Challenge Closed
What is an innovative strategy / initiative you have seen a company use who was facing a new competitive entrant with a similar, low-cost product offering?
November 15th 2023 @ 23:59 PM EST
Challenge
FAQ
Here was the background of the challenge.
A leading, multi-national company will soon be facing competition from several, low-cost copycat suppliers for one of their flagship brands. For years, the company has relied on their product to fuel its growth and the brand has been established as a gold standard in their category.
The company now finds itself pitted against a wave of new, low-cost copycat suppliers who will enter the market with a similar product. These competitors will likely take an aggressive pricing approach, posing a direct threat to their traditional customer base. The company expects that key customers, enticed by lower prices, will increasingly consider these alternatives, making it imperative for the company to start actively planning now.
FAQ
What is this all about?
What is in it for you?
How do I know if I have the expertise to participate?
What happens after I submit to the challenge?
How do I get involved with future challenges?
What is this all about?
We’re inviting our friends to spend a few minutes to think, problem solve and brainstorm. We are trying to “solve an unsolvable problem.” And the best way to solve intractable problems is to seek out insights and inspiration from clever people who don’t work day-to-day on these kinds of problems.
What is in it for you?
- It takes very little time
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- It’s a chance to practice your creative thinking
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How do I know if I have the expertise to participate?
We are looking for creative people who are skilled at spotting unexpected relationships and associations.* At the heart of it, we believe that people who see patterns, where others do not, are the secret ingredient to discovering new and better ways of doing things. Often times, the best solutions come from far outside the specific field of expertise.
What happens after I submit to the challenge?
All submissions will be reviewed when the challenge closes. All participants will be contacted directly by our team to share the winners. For this reason, please ensure that you provide correct and up to date contact details. Winning contributors will be contacted and an award will be sent.
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Back to the challenge details
Ideas from the community
Heinz 'Label of Truth'
Tesla's High-Voltage Hold
Enhancing Value Through Supplementary Services
Raise the Drawbridge
Fe Fi Fo Fios
Prime Time
You’ve got a friend in me!
Gather Diverse High Potential Leaders for Problem Solving
Superstar Company vs. Superstar Product
Customer - Quality - Winning...
Heinz 'Label of Truth'
Heinz created a Label of Truth that shows the exact Pantone reference color of Heinz ketchup so that consumers can trust that they are being served the right product. The scale measuring the color of ketchup ranges from "Heinz" to "Not Heinz" and "Is That Even Ketchup?" and Heinz bottles with the new control labels have been distributed to different restaurants across Turkey. As part of its fight against ketchup fraud, Heinz also created an Instagram filter for checking the color of Heinz ketchup.
3
Tesla's High-Voltage Hold
Tesla's Supercharging network. In the electric vehicle market, Tesla's extensive and fast-charging infrastructure has set them apart. By continuously expanding and enhancing the Supercharger network, Tesla has maintained its market share despite the emergence of cheaper electric vehicle alternatives. This competitive advantage showcases the power of infrastructure in retaining market dominance. This network reduces range anxiety for Tesla owners, boasts proprietary technology, and fosters brand loyalty. It's a game-changer, making long-distance travel convenient, and the exclusive compatibility with Tesla vehicles creates a strong lock-in effect.
2
Enhancing Value Through Supplementary Services
A pharmaceutical company faced challenges due to the influx of biosimilars in the market. To address this, they integrated a distinctive digital tool (personalized videos by Telesofia Medical) into their existing patient support program. This integration led to increased patient adherence, improved therapy persistence, and strengthened brand loyalty.
1
Raise the Drawbridge
As the established brand leader in the industry, "we" have a small amount of time in the market to secure our position. Before these entrants show up, go out into the market with an aggressive campaign to sign up customers to longer term supply contracts (based upon committed volumes) to secure our future volumes in the market, with incentives offered being offset by a reduction in future sales costs. This pushes new entrants into a much more limited market window, slowing their penetration rates and allowing us to directly counter their first moves into the market in a much more targeted way.
1
Fe Fi Fo Fios
Verizon Fios was in the marketplace and competitors like AT&T, DirectTV and Optimum were pushing hard to undercut their pricing with the same items, while providing access to different programming at a lower cost. To secure its base of customer, Fios created a special for its customers of a lifetime DVR system that was typically offered at an increased cost per month. The move allowed them to maintain customers at the monthly subscription while giving them a machine that where they could record their favorite shows and movies for a lifetime. So if you recorded your team winning the Super Bowl or World Series it would always be at your fingertips (until you cancelled your Fios subscription). The move to sacrifice a residual income of a device allowed Fios to create brand loyalty and increase their rates in other places in return for customers maintaining the nostalgia of their favorite programs (or at least the ability to have that option).
0
Prime Time
Another great example of a supplementary service that locks in consumers over an extended period is Amazon Prime. For a one-time fee per year, a consumer gets faster delivery, streaming access and other benefits, making it easier and much more enticing to go Amazon before other sellers.
0
You’ve got a friend in me!
Creating an emotional connection with consumers builds trust and and brand loyalty that can withstand lower price entrants. Disney and Delta, are good examples.
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Gather Diverse High Potential Leaders for Problem Solving
Engage in a deliberate leadership development & coaching program to prepare leaders for what's ahead - the challenges, the opportunities - and rally different people from across the org to collaborate on solutions -> not just the leadership team but high potential leaders from various parts of the org.
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Superstar Company vs. Superstar Product
During times like these, I've seen companies focus on WHY they are the better COMPANY to buy/partner with vs. solely focused on the WHY behind the product. If the product is truly best-in-class, than they can remind them of that quality but then also why they care more for the wellbeing of their employees, communities, supply chain or whatever. This increasingly matters more to consumer, particularly the younger ones (millennials, Zs, etc).
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Customer - Quality - Winning...
1. Elevate the focus on the customer experience - not just about the product but the end to end journey from discovery to purchase to delivery...and some times returns. 2. Quality differentiation - highlight the superior quality/feature set of your product. Many times the low cost offering cuts a corner or two. If the price delta is manageable then you remain well positioned. 3. Just look at the iPhone - at the end of the day its just a phone/text/web/app tool. There are lots of solid options that execute all these functions well but yet I still pay up for the iPhone....Why? superior user/customer experience and quality [as much perceived as reality]. Its also a 'status' product but I'm to old to care about that.
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Open Challenge
We encourage you to participate in our open challenge. Please see our active challenge below
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