Recently, I have caught up with game theory. Having read a number of books on it, I find the book Co-opetition really insightful
A game can be changed by:
- Players: Customers, competitors, complementors, suppliers
– Get paid to play
– Bring in new players
– Change the players
- Added Value: Win-win
– Trade-on
– Trade-offs
– Create loyalty
- Rules: contracts with customers and suppliers, change the rules
– Most-Favored-Customer clause
– Meet-the-Competition clause
– Take-or-Pay clause
– Rebates
- Tactics: managing and shaping perceptions
– Lift the fog: credibility (pay-for-performance contract, guarantee, free trials, advertise)
– Preserve the fog
– Stirring up the fog: creating complexity (hide high prices, disguise opportunistic pricing, hamper shopping)
- Scope: understanding, playing off and changing links between games
– Playing judo: challenger prices a superior product sufficiently high to avoid eating into the sales of the incumbent, challenger bets on unproven product
– Going long term contract
– Understanding the bigger picture
Every game can be interlinked and is part of the bigger game. Always look at the bigger picture