Pioneers and Market Leaders - Term Paper Example

PIONEERS AND MARKET LEADERS Name: Instructor: Course: Institutional: Date: Pioneers and market leaders Introduction Definition of market leaders By definition, a market leader is an organization or a company that possesses a large share in the market in an industry and in one way or the other can employ its dominance to influence the competitive direction and landscape the market takes (Christensen, 2011, 22) Additionally, market leaders may be at one point be the first to establish a product in the market and this gives them an edge in messaging , engrained in the public eye as a brand and define the ideal market product characteristics (Narayanan 2001 103). Definition of pioneer businesses Pioneer businesses basically mean the business company that helped create establish or develop a business idea, methods and techniques. In other words, they are basically businesses that are among the first to establish their roots on a new area of investment (Academy of Marketing Science, Sharma & Borna, 2015, 33). Breaking down the difference between a market leader and a pioneer in the market A market leader may as well enter into the market as a competitor, differentiate and offer unique products and in the process, obtain the largest share in the market at one point by aggressively marketing its product version whereas a pioneer in the business comes up with the new product idea (Academy of Marketing Science, Sharma & Borna, 2015, 33). Market leaders invest heavily in product development and market research by using consumer information to establish and develop characteristics that update a product that exists while pioneers invest heavily in developing new techniques of a product that may not be existing. Examples of market leaders that ended up dominating their niche Rather than trying to impress the masses, when in one way or the other you narrowly concentrate you business to be attractive to a certain segment, a business benefits in a number of ways; premium prices, the opportunity to become the leading company in your operational niche as well as lower costs in acquiring consumers (Shenkar 2010, 77). In other words, those organizations that comprehend the power of specializing power are thriving. Some of the market leaders that have ended up being successful are as listed below; Blackbaud Business organizations have a number of options as far as accounting software’s is concerned. Quickbooks, Freshbooks, Sage and MYOB are all successful business in this market (Mohr, Sengupta, & Slater, 2010, 15). Additionally, it seems difficult to be successful bearing in mind all the completion that is involved (Academy of Marketing Science, Sharma & Borna, 2015, 33). However, Blackbaud has realized success with an average growth rate of its revenue exceeding15 % in the past 10 years. In this case, Blackbaud has been able to penetrate as a market leader just by focusing on one consumer segment with unique needs which basically are nonprofit organizations (Christensen, 2011, 20). By so saying, it means that, Blackbaud offers software solutions and accounting solutions to NPOs since their needs are not usually met by the Standard Accounting Software. Ties.com It is acceptable to note that, there is no shortage of retailers selling their clothes online. For example, clothes can be bought at Amazon, the Gap or the Zappos. However Ties.com has witnessed success by concentrating on one clothing item. In other words, specializing in ties alone gives them an upper hand in offering the largest neckwear selection globally (Shenkar 2010, 77). But so saying, it means that as much as there are a number of places clothes can be obtained, Ties.com has established itself as a market leader as far as unique ties are concerned. Apple It can sometimes become challenging to classify tech giant Apple as one of the companies that specializes. Additionally, after all, it was at one point the most valuable company globally. Surprisingly, it has remained as a market leader since it has other small share companies in its operational market as compared to its competitors. Ford Corporation versus GM motors Ford was basically the first successful company as far as mass produced car in the history of the United States. Additionally, in the year 1921, it sold approximately 900,000 Model Ts for sixty percent of the market share than the General Mortars 61000 Chevy’s which 6 percent of the market share is basically (Christensen, 2011, 25). However, over a span of 10 years as Ford Corporation concentrated on cost reduction strategy, GM established differentiated and a diverse product line. Owing to this, in the year 1931, 31 % of the market share was enjoyed by GM motors as compared to Ford’s 28% a market lead it has never experienced. In other words, the instability in the market has caused Ford to be overtaken by GM as the market leader. Lehman’s Lehman’s specializes in selling old-fashioned, non-electric tools and appliances globally. Additionally they are employed in remote areas by groups such as the hunters, fishermen, environmentalists, homesteaders. Moreover, their products are employed by designers of Hollywood looking for a very accurate historical material. In other words, Lehman established itself as a market leader by focusing on a certain group of individuals or rather core customers known as the Amish (Shenkar 2010, 70). By so doing, this specialization strategy had been a driving force in the market industry for over fifty years now. Volvo Trucks Volvo has developed to establish itself as one of the most renowned heavy duty truck manufacturers and has employed over 19000 individuals across the world. Additionally, they achieved this position by producing trucks of high quality as well as mastering the art of content marketing. Examples of market leaders and pioneers that ended up as failures It is universally accepted that statistically, approximately 50 percent end up as failures within the fits five years of inception. Additionally, a number of them start well and even establish themselves as market leaders but in one way or the other they crash with equal fanfare. Some of the examples in history include the following (Haig 2005, 33) DeLorean Motor Company As it is the case normally in the automobile industry, it’s very difficult to disconnect the man from the motor vehicle. In other words, John DeLorean was basically a hero as far as the rich were concerned since he invented the kind of a car in the automobile industry that the future promised (Narayanan 2001 103). However, after being caught on tape with a suitcase full of drugs and for defrauding his partners, he lost the investors trust hence ending up failing tremendously. Commodore computers Between the years 1983-1986, IBM, Apple, and Atari computers were struggling owing to the fact that Commodore 64 was doing well and dominated approximately over 50 percent of the market share. After trying to replace their old C64 with commodore plus/4, they lost a number of its loyal customers hence ending up as failures. Bethlehem steel It was universally recognized as the market leader of the first blasting furnace, skyscrapers, railroads, warships, nuclear reactors cargo vessels, as well as, other large accomplishments as far as infrastructure is concerned (Christensen, 2011, 25). However, the company failed to adjust to the introduction of the new service-based economy that emanated in