The New Power Base Selling: Master The Politics, Create Unexpected Value and Higher Margins, and Outsmart the Competition

When You Have a Category Killer Product

Traditional Sources

We also see people who are selling a truly unique item that is a category killer employ the Direct strategy. These are products whose launch creates an entirely new market. Companies that sell these innovative products use their first mover advantage and brand identity to keep competitors at bay initially, which allows them to build significant market share. Examples of such products include:

• Google’s Internet advertising and search offering
• Oracle’s relational database
• Microsoft’s personal computer Windows operating system and Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Apple’s iPod, iPhone, and iPad—and before that, the Sony Walkman

Sometimes, category killer products transform their companies’ name into verbs, such as, “Could you please Xerox the form for me?” or “Just Google it if you need driving directions.” A company’s name slips into general usage when at some point their product is seen as having exclusive ownership of the market. Although it may only be a matter of perception, the fact remains that while these perceptions exist, these companies enjoy an enormous competitive advantage. There is no better type of product superiority like being perceived to be the only game in town. But how often is this really the case? Other suppliers eventually catch up, making this strategy increasingly less successful for most sellers.

Nontraditional Sources

The traditional perspective focuses on physical product superiority, ...