Companies that have attained the status of market leaders are not content to rest on their laurels or on their existing products, nor should they be. They accept the unending responsibility of exploring uncharted terrain to imagine and design new products with original features and unique benefits. Market leaders are always thinking about the future, working to anticipate not-yet-recognized needs.
They also know that customers—especially searchers—are not necessarily looking for what they are selling. Often people want something that doesn’t yet exist, or they have a problem to which there is not yet a solution. Historically, market leaders made sure that their pipelines were filled with a steady stream of new technology, distinctive designs, and original gadgets. Today, a full pipeline is not enough. To satisfy searchers, market leaders must try to answer questions that have not yet been asked.
Searchers may not know exactly what they want next, but they’re more than open to new products and services. “Surprise us” is their mantra, which distinguishes them from streamliners, for whom surprises are generally unwelcome.
Searchers are particularly fond of companies that are constantly innovating and introducing new, better, and different items with which to woo them. This customer group is first to seek out the latest offering, whether it’s Disney’s stream of new movies, Sony’s perpetually full pipeline of new electronic toys, or Nokia’s conveyor belt of sleek and colorful new cell phones.
In The Discipline of Market Leaders, my coauthor and I made the observation that product leaders tend to be companies that lead by staying ahead of the curve. Staying ahead isn’t something a company does once—it is an organization’s sustained state of existence; once inside this perspective, you and everyone in the company are vigilant about the fact that breakthrough innovations are copied or imitated faster than ever before. Convertingthis frame of mind into a durable strategy requires the new leaders to hone their skills in detecting customers’ needs, to expedite product development and output, in general, and to distinguish themselves from the plethora of less-than-original thinkers, that is, the imitators swarming the marketplace.
Nokia is a company that understands the importance of this. Founded in 1865 as a pulp and paper mill on the banks of the Finnish river with the same name, Nokia abandoned its roots and, in the 1990s, completed a radical transformation, becoming a powerhouse in cellular telephony with a strong market presence in 140 countries around the globe. By the year 2005, Nokia expects to have no fewer than 1 billion global subscribers. In each country where it operates, Nokia customizes its products in accordance with whatever characteristics are unique or particular to that country. It has always promoted a global perspective, evidenced by its choice of English for the company’s official language and by,, the fact that it encourages all of its managers to accept assignments abroad.
In addition, from its earliest days Nokia has emphasized research and development, and today, approximately thirteen thousand people work in research and development—key to the company’s success. No sooner has one product been released than the next, slightly more sophisticated, is readied for launch. “You always need to have a tease,” 011i-Pekka Lintula, a director of product marketing, told The Economist. “You always need to move the customer up the value chain.”
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