A fresh look at gum: Thinking Outside of the Box
How many times have you chewed gum only to be disappointed. Be honest. When you're in your car driving two hours to some destination, don't you just hate it when your gum loses it's flavour after about 20 minutes? If you're on the highway you have to quickly reach over and find somewhere to dispose of the flavourless gum. You could keep chewing it, but by now it's starting to taste like chewing rubber. Which, unfortunately isn't very appealing.
What if some competitor came along, and decided to change the rules of gum. To break through and truly think outside of the box. This is gutsy of course and risky. Why mess with something that's established? Is it really wise to take on the Wrigley's of the world? If so, how do you decide how to differentiate yourself from them? To give yourself a true competitive advantage?
Sure you could come up with another outrageous flavour that your competitor doesn't sell. But does that really work? People love their tried and true flavours like spearmint and peppermint. Introducing papya flavoured gum might appeal to a small demographic, but I doubt that it would catch on in the mainstream. After a spicy meal, are you really in the mood to freshen your breath with papaya? The point I'm trying to make is that papaya is not a competitive advantage. New flavours can be invented by anyone. It's not really inspirational.
I was watching some tv this evening when I heard about a new gum called Stride Gum that prides itself as having amazingly long lasting flavour. In fact that is their catch. There's no other gimmick. No they don't have bolder flavours. No their gum is in sticks. It's not chicklet like. Having never tried the gum myself, I can't say for sure whether their marketing claims are warranted. But it certainly caught my attention. If their gum truly does last longer, it is an excellent differentiator. This is what I call thinking outside of the box. Innovating to give your customers a superior product because someone in the company had the guts to ask why! Why can't our gum last longer than the competitors?
Often times, all you need is the why. The people that question the status quo are truly the people that change the competitive landscape.
You might be thinking what does this have to do with frugality or saving money? Well, it's very important to me when I'm picking stocks. I look for stable companies with a key differentiator from their peers. The innovators are at the head of the pack and that's what drives customers to them which in turn drives sales and profits.
Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Stride Gum nor have I received any compensation for it.
What if some competitor came along, and decided to change the rules of gum. To break through and truly think outside of the box. This is gutsy of course and risky. Why mess with something that's established? Is it really wise to take on the Wrigley's of the world? If so, how do you decide how to differentiate yourself from them? To give yourself a true competitive advantage?
Sure you could come up with another outrageous flavour that your competitor doesn't sell. But does that really work? People love their tried and true flavours like spearmint and peppermint. Introducing papya flavoured gum might appeal to a small demographic, but I doubt that it would catch on in the mainstream. After a spicy meal, are you really in the mood to freshen your breath with papaya? The point I'm trying to make is that papaya is not a competitive advantage. New flavours can be invented by anyone. It's not really inspirational.
I was watching some tv this evening when I heard about a new gum called Stride Gum that prides itself as having amazingly long lasting flavour. In fact that is their catch. There's no other gimmick. No they don't have bolder flavours. No their gum is in sticks. It's not chicklet like. Having never tried the gum myself, I can't say for sure whether their marketing claims are warranted. But it certainly caught my attention. If their gum truly does last longer, it is an excellent differentiator. This is what I call thinking outside of the box. Innovating to give your customers a superior product because someone in the company had the guts to ask why! Why can't our gum last longer than the competitors?
Often times, all you need is the why. The people that question the status quo are truly the people that change the competitive landscape.
You might be thinking what does this have to do with frugality or saving money? Well, it's very important to me when I'm picking stocks. I look for stable companies with a key differentiator from their peers. The innovators are at the head of the pack and that's what drives customers to them which in turn drives sales and profits.
Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Stride Gum nor have I received any compensation for it.
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