If you’ve been reading the goodies I’ve been sending lately, you know we’ve been talking about how you—David—can successfully operate in a market dominated by a big, old Goliath.
So far, you have two strategies that effectively move you out of harm’s way. The third and final strategy for besting your bully insures you do more than side-step. You can thrive.
Time to head to the “way-back” machine, and return to your childhood again. Do you remember when your big brother or sister was torturing you? Teasing you? Threatening to break your favorite toy?
But you had something on them.
“Break my toy, and I’m telling Mom you stayed out past your curfew.”
Suddenly your big, pushy brother or sister backed down. No toy was broken, and you didn’t tell Mom.
Well, our third Slaying Goliath strategy uses the same wily approach you used with your brother or sister. Who knew your childhood would teach you so much about business?
The third “Beat Goliath” principle from judo demands we understand where our leverage exists. We’re going to use their weight and strength against them.
The third principle: leverage (the most important of the three).
Movement and flexibility, the first two judo strategies we’ve discussed, are prerequisites. They keep your competition off balance. They can’t dominate you. Yet, speed and agility only buy you so much.
If you want to do more than survive, you need to immobilize your Goliath. Time to sling your very best rock, David! It’s knock-out time!!
Leverage is your big rock as it uses your competition’s weight and strength against them.
You job here is simple: understand the true strength of your opponent.
Then you’ll know precisely the spot where they won’t compromise. Who willingly abandons their greatest strength? No Giant does that.
Here’s leverage at work.
A client of ours had a new software for PCs. He was competing against Microsoft. Now, they’re pretty big! Microsoft builds predominately proprietary software to run on their PCs—code unique to them. Our client had used open-source as the foundation for his product, meaning he was sharing his software code. It wasn’t proprietary. Anyone who wanted it could build on it. Others could easily add new features by using his readily-available code. Microsoft was not going to dump their proprietary code to move to open source, and many software developers loved the fact they didn’t have to bow to Microsoft’s every demand. The end result was he not only sold his software, but he got others to build exciting features on it to expand its usefulness.
Now Microsoft might not have felt this stinging blow from such a tiny company. Maybe Goliath didn’t fall down dead. But who cares!!!!
Our small business client succeeded in territory owned by a Goliath. He found a way to thrive in a world dominated by Goliath. He discovered his leverage by understanding the strength of his opponent and using it against him.
We’re not advocating killing your Goliath. Frankly, who cares about killing them if you can live profitably in their shadows? Judo, the art we imitate with these strategies, is about movement, flexibility and leverage to avoid a head-on collision.
Use Judo Marketing strategies to your best advantage to grow and thrive when your market is filled with Goliaths.