B2Blog

Business-to-business (b2b) and industrial marketing blog.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Being number 2 can be better...and more profitable

One of my favorite finds last year was a post at Origins of Brands Blog that told how being the number-two in a market means positioning different from the leader. This article I found at the Max Blumberg's Positioning Game Blog is an example of HP doing just that, and looking for higher profitability as a result.

HP: How being second can be more profitable

Recent evidence, however, suggests that market share is not necesarily good for profits. In general you are better off meeting many needs in a smaller market than meeting only a few needs in a larger market.