Friday, February 4, 2011

Lock out competitors

The fourth strategic element of using IT for competitive edge is that of locking out competitors.

I'm uncomfortable giving away the crown jewels in a blog post, but recall the story - years before the Internet - of a medical supplies company giving access to their price list online via a dumb terminal and a modem. Customers in hospitals found it easier to look up the price on the computer terminal than to place a phone call to a sales rep. And because there was only space on their desk for one terminal at a time it was hard for competitor companies to break into that relationship.

We've helped clients translate this scenario to the Internet age where everyone has a 'dumb terminal' (the browser) but with access to many corporations via their web site. The principle still works, it just takes the application of experience and creativity to make the difference. Find out more