First to market, First to Fail!

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Marketing class by David Arnold at the London Business School. It was an enlightening experience and certainly threw up new insights for me from the world of marketing management. While the fundamentals of 4Ps (Product, Promotion, Place, Pricing) and 4Cs (Company, Customers, Competitors, Channels) still hold true, some new thought is gaining ground. In a book "Will & Vision: How Latecomers Grow to Dominate Markets" by Tellis and Golder, the First Mover disadvantage is more common than pioneer advantage.

Apparently, the businesses that have moved in first to capture a market have seen themselves being overtaken by the band of followers. The approach suggested is that if you have to move first in the market, it might be wiser to attack the mass market as it will provide a return. Case in point being Apple iPod. For businesses focussed on a profitable niche, the only future lies in becoming a trophy in someone's cupboard. Plenty of examples abound and Ferrari-Fiat relation is a perfect example of this. For any entrepreneur or growing business, you should focus on the ability to offer your product/services to a wider market if you are the first one in the market.

If you are interested in reading the book, it is available from Amazon..
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Vision-Latecomers-Dominate-Markets/dp/007137549X