Coming home late after a concert in Sofia, Bulgaria, my friend and I decided that we wanted a late night snack. So, we searched for 24-hour service “döner” places on Google Maps. We found only one claiming to be open near us in the center and there we went. To our great disappointment, we found out that it was closed. Taking the metro back to the neighborhood Lyulin, we decided to give Google Maps a second go and we found one in the neighborhood center, called Aladin Foods. Thankfully, this one was open!
Yet, I noticed something rather bizarre: right next to the 24-hour service döner counter, there was another (closed) döner place, Döner Lyulin. I knew that the closed döner place was the first-mover in this neighborhood because I had ordered a meal from them several times in the past. Back then, in the place of Aladin Foods, there was a pizza shop.
The more I considered the situation, however, the more sense it made. In order to surpass a first-mover, newcomers need to offer something that the original company does not offer. Because döner places are notorious for fast, greasy food that is mostly delicious only late at night, there doesn’t seem like there is a lot of room for improving the taste. Changing the taste to make it healthier would take away from the enjoyment that consumers get from this guilty pleasure. Similarly, this unpretentious food doesn’t require meticulous service or setting. Again, the counter atmosphere adds to the experience of the consumers.
Instead of doing any of that, Aladin Foods decided to offer its services 24-hours a day. In this way, when potential consumers are craving a döner late at night, they can go to Aladin Foods. This method allows Aladin Foods to operate without competitors 12 hours of every day. It also means that Aladin Foods is the default choice at night. Even if a consumer is typically a customer of Döner Lyulin, they will have to go to Aladin Foods at night since Döner Lyulin is closed at that time. When they see that the food is just as good as at the competitor, they will be more likely to change their purchasing habits and go to Aladin Foods all of the time. This is because of choice fatigue. Consumers have to make far too many choices in their everyday lives that, when they can, they create habits in order to reduce the number of choice that they have to make. By offering 24-hour service, Aladin Foods is likely to appeal to the competitor’s clients and become the leader of the region.
Can you think of a company that leapfrogged over the market leader in your region? How did they do it?