Week 3 Blog (February 1, 2012)
-Discuss the pros and cons of "first mover advantage" and your position on whether being the first mover is an advantage.
First Mover Advantage can be a good thing if your plan is well developed and you can hit the ground running. It allows you to build a loyal customer base and get them accustomed to your product and style. Once invested in your product, it will be less desirable for your customers to start over with a new product line and 'waste' all the original capitol they invested in your product. An example would be, once you own a PC and have made substantial investments in the product, it's hard to justify switching to the Apple product line since little if any of your PC hardware will be compatible with Apple.
However, if you are not sufficiently prepared to launch a new product to market and delight your customers, it can easily become a springboard for your competition to take your idea and refine it into a better product, thus essentially stealing the market out from under you.
I have been thinking about FMA from the eyes of companies themselves with little thought of a customer's investment, both financially and mentally. I know for me, as a customer and sometimes first adopter, a user interface that makes me happy is usually enough to make me loyal.
ReplyDeleteI do fall into the category of sticking with one type of product because I've already made substantial investments. I think because of this reason is why I am a believer in the first mover advantage. It would take a substantial improvement or innovation for a fast follower to make me sway towards their new product or service. I agree that cost is a big factor when entering a new market, whether you're the first mover or new to the segment. But, I think that by having a good marketing strategy and are pursuing product spin-offs for diversification, the first mover can have the advantage.
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