Timing is everything for the fast-follower.

I’m in graduate school at Rockhurst University.  This summer I’m taking a marketing class in which we use a marketing simulation. This simulation is used to teach the value of marketing, brand development and market research.  In our class we were split into 2 “games” of 4 teams that consisted of 3 players per team.

My group, which is by far the coolest, has really taken a lot from this class.  Probably one of the most important concepts is the idea of the “fast-follower”.  In this class, we were the fast follower.  We paid attention to what our competitors did in each quarter and “reverse-engineered” the decisions that worked for them.  In particular, in the 5th quarter, we blatantly copied another teams best brand design.  We changed the name just like an overseas knock-off company would.  Their brand was “Creator” our brand was “Kreator”.  That quarter our Kreator was the highest profit brand we had.  It took some time before we could see the affect that our decision made on the simulation economy.

Outside of class, this was an even more serious realization.  The small company I own, and the small company that I work for need to be aware of the competition.  It would be really easy for another company to take a look at our website and get an idea of how to “reverse-engineer” what we are doing.

One of the goals of a company should be constant improvement.  It’s very easy for a company to design a product and lose enthusiasm when the product is doing well.  This is unacceptable.

Another goal of a company should be proper timing.  A great idea is not enough.  If the company doesn’t have the energy for marketing and sales it shouldn’t expose it’s ideas to the competition.  If a competitor does have the energy for marketing and sales, and has enough energy to reverse-engineer the idea, there is nothing stopping them from becoming the market leader.

Before making business decisions, keep in mind the fast-followers that might be in your industry.  Make sure you have the energy to stay competitive before you enter the market.