To win in the online space where supply is unbounded and unconstrained, the most important factors are product Differentiation and product Quality. In anything you are doing, you must provide an element of quality. That quality is a binary – it is either good or bad for you, bounded by cost. Differentiation brings what is unique about your offering. It is important to understand that in the online space, category-kings emerge through network effects. Simply, to find value, you must find your space!
Pick a great mission, be great on it and separate from everyone, glory will come. As I explained in this Harvard Business Review article, it is through this high quality and evidently differentiated product that you can thrive in the digital world dominated by Google, Facebook and other ICT utilities.
Just think about it, if you are looking for something online, you will see many options once you search on Google. Because of that abundance, you want to narrow to the specific one which meets your niche needs. Any product which can do that at high quality makes the cut. This becomes exceedingly necessary when you plan to put a paywall in that online venture. It is very possible that anything you are offering has a free version somewhere. The implication is that your capacity to meet specific niche needs, at high quality, is what people are paying for. It is hopeless pursuing a paid product vision online without a strategy of creating a differentiated product at high quality.
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Quality is largely relative, especially where no one is doing anything of high quality, so the average one could win in that space. But where there is more confusion is on Product Differentiation!
What usually happens is that the also-rans start building after value had been unlocked and captured, and by hearing that the first movers are ‘killing it’, everyone then jump in, repeating the same thing, and at the end, they only attract a yawn.
Online business isn’t the same as digital platform business, the latter can never work without palpable innovation, both on product and business model; it is a misguided notion to believe that anyone can thrive in the digital space, it’s much easier offline. Check any successful digital platform business, there’s a dose of ingenuity and intellectual capital, the simple and seamless interfaces you interact with had a lot of nuances behind the scene.
Adding subscription or paywall is never a problem, the problem is making a case on why you must get paid, especially when something much better can be obtained for free elsewhere.
The truth is that a lot of digital pretenders still don’t know what they are talking about.
Posting comment from LinkedIn: Quality in the real sense is about value -and before we pay, we make the judgement is this a good or bad value! On Tekedia, I linked to another piece on that line – MVQ. Eko Hotels Lagos has “high” quality because you are paying say N120k per night. But there could be a decent hotel in Oshodi at N20k which you choose. As I wrote in the non summarized version – “That quality is a binary – it is either good or bad for you, bounded by cost”, to make that payment, you have seen value and that value has met your cost model. Provided that is the case, the product crossed your level of “quality” which means it is a GOOD product considering the price.