ZAG: The Number-One Strategy of High-Performance Brands

The Dynamics of Different and Good

For most companies, the problem with radical differentiation is the “radical” part. If nobody’s doing it, you’d be crazy to do it yourself, right? Wrong. In fact, if you’re looking to become the leader in a new market space, the rule is just the opposite. If ANYBODY’S doing it, you’d be crazy to do it yourself. You can’t be a leader by following the leader. Instead, you have to find the spaces between the fielders. You have to find a zag.

What stops most companies from zagging is the cloud of uncertainty that follows innovation. In an effort to remove the cloud, marketers often conduct focus groups, which, while helpful in some situations, are notably unhelpful for encouraging innovation. This is because radical ...