The Competition You Don’t See

The Competition You Don’t See

How unseen barriers shape outcomes more than named rivals How Competition Is Typically Understood Senior leaders are trained to think about competition in concrete terms: named competitors, market share shifts, pricing pressure, regulatory change, or new entrants....
Re-post: How Trader Joe’s Wins by Getting “Everything Wrong”

Re-post: How Trader Joe’s Wins by Getting “Everything Wrong”

We’ve advised clients on many of the strategies Trader Joe’s deliberately ignored, including loyalty programs, app integrations and carefully timed promotions. And yet, by doing the opposite, Trader Joe’s turned those choices into a $16 billion empire and a fiercely...
When the search for “new” distracts from the disciplines that actually drive competitive advantage

When the search for “new” distracts from the disciplines that actually drive competitive advantage

The question may not be verbatim, but executives often ask us for solutions that are “New and different” in marketing in their sectors. It typically emerges when performance appears to plateau or competitors seem to be advancing. While reasonable, the question rests...