Share of Which Market?
Wed, 2009-07-29 17:27 — Sat Duggal
http://www.emmgroup.net/organic-growth-blog/share-which-market

Very interesting article:

"In our quest for organic growth, we can often be our
own worst enemy. In the development of a win share strategy one of the most
obvious, critical but often neglected question is – what market are we trying to
get an additional share of? When marketers or executives are asked this question
their response is usually formed on the basis of their product or service
category i.e. we are in the credit card market, the market for inventory finance
or the market for car audio systems. Sometimes this is even taken to the next
level by adding entry-level, mid-range, premium and super-premium labels before
the product/service category.

This can be a real issue in the development of the strategy because it limits the ideas and solutions to the possibilities of today’s products and services. It is very difficult to craft unique innovations when you and your competitors are tweaking today’s products and services. It is very difficult to invent the next mini-van or iPod when you set off to win share in the mid-level family sedan or Walkman/Discman market.

Breakthrough innovations come from a fresh assumption-breaking definition of what market we belong in. The basis for the market definition should not be on what we sell but what the customer needs. The true basis of a market definition is our customers and how they meet their needs by considering various alternatives."