5 STRATEGIC RESPONSES TO eCOMMERCE

STATUS  QUO   FOLD  ‘EM   JOIN  FORCES   PLAY  THE  GAME   CHANGE  THE  GAME  

Icon  Usage  Credit:  a-­‐ok  by  Nicky  Knicky  from  the  Noun  Project;  Playing  Cards  by  Travis  Beckham  from  the  Noun  Project;  Handshake  by  Artem  Kovyazin  from  the  Noun  Project;  Sword  by  Victor  Pedraza  from  the  Noun  Project;  Captain  by  Simon  Child  from  the  Noun  Project;  Pirate  by  Simon  Child  from  the  Noun  Project.  

While true for any change your business faces, brands and retailers alike must choose at least one direction in response to the rapid eCommercialization of the marketplace and accept its respective outcome. I recommend the two I’ve highlighted below.

Maintain  your  current  go-­‐to-­‐market  model    

with  no  notable  response    to  marketplace  dynamics.  

Sell  out  or  exit  the  market  due  to  unwillingness  or  inability  to  

con;nue  and/or  respond  effec;vely  to  marketplace  dynamics.    

Partner  with  and  sell  through  exis;ng  eCommerce  retailers  and  

marketplace  plaAorms.  

Launch  your  own  “me  too”  eCommerce  D2C  model      

directly  in  compe;;on  with    exis;ng  eCommerce  retailers.  

Like  David  vs.  Goliath,  improve    your  odds  by  launching  a  truly  differen;ated  eCommerce  D2C  

value  proposi;on.  

Even  with  great  luck,  this  approach  will  inevitably  make  your  

organiza;on  uncompe;;ve  and  unprepared  for  the  future,    leading  to  your  downfall.  

There  is  no  shame  in  quiNng  while  you’re  ahead.  If  new  leadership  succeeds  you,  they  will  have  the  same  4  alterna;ve  responses  to  

choose  from  for  long-­‐term  success.  

Joining  the  “navy”  is  good    for  short-­‐term  growth  and  

capability-­‐building,  but  requires  conformity  to  others’  models  with  

increasingly  limited  control.  

Becoming  a  “pirate”  and  challenging  the  navy  is  good  for  long-­‐term  leadership,  but  you  may  “lose  an  eye”  in  the  baTle  on  their  terms  within  their  preferred  model.  

Launching  a  disrup;ve  model  on  your  own  terms  is  op;mal  for    

long-­‐term  leadership,  compe;;ve  advantage  and  challenger  brand  

outmaneuverability.