Defensibility? Go earn it.
“What is defensible about this concept?”
“Are there any opportunities to patent something technical about it and make it defensible?”
This was the rather sad discussion I had recently regarding a concept I’m pitching at Citi. It’s unfortunate that managers at companies are thinking this way about innovative new business ideas (and this guy was young, which made it even more saddo).
The notion that you enter the market with competitive advantage rather than earning it is a complete nonevent in the new consumer space. Investment capital is flowing and accessible. Technology can be matched at breathtaking speed leaving parity on that capability level. This leaves only the thorny arena of execution to differentiate oneself.
Dead set in the center of the execution is customer experience. More products have continued the shift to a service paradigm and consumers are more willing to seek out the quality experiences because can sort through overchoice with ever greater efficiency online. The same connectivity gives consumers the ability to take a superior experience and market it for you with their endorsement. It also gives the opportunity for the most vociferous customers: those who have not been satisfied. They will start blogs, post scathing reviews, hold group Skype chats and generally ruin the reputation of a business.
Brilliant customer experience is your defensibility and competitive advantage.
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