Rethinking Your Strategic Advantage: Why A Great Product Or Service Is Not Enough

You have a great product, and you know how to sell. Unfortunately, a great product alone and knowing how to sell it do not guarantee success in business. A study from the Journal of Marketing Research reveals that of almost 9,000 new products that achieved wide distribution at a national retailer, only 40% of them remained on the shelves just three years later.

Why is a great product not enough to thrive in today’s market?

You cannot compete with only the product you sell because someone will eventually copy it and sell it for a cheaper price (and potentially do it better). This is especially true in the digital era where your competitors can easily find ways to steal your market share.

You still need to have an amazing product, but what every successful entrepreneur recognizes is the fact that to thrive in today’s market you must pay attention to the entire customer lifecycle, from the point of awareness to when customers follow-up and repurchase.

In addition, your product must be found by people who are interested in it. Your follow-up service and support should be excellent. In short, you must see to it that your customers have a fantastic experience at every stage of their customer…