the 1990s.In other words, cheap imports made the situation worse and in the end, the company disappeared due to bankruptcy in the year 2001 (Narayanan 2001 100). Washington mutual bank (WAMU) WAMU was America’s loan association and savings and the sixth largest serving bank in the United States and on the negative note, the largest bank down fall in American history (Shimasaki, 2014, 13). By way of explanation, after a run of withdrawals in 10 days in excess of 10 % of the bank deposits which made the FDIC to seize the assets of WaMu. In this case, its subsidiaries were purchased by JPMorgan Chase for pennies on the dollar (Narayanan 2001 103). Edison Records It’s accepted that it is difficult being the first. Additionally, Thomas Edison was the first founder of a record company and in the process invented the phonograph which is basically a first device for playback and recording of sound in the year 1877 (Moore, 2014, 53).However, World War 1 reduced the supply of materials that Edison employed for his secret wax recipe that was basically used in manufacturing and in the process, the market share of the company. Furthermore, while other companies enjoyed the opportunity of Dictaphone employment in businesses, an Edison labs invention lost its loyal customers and eventually closed in the year 1929 (Narayanan 2001 103). SwissAir The SwissAir is the former Switzerland’s national airline that used to be financially stable such that it was known by the name Flying Bank. Additionally, SwissAir was the market leader in the international transportation up until the late 1990’s when the airlines board made a decision to follow an aggressive acquisition and borrowing policy known by the name Hunter strategy. Moreover, the terror attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 affected the company’s plans hence making it highly indebted. In other words, it could not handle the debt burden and in the year 2002, mismanagement and bad ideas made Swissair to lose its brand as a national icon. Factors and characteristics that make pioneers and market leaders to end up being successful It is universally accepted that maintaining a dominant market share needs a company to not only focus on its existing customers through brand loyalty, but in one way or the other attract new clients and customers who may not have heard of the product in question before (Moore, 2014, 56). By so saying, it means that, those companies that can be able to maintain their loyal customers while at the same time attract the customers of their competitors through clear identification of consumer pain points such as cost and quality of the products and services, marketing their brand name through this consumer pain points (Christensen, 2011, 25). For instance, a computer company may reduce its prices to put much needed pressure on its competitors and by so doing, they can be in one way or the other trying to remove or rather price its competitor out of the product market even if this strategy will lead to short-term losses (Madrigal 2011, 33). Historically, the benefit of being a pioneer in the market depends heavily on the initial results the customer, capabilities (Academy of Marketing Science, Sharma & Borna, 2015, 33). Additionally, those companies that succeeded as pioneers achieved through a number of ways which include; establishing new products, market evaluations and venturing into new products and by developing new product processes and differentiation (Christensen, 2011, 22). By way of explanation, pioneer companies who have ended up successful in the market always establish new market demands as far as their products are concerned and in one way or the other continue to satisfy that demand as fast as they can so as to ensure that other companies may not enter the same market .Moreover, first-move advantage by this companies has also been achieved through price changes, new advertising campaigns and invention of new distribution channels and techniques (Moore, 2014, 53). In all this cases, the choice of a company remaining as a pioneer or a follower in the market needs to be incorporated in the company’s strategic plan which should be fully supported by a focused or a broad differentiation strategy. Factors and characteristics that make market leaders and pioneers to end up as failures Pioneers tend to establish their idea without fully comprehending consumer demands and the product characteristics that help solve those problems (Christensen, 2011, 26). Additionally, their guese at the models of their businesses and then resort to premature aggressive and loud Public Relations excitement as well as early company launches and they end up burning through their cash quickly. In this case, those companies that acts as followers in the market end up beating the pioneer companies since they study their weaknesses and end up differentiating their products to suit customer needs and demands (Moore, 2014, 56). Conclusions Excessive borrowing, mismanagement and failing to adjust to the economic cycles can in one way or the make a business to incur loses beyond their holding capacity. When this happens, most businesses and market leaders end up resorting to some meaningless solutions and strategies that ends up affecting the operation of the business in the long term (Christensen, 2011, 22). However, those businesses that have cultivated the art of content and market analysis, product differentiation, and focusing on a certain group of customers have ended up establishing themselves as market leaders for many years now. In most case, those market leaders are not necessarily the pioneers of the business idea but they end up successful because they are sable to analyze the consumer demands and provide products that clearly suits the consumer’s tastes and preferences. References ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE, SHARMA, D., & BORNA, S. (2015). Proceedings of the 2007 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference: Coral Gables, FL, May 23-26, 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&A N=899260. CHRISTENSEN, C. M. 2011. The innovator's dilemma: the revolutionary book that will change the way you do business. FRANK, M., ROEHRIG, P., & PRING, B. (2014). Code halos: how the digital lives of people, things, and organizations are changing the rules of business. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=63495. HAIG, M. (2005). Brand failures: the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time. London, Kogan page. MADRIGAL, A. (2011). Powering the dream the history and promise of green technology. Cambridge, MA, Da Capo Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=679942. MOHR, J. J., SENGUPTA, S., & SLATER, S. F. (2010). Marketing of high-technology products and innovations. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. MOORE, G. A. (2014). Crossing the chasm marketing and selling technology project. [S.l.], HarperCollins e-Books. http://rbdigital.oneclickdigital.com. NARAYANAN, V. K. (2001). Managing technology and innovation for competitive advantage. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. SHENKAR, O. (2010). Copycats: how smart companies use imitation to gain a strategic edge. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&A N=674980. SHIMASAKI, C. D. (2014). Biotechnology entrepreneurship: starting, managing, and leading biotech companies. http://lib.myilibrary.com?id=589159. Read More