| Mar. 08 2007 at 7:33 AM |
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Seth's statement about disregarding the competition is particularly interesting I think - what's your take on how much or how little to factor in competitive moves in guiding your business?
chuck fuller
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| Mar. 08 2007 at 10:21 AM |
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I’m not a business owner - But! Intuitively speaking , concentrating too much on the competition can thwart/impede forward thinking creativity. Which is not unlike being in a race and staring sideways, or backwards too often . I personally think a business owner should consider him/herself the competition, I.e., “how can I outperform myself”. As an inventor, the hardest obstacle to overcome is to “out-invent” my own creation, so that it cannot be circum-invented or outperformed both “legally” and “conceptually”.
Edited by: Rumpelstiltskin - Mar. 08 2007 at 10:31 AM
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| Mar. 08 2007 at 11:53 AM |
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Rumpelstiltskin... I second that.
Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words
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| Mar. 08 2007 at 12:17 PM |
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With only 13 mill worth of sales the "competition" is non-existing for him, he is still to small to worry about what the CocaCola company or Pepsi will do. He is targeting a niche market that is unsatisfied with the mass market products. So, not worrying about the competition is the right thing to do (for him).
If however, say Target was to not worry about Wal*Mart dropping the price of toys during (not after) the Xmas season as they did last year, that would likely spell disaster for them. In order to remain competitive they too dropped their prices the next business day, this tells you that they are very much in tune with what the competition does, as it should be.
Cleanliness the Mark of Elegance
www.DelColl.com
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| Mar. 08 2007 at 1:05 PM |
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Having helped several boutique food and beverage brands launch their
products, I agree with Seth's statement. Concentrating on what makes your
product or service unique and better is most important. No amount of pretty
graphics or branding will hide a bad or mediocre product. But if you have
something unique and great, the right brand message will only enhance your
marketshare. If you focus too much on your competition, you are bound to
lose focus on your own product and will be eventually become an imitator
that is reactionary rather than innovator. Method Home is great example of a
boutique brand that zigged left while everyone was going right and has
found success even going into the mainstream markets such as Target or
even my local supermarket.Mary Hutchison Design LLC
design + strategy + counsel
206.407.3460
info@maryhutchisondesign.com
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| Mar. 09 2007 at 1:30 AM |
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Concentrating on anything to the exclusion of your own life is foolish.
We should concentrate on what we're doing, but be cognizant of the
surrounding world.
Some of this idea speaks to the "looking for simplistic answers" trend
taking place increasingly these days. There's no "magic bullet," that
if you do this you'll guarantee success.
Funny how that "all things in moderation" platitude still seems to work, all these years later. :-)
I do understand the implied point of the guiding principle, though.
What he's essentially saying, albeit using words that muddle the
thought, is that if you allow the market to drive your reason for
being, you'll likely be either very unhappy, or go out of business.
In the music business there are "copy bands," and original music bands.
The copy (or cover) bands play only popular hits, well-known by
everyone. They're the typical "lounge lizards," and bands you see in
the background of movies and TV shows. Meaningless, in other words,
excepting as organized noise.
Those bands often have no identity, as the main criteria for their
playlist is the popularity on the charts. Suppose an original band
tried this same concept? They would write a song, play it, then survey
the audience as to how popular it was. People would like it or not, and
say it didn't sound like anything they already knew.
If the original band started modifying their songs to fit ever more
closely what's already out there, it wouldn't be long before they
turned into a copy band. Does that mean the original band pays NO
attention to the copy bands? Of course not!
In fact, by knowing what the competition is doing, the truly original
person always has a way to determine the measure of their originality.
Edited by: CraigL - Mar. 09 2007 at 1:35 AMCraig Landes
---
Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown
International Society of Curmudgeons
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| Mar. 12 2007 at 1:58 PM |
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Seth Goldman makes some strong points in this article.
Cornell University has a project called eClips which captures digital video clips from interviews with entrepreneurs and business experts. eClips has content from Seth Goldman where he makes many of the same points.
If you are interested in hearing Seth Goldman speak, you can access the eClips site at http://eclips.cornell.edu. Registration to the site is free.
- Kirsten Barker
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| Mar. 12 2007 at 5:27 PM |
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I totally agree that put much on the what the competition is doing is not wise. There is a need to be aware of what the competition is up to but to make them a focus is counterproductive. You cannot effectively create a brand identity if your identity is based on what the competition is doing. An entrepreneur must be creative,daring, knowledgeable, determined and confident.
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