Almost every industry has its Goliath – its Walmart, its Amazon, its Home Depot. And once a Goliath emerges, challenger brands generally react in one of two ways: Fatalistic resignation or invigorated creativity.
This morning, NPR ran this piece about New York City’s Posman Books, the rare independent bookseller that’s actually growing. They’re doing it by tailoring each store to the needs of its consumers. The Grand Central store is very different from the Chelsea location.
Posman Books has clearly chosen the creative path, and they’re reaping the rewards. In every market you can name, challenger brands are growing by focusing on a cohesive few, not a disparate many.
If you’re facing Goliath of your own, this kind of niche marketing illustrates an important principle:
Serve some consumers better than your competition, and you may have a path to victory.
And, its corollary: Doing the same things as your competitors (with fewer resources) is a sure path to extinction.
About Matthew Fenton: Matthew helps challenger brands to focus, grow and win. Since founding his consultancy, Three Deuce Branding, in 1997, he’s helped hundreds of brands to achieve “brand clarity.” His consulting services and speaking engagements help brands to focus on what matters through positioning, strategy and ideation. Contact Matthew here. He calls Chicago home.
Copyright 2014 – Matthew Fenton. All Rights Reserved. You may reprint this article with the original, unedited text intact, including the About Matthew Fenton section.
