Create a monopoly !
Now here is what I heard from Seth’s podcast (Startup School ) :
“Brilliant entrepreneurship is around figuring out that thing you can do in the marketplace that people are willing to cross the street to get. It’s so people understand, “This is the one and I need it.” And we’re going to keep coming back again, again, and again today to this idea of,
“What is it you’re going to have a monopoly on?”
In order for a startup to succeed and provide value to customers which is better than what they are getting, you need to have a monopoly w.r.t your product / offering. It doesn’t mean that you need to design a completely new product or technology never seen / heard before by them so that they atleast get interested to try and if find value , buy it. What it actually means is that whatever you do in your business, always try to create something unique for your customers which your competitors are not doing. It could be something minimal in your product that appeals to the audience , could be a new way to present / market your idea , could be the delivery model — business model innovation and the way you sell your product in the market or it could even be a strong consumer connect through pre and post sale experience. — Monopoly is required in order to be a succesful company. Hence it is very critical to evaluate the monopolistic area(s) associated with the overall delivery of your product to customer , stress on them and capitalize your profits riding on them. In a long run, when copy-cats come and deliver something similar at a lower price, it is again your time to act and differentiate through your brand / re-innovating some of the elements of product / business model and keep it going better w.r.t the competitor. You can’t just sit back relax after creating a monopoly in your offering, get a bunch of customer and be assured you are done for years. In this saturated marketplace with fast moving trends / events impacting our daily lives, you got to keep your ears and eyes open and keenly monitor what’s happening in your field and act quickly when called upon. Nice and easy huh !
