Nobody remembers the second person who climbed Mt. Everest or set foot on moon. Why? Because we have a culture in which only the pioneers are revered. Everyone is in a hustle to get that one sacred spot on top. 21st century companies are no different than the humans in this endeavor. They crave to become the pioneers in their respective fields even though it comes at a huge cost and risk. But is that the only way to enter a market? The answer is no! The good news is that late market entrants can also make substantial profits and at times outperform pioneers with right set of marketing strategies at hand. Let’s dig deeper into these strategies.
Penetration pricing is one of the classic strategies used by the late entrants while entering an already cluttered market. The prices are set lower than those of incumbents to attract the customers. This pricing mechanism assumes that the customers will switch to the new offerings if the price is low. Take Xiaomi for that matter. This upstart Chinese electronic company has been successfully selling smart phones in the highly competitive Indian market. Apart from their innovative distribution strategy and low cost of production, their pricing is one of the main reasons for the success. Xiaomi phones are comparatively cheaper than any other smart phone with the similar features. With this strategy, they have managed to taste success in the market, and will most likely follow up with high end products once a brand name gets established. They have been able to identify the gap i.e. non availability of an affordable smart phone with the features of a high class smart phone. This brings us to the next late entrant strategy.
No matter how good or successful a product or a service is, there is always a scope for improvement. This is mantra of the late market entrants. By identifying the gaps in the current offerings of the pioneers, some of the companies have been able to differentiate their offerings to gain the market share. The Indian truck market was dominated by companies like Ashok Leyland and Tata before Volvo entered. Leyland and Tata trucks used to take around 6 days to travel from Bangalore to Delhi, were uncomfortable, difficult to drive and maneuver, and had reliability issues. Volvo cleverly identified this gap and came up with trucks though more expensive, adopted a value based pricing strategy, and pitched on total cost of ownership, business benefits over the long term (like more load carrying capacity, lesser inventory on road, higher safely and comfort for drivers, reliability and 24 hour service by Volvo). Leveraging existing gaps, and educating consumers on long term benefits, Volvo has successfully managed to enter the market with high priced products.
Niche marketing is another strategy followed by the late entrants. A peculiar segment of the market is targeted which is unexploited by any other players. The rise of specialty hospitals and Montessori schools are some examples of niche marketing. Chobani yoghurt which entered US market 9 years later than the pioneer Fage total yoghurt has been tremendously successful because of niche marketing. Unlike other strategies, niche marketing strategy doesn’t require “demand generation”. The demand is already there, only the identification and exploitation of the demand with the correct offerings is required.
Therefore, when presented with opportunities to enter a new market, companies need to take a step back and evaluate their options before taking the leap. After all, it’s not about grabbing the first position but rather about making more profits and establishing a brand, and being in business for the long haul.
Ajita Poudel
Young Dolphin Fellowship