Strategic insights: Beyond blindly following competitors in new markets

💬 "All the local competitors are offering this and that features, they must be table stakes in that market. Let's build them" - This is a common business practice to decide the minimum product requirements for market viability, especially in unfamiliar territories.

Understanding what your competitors do (not just on features but on their overall proposition and strategy) is key. But blindly following what they do can lead astray. Here are a few reasons:

💥 What they offer might not be what the users need or are using. As an example, in a strategy project for an international dating app company on their Japanese market growth, common features seemed like must-haves based on a comprehensive competitors analysis. But, user research revealed these were rarely used and had minimal value to the users. The realisation empowered us to streamline our strategic plan by discarding these less essential features and focusing efforts on more critical aspects.

🕵️‍♀️ Also, if you're following blindly what your competitors do, you are just playing catch up and would always be one or more steps behind, making it impossible for you to establish market leadership.

💥The lack of authenticity and innovation limits your opportunities to develop your very own strategy to disrupt that market for long-term growth in that market.

🚀 Recommendation: Understand your competitors (both local and international) deeply - value propositions, positioning, user perception, strengths/weaknesses. Blend this knowledge with other data and insights to help you inform your growth strategy for that market.