Franne McNeal explains monopoly control as the ability to set prices without competing on cost alone. Warren Buffett calls this a "moat." Higher margins let you reinvest in marketing, which keeps your differentiation alive. Audit every customer touchpoint to make sure your message is both meaningful and distinct from competitors.
Hi, I'm Franne McNeal, and there are 8 key drivers that drive the scalability of a company. The 6th one is monopoly control. What that means is how much control you have over the price of your product and that you're not being commoditized because essentially you're unique in different marketplaces. You've heard Warren Buffett, the famous investor, talk about this idea of having deep and wide moat around your business. He's referring to the idea that he invests in companies that have a differentiated market position. A lot of investors look for companies that have a differentiated proposition because that gives you the ability to control your pricing. The more you control your pricing, the more margin you make. The more margin you make, the more you can invest in sales and marketing, and it triggers this nice little domino effect that enables you to stay different in the marketplace. So again, the more different you are and the more control you have over your pricing— wow— the more you can improve your score on monopoly control. So you really want to scrutinize the way you're marketing your business, through 2 lenses because the marketing strategy must have 2 attributes. It's got to be meaningful to customers and it's got to make a difference. So scrutinize all the messages that you have in the marketplace. Look at your website, the size of your vans, however you communicate to your customers and the market and say, does this make us different in our customers' eyes? Those are the 2 drivers that drive up your monopoly control score.
