Why Companies Abandon Their Strength—and Burn Their Brand in the Process
A prospect told me they were entering a new market to, as they put it, “keep their machines busy.” They had acquired a company with production capabilities—but instead of leveraging their proven strength in customization, they chose to chase volume in a saturated, price-driven market.
I tried, gently, to explain why that move doesn’t make sense.
Two salesmen, no brand strategy, and a hope that the big players would turn their heads and notice? That’s not how you win. That’s how you waste time, dilute your brand, and end up with a warehouse full of product and no identity.
Too many companies confuse activity with strategy. They think keeping busy is the same as being productive.
But staying busy for the sake of busy is how good companies become irrelevant. And in the rush to justify asset utilization, they forget to ask the most important question: What business are we really in?
The Asset-Driven Trap
The thinking usually goes like this: we bought machines, so we better use them. That’s an asset-driven mindset. But keeping machines running is not a strategy. It’s a reaction. Strategy isn’t about next month’s schedule. It’s about where your brand stands five years from now.
I remember early in my career, I read about the president of a major Japanese brand say this: “I’m willing to lose money for ten years in this market as long as at the end of ten years I am the dominant brand.” I thought at the time, “Who can lose money for ten years?” It was some time after that when the answer dawned on me: the company that’s playing the long game to win everything.
We once had a client try to enter the jan-san market with a high-end soap dispenser—brass, beautifully designed, $350 MSRP. The problem? That jan-san market runs on a completely different model. Dispensers are given away for free in exchange for the annuity of soap refills. We did the research. We told our client. They did it anyway. Two years later, they exited with a bruised brand and lost ground they never recovered.
Volume without value is a short runway. And when your differentiation is customization, why abandon that to become just another player in a race to the bottom?
When Everything Is a Commodity
This isn’t rare. More and more companies are abandoning their edge to play in markets where the only winners are the lowest-cost providers. But in that world, the game isn’t built for anyone but giants.
In today’s world, just about everything can be commoditized. Speed, price, materials—they’re all available somewhere else. But smart companies don’t lead with these characteristics. They lead with meaning. With design. With the kind of value that’s hard to replicate.
Kevin Roberts of Saatchi & Saatchi called these kinds of companies Lovemarks. You take away a brand, and people find a substitute. You take away a Lovemark, and people protest. If your brand is known for innovation and creative solutions, why would you willingly trade that in for sameness?
Two Salesmen Don’t Win a War
I was told, “We’ve got two guys who can go out and turn this our way.” Two salesmen don’t win a war. Ten salesmen don’t win it either. No amount of feet on the street will win anything without the right strategy. Not without air cover, logistics, and a story that aligns with the market.
Sales isn’t strategy. Sales is what happens after strategy.
Without a broader vision, even great salespeople are just reacting to what the customer thinks they want. And that’s how a company starts chasing competitors instead of leading them.
What’s the rule of branding? The first brand into the brain, on average, gets twice the long-term market share of the No. 2 brand and twice again as much as the No. 3 brand. There are enormous advantages in being first—and if you were first, as this company was, you held an unduplicated position.
Amazon Did It. But There’s Only One Amazon.
Yes, Amazon is the counterpoint. They kept value and volume, and they own the infrastructure to move nearly anything anywhere. But Amazon didn’t build machines. They built a platform. Their strategy wasn’t about running equipment. It was about owning the customer relationship end to end—and betting on loyalty long before profits appeared.
Strategy is like that. If you formulate the right strategy, nothing should distract you from it.
You’re not competing on all levels. And trying to mimic Amazon volume logic without a platform to support it? That’s just operational noise masquerading as growth.
How to Recover
If a company made the move already—bought the factory, hired the people, entered the market—you’re not doomed. But you need to re-center your strategy.
- Reconnect with core value. Why do customers choose your company over others?
- Reposition the commodity product in a way that aligns with the brand promise.
- Support it with strategy: clear messaging, strategic partnerships, and a renewed focus on customization.
- Don’t assume volume is the goal. Margin, loyalty, and differentiation are far better targets.
The Takeaway
When a company chases volume without vision, the company burns the brand. While the chase may keep the machines running—the outcome will be producing less and less of what people actually value.
Ask yourself: Are we building value, or just burning electricity?
Strategy isn’t about staying busy. It’s about staying relevant.
Hard work, this strategy thing. Let me hear what you think.