Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

The better mousetrap no one wanted is the classic ‘technology-push’ type innovation for 
which little or insufficient market demand exists. Customers do not perceive they have a 
real need for the technology and, consequently, are not prepared to buy the innovation. 
Sinclair’s C5 electric car falls firmly into this category – an innovation without an obvi-
ous market.
2 
The me-too meeting a competitive brick wall is the result of followers failing to reconcile 
with the market leader’s or established competitors’ strengths. Nokia’s (and by exten-
sion Microsoft’s) attempts to gain position in the smartphone market may be in this 
category.
3 
Competitors can spring surprises and come up with a better product that is preferred by 
customers. ‘Competitive one-upmanship’ is not easy to predict but can be seen in the case 
of Apple’s iPhone upstaging Nokia, Samsung and the others in the mobile phone busi-
ness, or Google wrong-footing the automotive industry with its advances in autonomous 
vehicles (self-driving cars). Innovations may achieve great short-term advantage, but if 
competitors can easily and simply imitate the innovation (and have other advantages as 
well), then the innovator is likely to achieve little long-term value.
4 
Environmental or market ignorance occurs when the innovating firm fails to study 
market or customer requirements or to monitor and scan its external environment for 
signals of change. Socio-economic, technological, political and/or legislative conditions 
and/or changes are ignored, overlooked or misunderstood, resulting in poor sales after 
launch.
Figure 12.4 
Some reasons 
for new product 
failures
New product
failure
The ‘better mousetrap’ that no one wants
The ‘me-too’ meeting a competitive brick 
wall
Competitive one-upmanship
Environmental or market ignorance
The technical dog
The price crunch

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