In his article, "Creating Competitive Advantage", Pankaj Ghemawat (a Harvard Business School professor), claims that the only way to create value is to do something unique that cannot be duplicated by the network of suppliers, customers, and competitors that also participate in the industry.
From its inception, until about November of last year, WXRK HD-2 provided a very unique product, which, while arguably could have been replaced by an extremely music-knowledgeable person with inexhaustible finds and a large iPod, was largely irreplaceable. There was no overlap between what K-Rock(2) had to offer and what its competitors (in the broadcasting/streaming business) had to offer.
Since the departure of the Fresh102 morning team and the flip of the WAQY HD-2 station to active rock, WXRK has been de-differentiating itself. It has been playing Creed and 3 Days Grace and Sick Puppies on one side and crap like the New Radicals on the other. Now, to me, these actions seem to be to "fend off" Q-HD2 and WRXP. Problem is, that by introducing playlist overlap, it is destroying its own value proposition: WXRK's product is becoming less unique, a move which increases the competitive forces of rivalry and threat of substitution.
On the flip side, the argument can be made that these same forces are being forced on Q-HD2 and WRXP, destroying those stations’ value propositions. The trouble with this strategy, is the while devaluing the competition, it destroys the greatest component for any firm operating in an industry, the relationship with the customer network; by commoditizing the product, the strategy encourages the existing customer to seek out the commoditized service from any other service provider. A superior strategy would be to invest in the asset, to differentiate the playlist, and to slowly try to grow the customer base through alternate means.
From its inception, until about November of last year, WXRK HD-2 provided a very unique product, which, while arguably could have been replaced by an extremely music-knowledgeable person with inexhaustible finds and a large iPod, was largely irreplaceable. There was no overlap between what K-Rock(2) had to offer and what its competitors (in the broadcasting/streaming business) had to offer.
Since the departure of the Fresh102 morning team and the flip of the WAQY HD-2 station to active rock, WXRK has been de-differentiating itself. It has been playing Creed and 3 Days Grace and Sick Puppies on one side and crap like the New Radicals on the other. Now, to me, these actions seem to be to "fend off" Q-HD2 and WRXP. Problem is, that by introducing playlist overlap, it is destroying its own value proposition: WXRK's product is becoming less unique, a move which increases the competitive forces of rivalry and threat of substitution.
On the flip side, the argument can be made that these same forces are being forced on Q-HD2 and WRXP, destroying those stations’ value propositions. The trouble with this strategy, is the while devaluing the competition, it destroys the greatest component for any firm operating in an industry, the relationship with the customer network; by commoditizing the product, the strategy encourages the existing customer to seek out the commoditized service from any other service provider. A superior strategy would be to invest in the asset, to differentiate the playlist, and to slowly try to grow the customer base through alternate means.