It is great to be the company that is ahead of the game, bringing new goods and

❹ It is great to be the company that is ahead of the game, bringing new goods and services to market and profoundly changing the way that an industry works – but is it a winning strategy? When Apple launched the iPod and iTunes, it changed the shape of the music industry forever. A few years later, it brought the iPhone and iPad to the market, changing telephony forever and creating a whole new category of electronic devices – the tablet. However, in recent years, Apple has struggled in the face of intense competition in both the mobile phone and tablet markets. Is there room to be a ‘me-too’

marketer and sell established goods and services to the later adopters?

Or is out in front, selling to innovators and early adopters, the only place to be? How can companies make the most of differences in innovativeness in consumers by developing different offerings for each segment? (Learning Objective 3) (AACSB: Reflective Thinking)