You might be the First Mover, but you don’t bear the advantage forever

Some concepts are marketed so wisely that they are accepted as the ultimate truth by default. I have always thought ‘The First Mover Advantage’ bears the same aura. In the business world, it has been used repeatedly wisely that all of us started believing in it wholeheartedly. Then the Technology revolution happened and busted this myth.

I thought of writing this article because I have been using a graphics design platform for the last five years and have been consistent with it, but just a few days back I saw someone comparing it with a new product. I thought of giving it a try and it’s been two days, I didn’t open the first one. To find out about these two platforms, read on!

Why First-Mover is not an advantage

Customers’ Expectations are rapidly evolving and with the rise of technology, it’s changing at an unprecedented speed. This means even if a business has created a new category and not keeping up with the customers’ expectations, someone else will take them over.

First-Mover will help businesses in helping customers realize that they have a new want or need but any other business can surely replicate the same model with better freebies or at an optimized cost or with better pricing options.

Additionally, every business is becoming a digital business. Why? Technology has been more affordable, and customers are appreciating businesses to cater to them 24*7 using various digital applications and platforms. Businesses that are using technology to understand and cater to the customers’ requirements are at an advantage, the rest are just catching up.

Canva and Picmaker

Canva is one of the first movers in the graphics design platform. It’s really handy and saves the day for any Content Marketers, Social Media Managers, and Marketing Professionals. It’s really popular and the global visual communications platform recently announced an updated valuation of USD 15 billion following a USD 71 million investment. This affirms Canva as one of the fastest-growing software companies in history, surpassing $500 million annualized revenue this year. The company also launched a suite of new features for its flagship workplace product, Canva Presentations, for empowering teams to design and collaborate at ease.

Picmaker, on the other hand, is launched by a company called Animaker. Animaker is a DIY video animation software launched in 2014. It allows users to create DIY videos using pre-built characters and templates. Coming to Picmaker –

• It has the same UI/UX that Canva has – something done intentionally for users to move or transition from Canva to Picmaker.
• Picmaker has spent less time on building a new UI/UX and more on giving additional features like changing images, font, color scheme, and generating new ideas with a click of a button.
• The designs of pre-built templates are new and refreshing.

While they have some really good features, they have a lot to catch when it comes to Canva Presentations and the recent Canva Video Suite. Is that doable? Yes, Of course.

Thoughts to take

Any first-mover business must work on upgrading itself as per the customers’ expectations. Getting redundant can be threatening to the business and its survival. Constantly thinking about small innovations and experimenting around the ideas can keep businesses at an advantage.