What We Can Learn About Competition from Zuck and the Launch of Threads
I can’t tell you how many times someone who wants to start a business has come to me and said, “I can’t start this business, someone is already doing it.”
But my answer is that “it’s a good sign, because it proves there are customers.”
Being the first into a space, (first mover advantage in MBA speak), is often called out as a game changer in terms of winning in a competitive space. But the companies we hold up as the biggest innovators in a space today usually weren’t the first to market.
Spotify was not the first music streaming service.
Zoom was not the first virtual meeting platform.
Tesla was not the first fully electric car.
In fact there’s a whole business strategy about waiting for another company to go first and develop the market, letting them work out a bunch of the early problems, and then jumping in to participate.
Which brings me to Facebook. They were not the first social network. They were not the first messaging app. And with Threads, they are straight-up copying Twitter. Are they going to solve all the Facebook problems and all the Twitter problems with the new app? Probably not. But are they going to give a frustrated community an alternative? Absolutely.
But what does that have to do with you and your small business? I think even though these are huge companies, they show us on the big stage why you shouldn’t worry so much if you find someone else doing what you’re doing. In fact, maybe you could shift your concern to confidence.
Here are a few things you might think about if you’re holding back launching your company, product or service because you’ve seen someone else doing it:
Competition means that there are people willing to pay for what you’re selling. (Cha ching!) This should give you confidence that you can find customers.
Competition means you don’t have to explain how your product or service works or why people need it. This should give you confidence that you won’t have to spend a lot of marketing dollars helping people figure out they have a problem. (Were you actively seeking a paper towel that picked up spills faster until Bounty told us other paper towels had a problem?)
Competition means that there are potentially plenty of customers out there if you do it better, faster or just different. Your voice is unique. Challenge yourself to find confidence using your experience and talents to put your own spin on things.
So yes, go ahead and do your competitive analysis. Find out what everyone else is doing well, where they might be falling short and what kind of messaging they are sending their customers. When you find out where there’s a gap that you can fill with your strengths, that’s where you start building your business.
