Be Number One
Posted by Rick Ellis on March 28, 2008 Permalink
One of my favorite business sayings is: If you can’t be number one in your market, redefine your market.
Whatever your category of business, if you are not in the top one (or maybe two) positions, you need to define a new category in which you can be number one. If you have small market share and you’re battling against a much larger competitor, instead of a better marketing strategy, you need a better category.
Jack Welch, the ex-CEO of General Electric, who is considered to be one of the best CEOs ever, insisted that every single product under the GE brand had to either be number one or number two in its respective market, or he would either kill the product or find different management. During his tenure, Welch grew GE from 14 billion to over 400 billion.
I’ve always tried to apply that rule to my own business. My goal for ExpressionEngine, for example, has always been to develop a it as publishing system that bridges the gap between a simple-to-use blogging tool and a full-featured content management system. There are lots of blogging tools on the market, but none of them have the power to meet the intense site requirements that EE can. And lots of CMSs, but none with the ease of use of a blogging tool or EE. Expressionengine is singular in that category. We are number one.
This rule doesn’t only apply to product businesses. Are you a web designer or developer? It’s critical that you find a category that lets you occupy a unique position in the minds of your customers. Don’t spend your energy battling for customers in a saturated market, and against other firms with no discernible difference. Figure out what you can be number one in, and shout it from the rooftops.
