Thinking about starting up or revving up a business, think carefully about how you are positioned in the market. From our perspective a business is not a business until you manage it as one, from the get go, you need to know where you stand in the market.
First mover – taking the high ground and holding it
Fast follower – moving in with a competitive point of difference
Late entrant – a category killer that changes the rules of the marketplace
Sure, branding research feeds into the development of the look and feel, but also, in capturing the connection to the customers hearts and minds, it will provide the business with guiding principles of how to invest in the building the business around customer needs.
To pull off the first mover, fast follower or late entrant positioning, you need to know how your brand stakes up in the customers current reality, how well are you placed to meet their needs? How are they managing today without you? How can you enter their world and their hearts and become their brand of choice?
First movers – A rare species in Australia, a brand that opens up a category. Atlassian software is one of our few and great home grown success stories.
Fast Follower – Plenty of these around, some brands do it better than others. Hearts and Minds helped NetRegistry in their transition from number 2 domain registration provider to number 1, transforming themselves from a technical solutions provider to business solutions provider.
Late Entrant – One has to have great admiration for the late entrant that has a customer promise so revolutionary they changed the rules of the game…hats off to Zara, the fast clothes company.
Louise Kelly
Managing Director
Hearts and Minds
Thought Leaders Circle 