“If You Ain’t First, You’re Last” – A Real Genius!

FYI: If you never saw Talladega Nights, the following will sound like either gibberish or gobbly gook!

This article is dedicated to a white trash loner who knew a thing or two about successful marketing strategies! Ok, he also knew about abandoning his responsibilities, and adopting some transient ways, but he definitely tried to introduce this once piece of sage advice into his son’s young, “perhaps” less-than-fragile mind (before he was hauled away in the back of a police cruiser [while kicking and screaming]): FIRST PLACE IS THE ONLY PLACE! Now, I hate to agree with anyone who’s most of the time hopped up on peyote, but this is the reality “cross” that all corporate entities (big or small, or anywhere in between) have to bear. Keep this in mind if you’re thinking about a start-up company!

Timing is everything if you want the fickle public to place you on a pedestal, and being the first to market would seem like a logical way to secure your dominance in the marketplace (if it doesn’t, someone needs to pick up a few marketing courses). Most of the time, the second guy is regarded as a copycat (as they should be) and are doomed to fail eventually.

There are three distinct advantages to being first in the minds of your consumers:

Consumer Impact. You will reap the reward of making a significant impression in the minds of potential consumers, which sets the standards for all others to follow (let them eat your dust, so to speak). With this upper-hand, you get to be in control of the new product’s characteristics, the methods of delivery, what to charge for it, etc. All of this combined will create a level of expectation that only you can progressively refine to strengthen your brand.

Name Recognition. You will experience exclusive name recognition during the initial stages of the product’s life (you will be the “go to” guy [or girl. sorry]). As long as you are able to maintain a strong market presence (by not hiring idiots and thieves) your name will continue to be identified with the product even after others have entered the same market (ex. Kleenex, Xerox, the Beer Belly).

Lack of Competition. This is an obvious one, but by being first you will secure exclusive market rights – at least for a little while (till others’ greedy lawyers can bend the rules). By leveraging your temporary position as the sole provider of this new product, you can make significant gains in the short term and plot a better strategy to remain competitive when the market gets crowded with wannabes.

Got there late, and someone else stole your great idea? Ok, well think about this then: if you’re not first in this category, make a new, kind of similar, one (which hasn’t been used before, dummy). If you know of the Leatherman corporation, you might also know that they weren’t the first company to bring a multi-tool to market (I think that honor goes to Victorinox, but I could be wrong). Did this stop them? No, they just added a heavy-duty set of pliers to their tools and “quickly” became the first in this newer category. Problem solved (BTW: Leatherman is a very, very successful company)!

Now go out and invent something new that I, as a consumer, can use, and let the money piles begin to stack up (note: be a “cool” boss and your employees will help you grow). Always remember this from here on out: If you have a great idea for a product, and don’t act on it first, I will jump on you like a spider monkey (another Talladega Nights reference, or fnytgnild5itfmmilt if you didn’t see this instant classic).

Oh yea, one more thing: SHAKE AND BAKE (I can’t believe that just happened!)!