It has been said that the critical elements of competition are innovation, quality and speed to the market?

Question

It has been said that the critical elements of competition are innovation, quality and speed to the market. In the light of technical advance, is this view still sufficient?

Answer 1

Even more so! In light of modern technology, consumers have more power now than ever to make informed purchases. We can instantly compare prices, performance reviews, features, and customer satisfaction ratings on almost any product from the comfort of our own homes. If your product doesn't perform as advertised, with bells and whistles to set it apart, everyone will know it within 7 days of its release to market.

With the popularity of online shopping ever increasing, brick-and-mortar stores are having to compete with companies that can put the exact product you want at your doorstep in 3-5 business days. If a brick-and-mortar doesn't have a product "in stock", they've lost the sale....thus the trend towards HUGE discount stores. Large, in-house, inventory tracking programs have been created just to insure the high demand items are ALWAYS in stock.

Today's technology has only upped the ante for competing in our market. If you lag behind your competitors in any of the critical elements you mentioned, you're not going to last.