The word monopoly is often perceived to be a negative. It suggests an element of unfairness, dominance and lack of innovation through the elimination of competition.
If however, we look at how a monopoly is created it eventually becomes clear that it isn’t accidental and is often for the greater good.
Let’s break down an example. Two products are on sale in the marketplace. They function in a similar way to one another, are located beside one another on the shelves and are even priced almost identically.
One product however, has been marketed widely. It was the first of its type on the shelves; it appears on all social media platforms and commercials; it has numerous positive real-world endorsements and you have even heard great things about it from your friends and neighbours.
The other product has had no such fanfare. The packaging doesn’t entice, there is no widespread visibility and not a single testimonial for it appears anywhere.
Which of the two would you be inclined to buy?
Clearly, it would be the first product. All that positive publicity must surely mean it is the better product. Even if it turns out in actual use, that there is no difference in the functionality of both items.
This is how a monopoly is formed. Even I, a blatant non-conformist, would reach the same conclusion.
And that does not mean the monopoly is a bad thing. Of course, as with anything taken to excess, a monopoly can certainly become a bad thing, it does not have to be.
As a businessman, a director, a husband and a father, I have a responsibility to create, market and sell excellent products. It is imperative that I set a good example for my kids, my peers and my industry also. What my colleagues and I bring to market is of an elevated standard, superior to that which is available elsewhere. It has to be better, so we make it so.
The sector in which we operate is small. Very small. But it won’t always be that way. My last post on the rising cost of energy helped make that clear. There is a need for what we do. The benefits of our products are clear to see through their continued proliferation and widespread use. So we must continue to push them forward. We must scale and market correctly, even and especially if we do monopolise the niche.
Done correctly, a monopoly is not a bad thing. So we have no qualms about our aspirations concerning the importance of Zanshuri. This is what drives us to constantly innovate, to iterate and improve at every turn. This is the absolute meaning of the word Zanshuri.
Always better.