Non-Financial Characteristics of a Successful Stock
When you make an evaluation of a particular business, the financial indicators are only one part of the picture. There are many other factors that make a company a successful entity. This article aims to introduce some of the traits a successful business should possess.
Durable Product/Service
A successful business offers a product or service that is to be sold not only today but in the days to come. Many companies fail because they offer a product which is no longer of interest to the consumer tomorrow, because of a change in preferences or technology.
For instance, back in the years, gramophone discs were the dominant commercial recording format. However, the introduction of magnetic tape transformed the recording industry, and soon the vast majority of commercial recordings were being mastered on tape. Again, a few years later the invention of digital sound recording and the compact disc brought another massive wave of change in the consumer music industry.
A successful business should be able to offer its clients a product or a service, which will be needed and purchased year after year. This can be achieved by either following the change in the preferences of consumers or keeping the product up-to-date.
Competitive Advantage
In order to stay in business, companies should be able to create a competitive advantage that will keep them afloat. Such a competitive advantage may be the establishment of a strong and well recognized brand. It can also be a high cost of entry in the industry by making a heavy investment in different technologies.
The more competitive advantages a company manages to create the higher its chances of success. Many companies have managed to gain competitive advantage over their competitors by greatly reducing the cost of production and thus the price for the end user. In this way such companies managed to win a larger market share.
The First Mover
A successful business in characterized by its ability to be a leader in the industry by setting the action plan in it.
Nevertheless, there have been many cases in which large companies, leaders in their field, become very slow and fat. As a result they rest on what they have achieved in the past, fail to continue their progress and lose their leadership position.
Leaders in the industry manage to attract the most qualified employees and in this way to further strengthen their leadership. As a result they obtain more resources to solidify their positions.
Market leaders, however, should have no rest in guarding their position. Otherwise, they can quickly lose it and have to put up with a secondary status.
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