 years lead established brand built loyal customer base Brand perception is a differentiator – Pepsi Cola® has never beaten Coca Cola® to be #1 8
  • 9.
    Case Study #2– Sony DataDiscman® eBooks had been around for over a decade, but relied on desktop equipment DataDiscman® launched in1992, beating the Kindle® by 15 years It was well ahead of its time Used optical media and a grayscale screen Lead to Sony Librie® , launched 2004, first e-ink reader 9
  • 10.
    Why Did SonyFail? Sony focused on creating great technology The company used proprietary DRM This limited the number of titles available Users wanted to access a wide range of titles Sony never provided enough titles Amazon understood this and launched the Kindle® with a huge range of titles 10
  • 11.
    Technology Velocity Market Velocity TheFive Forces & Two Velocities Industry Competitors Potential Entrants Buyers Substitute Products Suppliers Adapted from Porter, M, 1985, Competitive Advantage: Creating & Sustaining Superior Performance , New York, Macmillan 11
  • 12.
    Red Ocean BlueOcean Entry and Exit Timing is Crucial Time Key Breakeven Revenues Make Profit & Withdraw Loss Making 12
  • 13.
    Building Barriers Achieving (andmaintaining) a technical edge Dominating scarce assets Building a loyal customer base 13
  • 14.
    Examples of BuildingBarriers Volvo cars – safety advances De Beers – diamonds (sells ~ one third of all diamonds) Loyal customer base – Apple® 14
  • 15.
    Four Routes toCompetitive Advantage Route I •Understand the Key Success factors •Focus on differentiating functional capability Route III •Introduce aggressive new initiatives •Analyse and challenge existing assumptions to modify strategy Route II •Aim for relative superiority •Exploit competitor weakness Route IV •Exploit strategic degrees of freedom •Focus on maximising user benefit, by innovating in markets where no competition exists Adapted from Ohmae, K, Mind of the Strategist (The Art of Japanese Business), 1982, Maidenhead, McGraw Hill 15
  • 16.
    High Serious Entryinto Market Opportunistic position to test growth prospects; withdraw if indications of sustainable growth are lacking Selective Growth Select areas where strength can be maintained and concentrate investment in those areas All-out Struggle Concentrate entire effort on maintaining strength; if necessary, maintain profit structure by investment Medium Limited Expansion or Withdrawal Look for ways of achieving expansion without high risk; is unsuccessful, withdraw before too deeply involved Selective Expansion Concentrate investments and expand only in areas where profitability is good and risk is relatively low Maintenance of Superiority Build up ability to counter competition, avoiding large scale investment; emphasis profitability by raising productivity Low Loss Minimizing Prevent losses before they occur, by avoiding investment and lowering fixed costs; when loss is unavoidable, withdraw Overall Harvesting Promote switch from fixed to variable costs; emphasise profitability through Value Analysis and Value Engineering of variable costs Limited Harvesting Reduce degree of risk to a minimum, in several segments emphasis profit by protecting profitability even if loss of market position is involved Low Medium High Adapted from Ohmae, K, 1982, Mind of the Strategist (The Art of Japanese Business),, Maidenhead, McGraw Hill Corporate Strengths MarketAttractiveness Specimen Strategies 16
  • 17.
    First Mover AdvantageAssessment Likely If the product/service is stable and does not change quickly If the market requirement develops steadily If a sustainable blue ocean is probable If you can build and maintain a strong brand differentiation If you have the resources to develop your product Unlikely If the product/service is vulnerable to disruptive competition If the market develops rapidly If the blue ocean will quickly turn red If you lack the financial strength to build and defend the brand 17
  • 18.
    Conclusions First mover advantage isnot guaranteed • Being first to market may need a lot of financial strength • Sometimes the second or third to market wins • It is easy to create the market for others Understanding customer needs is paramount • Customers know what they want • Sometimes they don’t want the best technology, just the best product • The brand is crucial 18
  • 19.
  • 20.
    Future Events withJames Graham Dates Seminar Location 31 Jan-4 Feb 2016 Certificate in Data Analysis Skills Dubai 24-27 April 2016 Certificate in Strategic Thinking and Planning Dubai 24-27 July 2016 Analysing and Documenting Policies And Procedures Dubai 20