Become Your Own Competitor
03:48pm MST, 18 Dec 2006

I've believed for a while in the strategy of becoming your own competitor. Think, "if I wanted to create a new brand to compete with my company's brand, what would I do?" And then do it.

Shortly after we founded Studio 88 Swing, I became aware to what degree our company was developing a clear brand. That's a good thing: it's much better to become known for your appeal to a specific market segment. We became known for our party-oriented atmosphere, for fun teaching methods, spectacular performances, and a competitive, driven attitude. We were also known as a more "French" school than our closest "competitor."

However, our branding was so effective that it kept some people away and even overshadowed some of our other strengths. We lost some potential customers who wanted a quieter approach, who were uninterested or even intimidated by the idea of performance; we also lost many English-speaking customers. The fact is, it wasn't even a matter of significant differentiation. We had many quiet non-competitive people enjoying our classes. The thing is, when people don't know who to choose, they look for any point of differentiation in order to make a confident choice. So essentially, with all the hundreds of students our company attracted, we were still losing some prospects that would have enjoyed our offerings, because of our branding.

While the subject was discussed, S88S never explored this multi-brand approach. We could have opened a second school with a branding focused on a quieter, possibly more artistic or even "geeky" clientele or focusing on students who preferred a more intense, quasi-academic approach. We could have used a sub-branding approach, opening a Studio 88 Swing Academy for serious dancers with past experience, and say a school called S88S: Lindy Hop Heaven oriented towards English-speaking people or S88S: Jazz Avenue for the artsy and music geek set, for example. Instead some of our potential customers either went elsewhere or changed their minds about lessons. Fortunately, many decided to try us out anyways and were happy they did.

What S88S is currently doing is a limited version of this approach through the soirees they co-run. Tuesday nights at the Petit Medley attract a strong base of university students and young professionals with the great atmosphere. Saturday nights at the Jazz Hot attract an older and more corporate clientele. Yet people who become interested in dancing through either venue, end up coming to the same place to learn: S88S.

Even better, I like what the SAQ has done in Quebec. They're the only legitimate liquor sellers in Quebec (government-owned) and yet they've been smart enough to turn into their own "competitors" by creating sub-brands of their stores. You go to SAQ Selection for the widest variety; SAQ Express for a place that's open late; and SAQ Signature for expensive yuppy stuff. Sure, it's not like they're creating totally new brands, but they're essentially saying, "how would a competitor differentiate their store from ours if we had competitors?" and then doing just that.

Procter and Gamble have been known for this for many years. They have no problem setting two of their own brands against each other. If one brand wins or the other, either way, they win.

That's why I think Kathy Sierra's right on the money when she says "become the thing that replaces you." Don't wait for someone else to become the next big thing in the market you've established--become your own successor. When your potential new customers have to decide between "old you" and "new you," either way you win. - B.

References

• SAQ offerings
• Kathy Sierra's Become the Thing That Replaces You
• Seth Godin on Appealing to customers who know nothing about your industry

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