Second and proud of that

First mover advantage GOOD, me-too BAD!

Sound familiar? Sound right?

Unfortunately, it is often wrong.

You may feel the need for speed, but marketing history includes numerous examples of Johnnies who came lately but who still are Johnny became brand leader.

Have you even heard of Chux, which was the first disposable nappy but which lost out to the marketing muscle of Procter & Gamble's Pampers.

Do you remember the CP/M PC operating system or MS-DOS? Both now geek trivia as they were both the superseded by Windows.

The first social network launched in 1997 and yes you’ve guessed it, it wasn’t Facebook. It was SixDegrees.com

Apple is often cited as one of the most innovative companies in the world but it’s also a company not scared to be second, third, fourth to market. It wasn’t the first to introduce a MP3 player when it launched the iPod. The iPhone certainly wasn’t first to market.

Other late movers include Google, Amazon, Gillette, Xerox and Facebook.

There are in fact many late-movers’ advantages. Followers can learn from early movers’ mistakes. They get a chance to see whether there really is a market worth entering. They get more opportunity to judge consumers' needs. They get time to iron out technical glitches or just the chance to do things better.

Given the high costs and high risks involved in being a first mover with no guarantee then of remaining in first place, coming second becomes more attractive.

Retailer own-label brands are classic late-movers who just do it cheaper. They let the branded manufacturers invest in, build a market, then enter with their lower-priced versions, and now dominate in many categories.

Being a me-too or a me-three doesn’t have to be a problem but if you get there later you will need to be better, different or cheaper… or maybe all three.