experience and grounding that will take
the other party quite some time to master.
Being number one in anything is hard
in the sense that you fall hard into the
pitfalls. If you are clever you only fall once
and you figure out a better route with zero
pits. You don’t focus on the money first,
you first build the company and cry as
your money gets blown away in the earlier
months. In the long run when newcomers
come into the market running helter
skelter not sure about the pitfalls, you will
have learnt from your mistakes and would
be cleverly dodging any bullets.
The advantage of setting up
favorable standards
The monopoly helps in a big way to build
a case for yourself. With the customers,
investors, partners and other people
interested in your company. Since it’s the
first of a kind the ones who are really in
are in with both their feet.
Even when it comes to regulation and tax
you are able to wiggle a little and get a
good deal mostly because there’s smaller
profit margins at the initial point you are
having these conversations. This then gives
you time and effort to build the business
from the ground deep and as wide as you
can get.
By the time most regulators figure out that
you are a multi-million dollar business
If you continue the
same stance of in-
novation and keep
re-inventing your-
self, you are set up
for life. The neigh-
bors will always be
three steps behind
you. They will won-
der what juju you’re
operating on. When
you hear their ru-
mors you will just
smile that evil smile
and keep at it.
78 MAL34/20 ISSUE
you have expensive lawyers ready to sue.
Okay, I’m pushing it.
Unmatched brand
recognition
This is one of those things that makes you
memorable however many competitors
come and go. Your brand aficionados have
been with you from day one, they are loyal
to mostly you. Once in a while you might
piss them off unconsciously but all you
need to do is have a good reward system
often where they feel their loyalty is solid.
If you have a great PR agency you’re home
dry. Your billboards and commercials will
have longer shelf life in people’s mind. The
emotional connection will take a lot to get
lost in all the noise.
The slam dunk is if you have a powerful
memorable story of how you started. This
will guarantee that 70% of your customers
will be subconsciously a fan base. The fact
that they’ve grown with you since you
were a toddler and have celebrated your
milestones will always make them think
of you. Never mind that only 10% of them
could afford the shares you floated during
your two day IPO.
Being a market leader
scares the rest
If you continue the same stance of
innovation and keep re-inventing yourself,
you are set up for life. The neighbors will
always be three steps behind you. They
will wonder what juju you’re operating on.
When you hear their rumors you will just
smile that evil smile and keep at it.
As I finish allow me to get into this one
case study of Netflix. With new steaming
sites coming up every day Netflix I suspect
is just playing cool, not because they are
scared. They played the cards right years
ago. Their market share is surely the
biggest so far, and as much as there’s a lot
of debate on whether they can afford to
pay for the content they are putting out
the answer lies in the tons of subscribers
worldwide who are making content trend
online for days. They are a streaming giant
that have tapped into unchartered waters.
Their branding is strategic in a new-age
and old school kind of way. The way they
flood my inbox with content is annoying
but it feels nice to know the exact date
that When They See Us and Marriage
Story were launching and then I’d diarize.
I stand to be corrected but I believe Netflix
has flexed its muscles, paid the piper and
is singing the content tune all the way to
Timbuktu.
Joan Kabugu is a seasoned writer,
filmmaker and founder of Ecila
Films. You can commune with her
on this or related matters via email
at: [email protected].