If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them
When an incumbent can no longer exclude a disruptive substitute, entering its market may preserve more influence than continuing to deny it.
De Beers built its power around mined diamonds—then began selling synthetic ones. The company most associated with the original category could not simply keep the substitute outside the gates.
E1From gatekeeper to participant
A disruptive substitute changes the incumbent’s choice. Resistance may protect the old category briefly, but it also leaves the growing alternative entirely to competitors. By joining, the incumbent concedes that exclusion has failed while retaining a chance to shape prices, positioning, distribution, and customer expectations. This is the strategic response to Substitute Goods once defending yesterday’s boundary becomes Fighting the Last War.
E1Joining is not controlling
Entering the substitute market does not guarantee that the incumbent will dominate it. The capabilities, economics, and customer promise that sustained the old category may transfer poorly—and participation can weaken the distinctions on which the incumbent’s original premium depended.
Fund the substitute test
Name the substitute your organization currently dismisses, then give one team a small budget to sell or deliver it under real market conditions. Measure what customers choose and which incumbent advantages actually transfer before committing to either suppression or adoption.
Episodes that teach this
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Diamonds Are a Scam, Not Rare & Not a Good Investment - Stay Safe
· explained at 14:11
15,800 views
'Even De Beers couldn't keep away lab grown diamonds... De Beers has started selling synthetic diamonds.'