What does it mean to be a global market leader?

Every company wants to be a global market leader. Being a global market leader not only signifies that you are among the best in the industry, but it also assures current and prospective customers of the longevity of your organization. But what is a global market leader, and what does it take to become one?

What is a global market leader?

A global market leader is an organization with the right balance of vision, innovation and execution, and the ability to shift that ratio as the company and markets evolve.

Vision requires having a deep understanding of the market and engagement with your customers. It requires a fine balance of relating the current and changing needs of the customer base and the context they are operating in, with anticipating their future needs based on your understanding of the market.

Innovation is developing software and products to meet your customers’ changing needs while having the agility to pivot quickly as the market and customer needs change. Without innovation, organizations can’t drive meaningful change in the market to better serve customers while pushing the limits of what’s possible.

Execution has evolved from delivering your product and services to your customers. Once the product has been delivered, the question becomes: do you have the execution capacity to support your customers when they’re having an issue, no matter the environment, product version, time, or location of the customer? In other words, can you evolve with your customers’ changing needs and continue to meet their expectations, not only at the point of delivery but throughout the life of the customer?

What does it take to become a global market leader?

Becoming a global market leader is about developing relationships with your customers and building your reputation in the market through long-term engagement and leadership. It’s also about focus. In the information management space, there are several areas a company could try to become a market leader in: digital experience, content management, supply chain, etc. Focus requires having a strong vision, knowing who you are as a company and where your top priorities lie each year.

To be a market leader, you need to fuse innovation with vision and have a strong execution plan, all combined with a deep understanding of the market and an ability to adapt to change.

If a company can’t adapt to changes in the market and evolve to meet their customers’ changing needs, they won’t be a market leader for long. Think of the evolution of cell phone companies since the 1990s. Motorola was a pioneer and, for many years, the market share leader in cell phone sales in the early-to-mid 1990s, but was overthrown by Nokia in 1998 after failing to innovate. Nokia became the world’s largest phone manufacturer until Apple and Android stepped on the scene. The fall of Nokia was a surprise to many—as The New Yorker argues, the company was hardly a technological laggard, but they were unable to turn their investments in R&D into products people wanted to buy. In other words, they lost their vision, understanding of the market and, in the end, their ability to execute.

What are the benefits of working with a global market leader?

One of the primary benefits of working with a global market leader is the assurance that the company isn’t going to fail or divest itself of the products you’re using in the near future. If a company is a global market leader, they are established in the industry and have a solid grasp on where the market is going. For example, when customers are transitioning to the cloud, many are hedging their bets with the hyperscalars—Amazon, Microsoft® Azure—precisely because they are stable companies. This is one way to future-proof your software investments.

Another benefit of working with a global market leader is that leading organizations often attract the best talent. With a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, these organizations can deliver the memorable experiences customers expect. When evaluating new tools and technology for your organization, the ongoing support and overall customer experience you’ll encounter is fast becoming a top priority to ensure successful implementation, adoption and expansion.