Everyone remembers the cunning playground rhyme “First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the hairy chest” – or whatever other variation you may have encountered at your elementary school.
But there is some truth in this little jingle. In marketing being ‘first-to-market’ is a great positioning and messaging tactic in a go-to-market strategy. This displays a company’s innovative spirit and drive to enter new frontiers. The advantages are brand awareness and locking users into your product. That being said, if a product is sub par being first-to-market can’t save a drowning ship.
At my current job I’m dealing with a crowded competitive market with one product in particular suddenly emerging as a serious threat. While this company has a similar mission they are failing on many fronts. This got me thinking, being first-to-market really isn’t everything.
Reasons being second-to-market is best:
Increase innovation
When you fill in a niche in the market there is a chance to get comfortable. This happened to Sony who dominated the personal music market with the infamous walkman but were so engrossed by the Beastie Boys they didn’t see the iPod coming until it was too late.
Chance to learn
Being second means you get to see what Mr. First-to-market does right and even more importantly what goes wrong. It’s a valuable chance to learn what the market wants without tainting your brand in the process.
Money saver
This coincides with the concept of learning from mistakes of your predecessor but one of the best advantages is you can save some money not making silly mistakes. And every dollar counts in the startup world.
Powering On 