Chapter 4. Sweet Spots

One of the main reasons that the big winners did so well is that they were in sweet spots. By a sweet spot, I mean that these companies picked a special niche in which to compete. They chose a specialty that other firms tended to ignore or avoid. By choosing this niche, they had fewer competitors with which to contend. Within this niche, they provided the best value for the money.

This chapter explores what it means to be in a sweet spot. A major requirement of being in such a position is to achieve closeness with your customers. Now, being close to your customers might be considered a cliché. All firms have to be close to customers. But what I am referring to is not mere normal closeness, but a special closeness that the ...

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