Sony dominated portable music until Apple, a computer company, launched the iPod. Within two years, the iPod decimated Walkman sales. Your real competitors aren't in your industry. They're the ones you don't see coming.
Chapters
A major problem for businesses is seeing their competitive landscape through the lens of their industry. Quick story for you. Do you remember the Sony Walkman? Throughout the '90s, the Sony Walkman was the personal music player. No other player came close. Sony thought that competitors to the Walkman were going to be from other audio companies, just like Sony. Companies like Panasonic, Akai, or Technics. Then Apple came along and launched the iPod. Sony didn't take much notice. They didn't see the iPod as a competitor to the Walkman. After all, Apple was a computer company, right? So what happened? Well, within 2 years of its launch, the iPod pretty much killed off sales of the Walkman. Moral of the story: the competitor that kills you is inevitably the one you did not see coming because you were too busy working on your category to see that they were attacking you.